When do you use are or is in a sentence for each word - Word и Excel - помощь в работе с программами

In what cases are. when to put the verb to be in English

Knowledge of English opens many doors. That is why it is actively studied in almost all countries of the world. Currently, over a billion people around the planet use this language on an ongoing basis.

This number includes those for whom English is their native language, as well as those who use it as a foreign language: for contacts with business partners, communication with foreign friends, various kinds of entertainment and, in fact, study.

In general, learning any of the foreign languages increases mental activity, logical and abstract thinking, as well as the ability to navigate unexpected situations.

How to master English grammar

For many learners of the English language, its grammatical structure presents a certain difficulty.

In reality, there is nothing complicated there (especially if you compare, for example, with the Russian language!), It is enough to understand important regularities once and remember the basic forms well.

However, memorization comes in the process of practice: doing exercises, reading, writing letters or essays, oral communication. The best way to master English grammar is to do it naturally.

It often happens that a person knows the rule, but cannot apply it in his speech. Such difficulties are eliminated by practice — and the larger and more varied it is (writing, reading, speaking, listening), the faster and better the result.

Remember also that each person has his own, purely individual, pace of mastering new knowledge and the ability to apply them in the practice of his own speech. For example, if you are studying in a group where some students learn grammar rules faster and more correctly than you, you should not lose heart. you, too, will one day start speaking English confidently and without mistakes. The main thing is to keep training.

Verb forms «is» / «are»: use in speech

If you have recently started to study English, then you are familiar with the following situation: you want to say something, but the fear of making a mistake interferes, causes shyness. To avoid this, try to understand the rule and, most importantly, practice more in the exercises.

One of the frequent grammatical difficulties arises when the verb connectives «is» / «are» are confused. The use of data to be (to be) depends solely on the person of the pronoun in each case. We are talking about a pronoun that performs the function of a subject. For example:

I am a student. — I am a student (student).

If the subject is a noun or a proper noun, then you need to mentally replace it with the corresponding pronoun. Then the conjugation scheme will surely pop up in your memory, including the connecting verbs «is» / «are», the use of which is often difficult.

Kate (?) A student -> She is a student.

To be sure exactly which form of the verb to put, you need to firmly memorize the principle of conjugation.

to be (in the present)

Statement

Denial

Question

Cases such as the use of «is» in English usually refer to descriptive situations. When we want to characterize something that is singular (can be replaced with the pronoun it), or someone who acts as “he” or “she” — then, no doubt, we should use the form “is”. Examples:

It is great. — (It is perfectly.

He is old. — He is old.

Source: https://expanc.ru/v-kakih-sluchayah-stavitsya-are-kogda-stavitsya-glagol-to-be-v-angliiskom/

Verb to be: rule (am, is, are) in English, forms, conjugation, tables — SPEAK ENGLISH

01.07.2019

Home »English for Beginners» The verb to be — to be

It is with this verb that you need to start learning English grammar. Verbs in English do not change by person, but the verb to be is an exception.

With the help of this verb, we will learn how to make simple sentences that do not contain a verb in Russian, for example, «I am a student», «he is at home», «this is interesting», etc. In English, it is unacceptable to compose without a verb that performs an action, and to be serves as a linking verb.

For example, to say “I am a student”, we have to insert the necessary form of the linking verb to be and, as a result, the sentence will acquire the meaning “I am a student” — “I (am) a student”.

Present tense forms of the verb to be

In the present tense, the verb to be has three forms: AM, IS, ARE:

Remember: to be and AM, IS, ARE are not 4 different, but forms of the same verb:

(We hope our dragon will help you remember this)

Consider how the verb to be changes in the present tense

Affirmative form

We are friends — we are friends
They are busy — they are busy
The book is thick — the book is thick
It is a cat
She is clever — she is smart

negative form

To form a negative conjugation of a given verb, you need to put a negative particle «not» after one of the required forms of the verb (am, is or are). Here are some examples of a negative sentence:

I am not hungry
He is not busy
The room is not big

Interrogative form

To form an interrogative form, you need to put the appropriate form of the verb (am, is or are) at the beginning of the sentence:

Are you Peter? — Are you Pete?
This room? — Is this a room?
Are you hungry? — Are you hungry?
He is busy? — Is he busy?

