Subject–Verb Agreement Quiz, Part 3: Can You Get 10/10?

 

1. One in ten high seniors ____ to study education at university.

One is singular, so the verb is singular: wants.

2. Commercial after commercial ____ thin, beautiful young women promoting expensive products.

In the expression commercial after commercial, the repeated singular noun is treated as singular.

3. A bottle of red wine paired with the finest cheese ____ an excellent gift for dinner guests.

The head noun is bottle, not wine. Bottle is singular, so the verb is singular: is.

4. The urgent need to control and a desire to seduce ____, of course, powerful traits of a comedian as well as those of a critic.

Two separate subjects joined by and take a plural verb.

5. The administration's refusal to put in place cost-saving measures ____ the reason that some finance department employees resigned.

The head noun is refusal, which is singular. The plural noun measures does not control the verb.

6. As a psychology major in college, Evan discovers that reading journals that he kept as a boy ____ him to understand his childhood differently.

A gerund phrase used as the subject is normally treated as singular.

7. Plus-sized apparel, including clothes larger than the average U.S. size range of 2 to 12 for women, ____ up a growing part of the market.

Apparel is an uncountable noun and takes a singular verb.

8. The number of minutes offered in mobile plans ____ changed considerably over the past decade.

The number of takes a singular verb.

9. A higher number of applicants ____ expected to apply next year.

A number of + plural noun normally takes a plural verb because the focus is on the individual people or things.

10. An average of thirty-five students ____ absent from school each day.

With an average of + plural noun, the verb can agree with the plural noun when the sentence describes the individual members of the group.

Score: 0 / 10

GO TO PART 4

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

GO TO PART 3

Subject–Verb Agreement Quiz, Part 1: Can You Get 10/10?

 

1. Vaccine production and research ____ become more expensive in recent years.

Two separate subjects joined by and normally take a plural verb.

2. The absence of chemical and biological weapons and our failure to create a stable, secular democracy ____ the situation difficult to resolve.

Two separate subjects joined by and take a plural verb.

3. Shock and titillation in popular culture ____ often used to attract public attention.

Two separate nouns joined by and take a plural verb.

4. The moaning and groaning ____ continued throughout the night.

When two nouns or gerunds joined by and refer to one combined idea or activity, a singular verb can be used.

5. The extent and severity of the problem ____ difficult to determine at this stage.

Here, extent and severity are treated as one combined assessment of the problem, so a singular verb is used.

6. Buying and selling kitsch on eBay ____ a surprisingly popular hobby.

Two gerunds joined by and can take a singular verb when they describe one combined activity.

7. Every language and skin color ____ welcome at the international event.

Every is grammatically singular, so it takes a singular verb even when followed by and.

8. Each supervisor and employee ____ responsible for following the new safety rules.

Each is grammatically singular, so it takes a singular verb.

9. The supervisor and the employee ____ attending the training session together.

The supervisor and the employee are two separate people joined by and, so they take a plural verb.

10. Every Tom, Dick, and Harry ____ to have an opinion about the election.

Every is grammatically singular, so the verb must be singular.

Score: 0 / 10

GO TO PART 2

Influencing Without Authority: Meaning, Examples & Business English Vocabulary

What does “influencing without authority” mean?

In the workplace, you sometimes need to get people to support an idea, change their priorities, or complete a task even though they do not report to you. This is known as influencing without authority.

This situation is common for project managers, team leaders, and other professionals who work with people from different departments.

For example, imagine that you are leading the launch of a new product. The engineers, designers, procurement specialists, and marketing staff all report to different managers. You are responsible for the project, but you cannot simply order everyone to do what you want.

When a critical feature is delayed, you may need to explain the impact of the delay, negotiate a realistic solution, and encourage different teams to work together.

Influencing Without Authority (C1Level) English Listening Practice (Workplace English)

Vocabulary
A. Relying on (phrasal verb) compter sur; s'appuyer sur: Depending on someone or something. Example: We are relying on good weather for the picnic.

B. Procurement (noun) approvisionnement; achats: The process of buying goods or services. Example: She works in procurement for a hospital.

C. Department heads (noun) chefs de département: Managers responsible for departments. Example: The department heads met to discuss next year's budget.

D. Critical (adjective) essentiel; crucial: Extremely important for success. Example: Water is critical for good health.

E. Reassign (verb) réaffecter: To give someone a different job or task. Example: The coach decided to reassign players to new positions.

F. Shared outcomes (noun) résultats communs: Results that everyone works to achieve together. Example: The volunteers celebrated their shared outcomes after the event.

G. Build consensus (expression) crée un consensus: Helps people reach general agreement. Example: She builds consensus by listening to every opinion.

H. Momentum (noun) élan; dynamique: Continued progress or growing success. Example: The team gained momentum after its first victory.

I. Competing objectives (noun) objectifs concurrents: Goals that conflict with each other. Example: The family balanced competing objectives during the holiday.

J. Declining engagement (noun) baisse de l'engagement: Decreasing interest or involvement. Example: The teacher noticed declining engagement during the long lecture.

K. Tight (adjective) serré; limité: Having very little time available. Example: We have a tight schedule before the concert.

PATTERN: Depend less on + noun/gerund + and more on + noun/gerund

This is used to compare two factors and show that the second one is more important than the first.

Structure: Subject + depend(s) less on A and more on B
French equivalents
dépend moins de... que de... (most common)
repose moins sur... que sur...
est davantage fondé sur... que sur... (more formal)

Examples

• Success depends less on talent and more on consistent effort. La réussite dépend moins du talent que d'efforts constants.
• Customer loyalty depends less on price and more on the quality of the service. La fidélité des clients dépend moins du prix que de la qualité du service.

Other common English patterns
less... and more...
The meeting was less about blaming people and more about finding solutions. La réunion visait moins à chercher des responsables qu'à trouver des solutions.