AGREEMENT OF THE VERB WITH THE SUBJECT

1. Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject: His pants ____
torn during the match.

was is

were are
Explanation: Some nouns are always considered as a plural noun like ‘pants’ in this
sentence and the main verb here is in past form, so the auxiliary verb should be in plural and
past form.

2. Aron, together with his wife ____ the guests of the party.

greets greet

greeting are greeting

Explanation: Multiple subjects are connected by ‘together with’ so only the noun before it
will affect the verb.

3. Tweezers ____ always useful to handle small objects.

may is

will are
Explanation: Some nouns are always considered as a plural noun like ‘tweezers’ in this
sentence.

4. The jury ____ not convinced.

might was

were would
Explanation: ‘jury’ is a collective noun which is always considered as a singular subject.

5. The truthful ____ always trustworthy.

is was

are may
Explanation: The subject of this sentence is an adjective which started with ‘the’, so the
verb will always be plural in this kind of situation.

6. To cry ____ never the solution to any problems.

are were

should is
Explanation: An infinitive is used as the subject so the verb should be singular here

7. A number of soldiers ____ injured during the war.

is were

was might
Explanation: The subject ‘soldier’ is accompanied by ‘A number of’ which makes it plural.

8. The number of deceased soldiers ____ not stored in the record book.

were is

are may
Explanation: The subject ‘deceased soldiers’ is accompanied by ‘The number of’ which
makes it singula

9. A pack of lions ____ approaching the camp.

will were

are was
Explanation: The subject ‘A pack of lions’ is considered as a singular noun so the verb
should be singular as well.

10. Killing ____ not always considered a bad thing.

were are

was would
Explanation: The subject of the sentence is a ‘gerund’ so the verb should be in singular
form.

11. There ____ many difficulties regarding the situation.

 should was

were is
Explanation: The sentence started with ‘there’, so the subject came after the verb. As the
subject is plural so the verb should be plural as well.

12. Here ____ the tomb of Albert Einstein.

lies lie

lying lied
Explanation: The sentence starts with ‘Here’, so the verb comes before the subject. As the
subject is singular so the verb should be singular as well.

13. Either she or her friends ____ responsible for this accident.

is are

was might
Explanation: Two subjects are accompanied by ‘Either… or’ so only the subject after ‘or’
will have any effect on the verb

14. Neither me nor my parents ____ aware of the incident.

would be is

was were
Explanation: Two subjects are accompanied by ‘Neither… or’ so only the subject after ‘or’
will have any effect on the verb.

15. None ____ none under the sun.

are were

is will be
Explanation: Here ‘None’ is used alone in the sentence so it is singular and so the auxiliary
verb should be singular as well.

16. None of them ____ able to solve this question.

is were

was would be
Explanation: Although ‘None’ is singular when used alone but in this sentence, it is
accompanied by a prepositional phrase consisting of a plural subject. So the verb should be
plural as well.

17. Eight fifty dollars ____ what it would cost to buy the new pixel phone.

are is

were shall
Explanation: The subject is a collective noun so the verb should be singular.

18. A pair of trousers ____ all that I brought along

were are

would be is
Explanation: Here the noun ‘trousers’ is preceded by ‘A pair of’ which makes it a singular
subject. So the verb should be singular in this sentence.

19. Everything ____ fine when it’s done correctly.

work worked

will work works

Explanation: Here the subject ‘everything’ is singular so the verb is modified accordingly.

20. Ronaldo and Messi ____ the greatest football players of the 21st century.

were are

was is