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Singular / Plural Verb Forms
We use singular forms with:
nouns which end in –ics such as athletics, mathematics, economics, politics, physics, electronics, gymnastics and etc.
Economics is my favorite subject at school.
nouns which describe illnesses (flu, pneumonia), including those which end in –s (measles, mumps).
Pneumonia is a serious illness.
plural nouns when we talk about an amount of money, a time period, distance, weight, etc.
A hundred thousand dollars was paid for an 18th century painting.
group nouns such as family, team, group, management, board, staff, committee, crew, class, crowd, company, the press and government, when we mean the group as a unit. But we use plural verbs when we mean the individuals that make up the group.
The family is very important to me. (the family as a unit)
My family are going away next weekend. (the individual members of the family)
We use plural forms with:
the nouns people, goods, earnings, clothes, outskirts, stairs and police.
The goods have been sent to you direct from our factory.
nouns which refer to objects that consist of two parts such as trousers, shorts, shoes, gloves, pyjamas, tights, glasses, socks, earrings, scissors and etc.
Where are my glasses? But: I need a new pair of glasses.
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Practice
Exercise 1
Complete this email Rachel has received from her sister. Choose the correct forms.
Thanks for your email. Your news was / were interesting. We must talk soon. What about us? Well, we are living on the outskirt / outskirts of town, not far from the company headquarter / headquarters, where Jeremy works. We’ve spent nearly all our savings / saving on the house.
I’m doing the course I told you about. Statistics is / are an easy subject, I find, but economics give / gives me problems!
Exercise 2
Complete the sentence with a singular or a plural form of be.
1.The news … on Channel Five at nine o'clock.
2.These loaves … really fresh.
3.I think that maths … the most difficult subject.
4.The coffee you ordered … on the table over there.
5.The works of Shakespeare … still popular.
6.Everyone says that money … hard to come by these days.
7.The people I know … all on holiday at the moment.
8.The traffic … really terrible this evening.
Exercise 3
Correct the mistakes.
1.There was too many people at the party.
2.My shorts was very dirty.
3.Your hairs is very long again.
4.Tom’s gloves is made of soft leather.
5.Athletics are my favourite sport.
6.How many biscuits was in the tin?
7.There are a pair of new glasses in that bag for you.
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Exercise 4
Fill in is or are.
1.Be careful! Those scissors … very sharp.
2.The police … investigating the crime.
3.The stairs in my house … made of wood.
4.His new furniture … very modern.
5.My advice … that you get a new job.
6.The staff … all working hard for Monday’s meeting.
7.The money in the jar … for this week’s shopping.
8.Mumps … a childhood disease.
9.My luggage … in the car already.
10.His new clothes … very fashionable.
Exercise 5
Complete this TV news report. Choose the correct form of the verb.
Zedro has just announced that it made a loss of ₤35 million last year. The management is / are well aware that they have made mistakes. The press have / has all been printing stories and articles critical of the company. The Zedro board know / knows that they now have some difficult decisions to take. Naturally, the staff is / are worried about their jobs and wants / want a meeting with management as soon as possible. But Chief Executive Barry Douglas says things aren’t really so bad. He has said that the company has / have a great future ahead of it.
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Determiners
A determiner is a word that is used in front of a noun to show which thing you are talking about (e.g. some, any, many, much, etc.).
Some
Some is common in affirmative sentences. It is used for countable and uncountable nouns.
We have some incredible products to attract our potential customers.
We can use some in a question if it is an offer or a request.
Would you like to see some samples of our products? (offer) Could I see some samples of your products? (request)
We can use some in a question if we expect the answer to be ‘yes’. Compare:
Have you got some letters for me? (I expect that you have)
Have you got any letters for me? (I have no expectation about the answer)
Any
Any is common in questions and negative sentences. It is used for countable and uncountable nouns.
Have you got any money?
They haven’t got any time.
We use any in an affirmative sentence if the meaning is ‘whichever one you like’.
Compare:
I’m free some days next week – Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. I’m free any day next week – we can meet whenever you want.
Many / Much
Many is used for countable nouns and much is used for uncountable nouns. They are most common in a question or a negative sentence.
How many bags do you have? – I don’t have many bags.
How much luggage do you have? – I don’t have much luggage.
In an affirmative sentence we often say a lot of or lots of. It is used for countable and uncountable nouns.
I have a lot of bags / a lot of luggage with me on this trip.
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A few / A little
We use a few to talk about a small number of countable nouns in a positive way. We use a little to talk about a small amount of an uncountable noun in a positive way.
We have only a few days – so we’ll have to be quick. We have only a little time – so we’ll have to be quick.
Few / Little
We use few to talk about countable nouns in a negative way. We use little to talk about uncountable nouns in a negative way.
There is little hope that tigers will survive.
Unfortunately few conservationists believe that tigers in the wild have a future.
