Lesson 3 of 7 · Subject-verb agreement
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Grammar: Voice, Narration, Tenses + Rule Bank · for IPMAT Indore, IPMAT Rohtak and JIPMAT
The exam method
- If every verb agrees, look elsewhere (tense, pronoun, preposition), or choose "No error".
- Underline the verb. of each clause (in spot-the-error, usually part B or C).
Worked examples
Which sentence about a cricket club is correct? (va-sentence-correction-choose-correct-sentence-0114) (A) Each of the members have a locker. (B) Neither the captain nor the coaches was present. (C) The club, together with its members, are raising funds. (D) Twenty overs is too short a game for some fans.
(A) each → has; (B) nearer subject "coaches" → were; (C) together with → is. (D) is right: "twenty overs" is one amount (the length of the game), so it is singular.
There is a number of reasons why the project ran over budget. (va-sentence-correction-underlined-part-0109)
Two rules at once: after "there", look at the noun that follows; "a number of reasons" means "many reasons", so it is plural → are a number of reasons.
Picked from the Subject-verb agreement note for this micro-concept automatically. The whole note: Subject-verb agreement.