Subject–Verb Agreement Quiz, Part 2: Can You Get 10/10?

 

1. Everybody and his mother ____ to know about the new restaurant.

Everybody is grammatically singular (even if you add "and"), so it takes the singular verb seems.

2. That plan, plus Plan B and C, ____ been rejected by the committee.

Plus adds information but does not create a compound subject. The main subject, that plan, is singular.

3. Neither Prada nor Missoni nor Christian Dior ____ clothing made entirely from this material.

With neither...nor, a singular subject takes a singular verb. Here, each company name is singular.

4. It does not appear that the senator or his friends ____ supported the proposal.

With or, the verb agrees with the nearer subject. The nearer subject is friends, which is plural.

5. He and his publisher ____ to agree about the book's target audience.

Two subjects joined by and normally take a plural verb.

6. Their passion ____ obvious, even though one or both of them ARE frequently exhausted after rehearsals.

The main subject passion is singular, so it takes the singular verb is.

7. She or they ____ likely to change their minds before the deadline.

With or, the verb agrees with the nearer subject. The nearer subject is they, so the plural verb are is used.

8. The stockboys ____ each responsible for checking the deliveries.

Stockboys is the main subject and is plural, so it takes the plural verb are. Each does not change the number of the main subject here.

9. Vanity Fair's lineup of political and world affairs pieces ____ attracting considerable attention this month.

The head noun is lineup, which is singular. The nouns after of do not control the verb.

10. An estimated one out of eight people in the United States ____ affected by this problem.

The grammatical subject is one, which is singular, so the verb is singular.

Score: 0 / 10

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