All |
|
We use all of |
|
before the or this: |
All (of) the work is seasonal. |
before a possessive adjective: All (of) my friends work in the media. |
|
before a pronoun: |
I didn’t read all of it. |
We do not normally use all on its own as a single-word noun. Instead we use everyone or everything.
Everyone agreed with my proposal. Everything is going well.
No / None
We use no with a noun to describe zero quantity or mass.
No worker has a permanent contract.
We use none of to mean 'not one' of a group.
None of the workers has a permanent contract.
Each / Every
Each and every have a similar meaning. They are both used with a singular noun.
Each / every employee receives a small gift at Christmas.
For small numbers each is more usual, and for two of something we must use each.
I interviewed three candidates, and each one had different strengths and weaknesses.
We can say each of, but we can not say every of.
The hotel has forty rooms, and each of them has a sea view.
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Both / Either / Neither
We use both (of) to refer to two things, with a plural noun and verb.
Both my parents are doctors.
We use either (of)
to mean 'this or the other', with a singular noun and verb.
There are two methods. Either method will give results.
with the + plural noun. Either of is a pronoun form.
Either of the methods will give results.
You can use either of them. (either of + pronoun)
Note that when we have two choices we say either … or.
We can either take the train or catch a taxi.
We use neither (of)
to mean 'not this or the other'.
These are incorrect answers. Neither is correct.
with the + plural noun. Neither of is a pronoun form.
Neither of the answers is correct.
Neither of them is correct. (neither of + pronoun)
Practice
Exercise 1
Tick sentences where some / any are used correctly. Change incorrect sentences.
1.We only offer 60 days credit to any customers.
2.Did you get any difficult questions at the end of your presentation?
3.Excuse me, waiter, could you bring some water, please?
4.I met really interesting people at the conference.
5.Product quality is very good – we don’t have some serious complaints.
6.You can have some colours – bright pink, lime green, dark purple, whatever.
7.Choose carefully – any design is a little more expensive.
Exercise 2
Underline the correct word.
1.How many / how much work do you do with corporate clients?
2.How many / how much employees work here at Head Office?
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3.I spoke with a few / a little colleagues about it.
4.I have a few / a little information about their company, but not much.
5.Japan doesn’t have much / many oil, coal or gas.
6.Japan doesn’t have much / many natural resources.
7.We’re paying many / a lot of money for their services.
Exercise 3
Complete the dialogue with these words: much, many, a little, a few.
A:You work for one of those big, old-fashioned telecoms companies, right? It can’t be easy. How … profit do you make from your fixed-line voice business these days? Take me as an example. I only make … calls from the fixed line in my office – most of the time I use my cell phone.
B:Hold on just a minute. You’re right that we don’t have … opportunities to grow the traditional business, but that’s not where our profits come from. They come from broadband: Internet access, voice-over-Internet services, digital media. We only need … time and then we’ll dominate the market again like we did in the 80s-90s.
Exercise 4
Fill each gap with one word so that both sentences have a similar meaning.
1.The hotels are both unsuitable. Neither hotel is suitable.
2.All the customers are complaining about the price increase.
_________________ customer __________ complaining about the price increase.
3.No customers are complaining about the price increase.
______________ _______________ customers are complaining about the price increase.
4. There were no attachments with my email.
There weren’t _________________ attachments with my email.
5.Singapore and Hong Kong too are key financial centers in south East Asia. Singapore and Hong Kong – ________________ are key financial centers in south East Asia.
6.Singapore or Hong Kong could dominate the financial word.
Singapore or Hong Kong – ______________ one could dominate the financial word.
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Exercise 5
Underline the correct words.
1.The trade fair is very important – the boss wants all us / all of us on the stand.
2.All the sales reps / Most the sales reps have to work on the stand.
3.Some of countries / Some countries have imposed import restrictions.
4.All / Everything is automated in our factory nowadays.
5.We’re lucky – none of files / none of the files have been corrupted by the virus.
6.I think we have explored every option / every options.
7.Silvia, Leo and Ann all spoke in the meeting, and each one / every one had a different point of view.
8.It was an amazing experience – either of us / neither of us will forget it.
9.You can pay or / either by credit card or in cash.
10.There were none messages / no messages on my voicemail.
Exercise 6
Complete the text with these words: both, each, either, neither, no, none.
Portugal and Greece: new opportunities
Portugal and Greece are similar in many respects. (1) … countries joined the European Union in the 1980s, and with EU subsidies (2) … one made considerable progress. But those subsidies are ending, and (3) … country will find the future so easy. What opportunities are there? Portugal could take advantage of its historical links to countries like Brazil, Angola and Mozambique that speak Portuguese – although (4) … of these are in the EU. Greece could increase trade with its regional partners, (5) … Turkey or the Balkan states. But one thing is clear: there are (6) … easy solutions.