To understand how verbs live in English, let’s first recall at least one verb of the Russian language in its initial form, for example, the verb «to live». As you know, the verbs of the Russian language in the initial form end in «-т», and later, when conjugated, the ending changes. As far as English is concerned, the verb in its initial form is used together with the to particle, for example, we say to be — wouldthe, findtheXia, i.e. if the particle to precedes the verb, this means that the verb is in the initial form, and when the verb is used with persons, this particle is omitted. Let’s give an example: «To be or not to be» — there are two verbs in the sentence — and both are in the initial form, and they must be used together with the to particle, and, accordingly, we will translate into English as «to be or not to be». If we have before us the sentence “I (am) a student”, i.e. we have changed the verb to match the subject, then the to is dropped and the proper form of the verb is used, in this case am.
Unlike the verb to be, the rest of the verbs in English are not conjugated, for example, the verbs “to live, sit, love” in the initial form in English are translated “to live, to sit, to love”, ie with particle to , and when conjugated — without to , for example, “I live, sit, love” into English will be translated as “I live, sit, love”, ie initial form of a verb in English without particle to not used, but when conjugating to goes down. The initial form in English is called Infinitive.

More about the particle to see our video tutorial:

Verb conjugations tobe in present time

Now let’s learn how the verb to be changes (conjugates) in the present tense. As mentioned above, in Russian, sentences like «I am a student, she is a doctor, we are workers» are formed without a predicate verb. But to translate these sentences into English, you need to put the appropriate form to be after the subject — “I am a pupil, she is a doctor, we are workers”.

Note the translation of the following sentences in affirmative, negative and interrogative forms into English:

Verb conjugations tobe in the past and future tense

In the past tense, the verb to be distinguishes between two forms — was and were (was, was, were)

In the future tense, the verb to be conjugated as follows

Note: In modern English, the form shall is of little use to form the future tense of verbs (although its use is not a grammatical error), the form will is used for all persons. Therefore, sometimes there is a discrepancy in different textbooks.

To summarize, consider the following table:

Here are some commonly used verb expressions to be which you should learn and conjugate yourself using the conjugation table:

To be happy / unhappy — to be happy / unhappy
To be glad — to be joyful
To be hungry / to be full up– to be hungry / full
To be fond of — to love, to be carried away by something
To be busy — be busy
To be late (for) — be late (for)
To be in time for — to be on time
To be present at — to be present at (for example, in a lesson)
To be absent (from) — to be absent
To be married — to be married
To be single — to be single / not married
To be lucky — to be lucky
To be ready (for) — to be ready (for, for example, a lesson)
To be afraid (of) — to be afraid
To be interested (in) — to be interested in something
To be ill / well — to be ill / to feel good
To be angry (with) — angry, angry (at someone)

Let’s conjugate together the expression to be married in the affirmative, interrogative, and negative sentences. What did you do?

Conjugation / declension of the English verb to be (convenient conjugation table)

The verb is one of the main in the English language, since the ability to use the verb in speech helps to communicate at the initial stage of language learning without any particular difficulties! The verb “to be” can be translated as “to be” or “is”, “exists”.

Examples of using «to be»:

I am ready. — I’m ready.
Forbidden fruit is sweet. — The Forbidden fruit is sweet.
we will be I Spain next week. — We
will be in Spain next week.

Source: https://ekaterina-alexeeva.ru/drugoe/glagol-to-be-pravilo-am-is-are-v-anglijskom-yazyke-formy-spryazhenie-tablitsy.html

The use of am is are a rule table, in English

›Grammar›

Hello, friends. Many people make the mistake of not using auxiliary verbs AM, IS, ARE in the present tensewhen you need them. In our lesson, we will dwell in detail on am, is, are, we will analyze situations when these three words need to be inserted into a sentence.

At the end of the lesson, you can take a test and test yourself. As I said, AM, IS, ARE are needed in the present tense.

These three words are verb forms TO BE, which translates as «to be». AM, IS, ARE can be translated as «is», but almost always in Russian these verbs are omitted altogether in speech. Hence the difficulties arise.

Some theory

As you probably know, in English we are obliged to use both subject and predicate in a sentence. In other words, in any sentence there is always the author of the action (who?) — this is the subject.

And there is an action produced by it (what does it do?) — this is a predicate. This is very important for understanding the English grammar system in general.

But now we will focus on the present tense. In Russian, when an action is not specified, we understand that the situation takes place in the present tense.

For example: Coldly. Rain. I’m under an umbrella.

Each of these sentences has no verb, no explicit action. But reading them, we understand that all this is happening in the present.

Now let’s consider how an English-speaking person sees this situation: [This state is] cold. [This state is] rainy. I [am] under the umbrella.

“This state” — “it” is the subject. By the way, it is also called «formal subject». Because it is necessary exclusively for grammatical construction, and does not make any sense.

Note! In the third sentence from our example, the subject is — this is the word «I», the author of the action. As you might have guessed, the action that is present in each of the examples is the verb “is” — a variant of the verb “to be”, “to be in a state”.

Let’s remember the rule: Where there is no visible action in Russian, there is action in English.

Usually, this applies to the present time. In Russian, for the past and future tense we call action.

Example in the past tense: It was coldly. There was rain. I AM was under the umbrella. An example in the future tense: Will coldly. Will rain. I AM will under the umbrella.

Here the action is expressed by the verb “was / was / was” in the past and “will / will be” in the future. You just need to add a formal subject to translate such a sentence into English.

AM, IS, ARE

Verb «To be» in the present tense has 3 forms in English tense: am / is / are… Please note that to be itself is not translated in any tense, and depending on whether we are talking about the present, past or future, to be begins to change.

Just like the Russian word «to be» changes into «was», «is» or «will» depending on the time.

The subject is the following pronouns:

I — I
You, you — you
He, she, it — He, she, it
We are We
They are They

Note! And the words that can be replaced with these pronouns. For example, children — they — they

The form of the predicate depends on the subject:

I am
You are
He, she, it is
We are
They are

Thus, am can only be used with I, in no other case. Are we put if in the role of the subject you, we, they and the words that can be replaced by these pronouns (people, eggs, «you and I», etc.) Is appears only after he, she, it and the words they replace (Kate, a boy, an apple, a cow, etc.)

Study the table and examples carefully:

Note! Am, is, are very often are shrinking in speech and writing. The first letter is replaced by an apostrophe.

Negative particle not

If we want to make a negation, then we need to put a negative particle «not» immediately after am, is, are. Also, not can be abbreviated for ease of speech.

3 variants of denial are used at the same time:

You are not — You aren’t — You’re not

But for I am there are only 2 options:

I am not — I’m not. Acronym I amn’t there.

Note!

Source: http://learneng.ru/grammatika/am-is-are-pravilo-tablitsa.html

Negatives and questions with the verb to be — lesson 9 — english from scratch

It is worth noting that in affirmative sentences, the word order is direct. That is, the construction is carried out in the following order:

subject (noun or pronoun)
+ predicate (verb to be in the appropriate form)
+ minor members of the proposal.

If in Russian the verb is not used in every sentence, then in English it is a must, otherwise the sentence will be just a set of words.

In colloquial speech, such sentences use short forms of the verb to be, for example:

I am — I’mwe are — we’reyou are — you’rethey are — they’rehe is — he’sshe is — she’s

it is — it’s

Negative sentences

In order to deny something, there is also a certain word order. The direct word order is taken, as in the statement, and just after the predicate (the verb to be), the negation not is put. For example:

I am not Russian — I am not Russian.

Negation is placed only after the linking verb, otherwise the meaning of the sentence will be lost.

The negative form of the verb to be is also shortened, making English speech more melodic. Let’s look at examples:

He isn’t married — He is not married.
She isn’t at home — She is not at home.
We aren’t ready — We’re not ready.
They aren’t American — They aren’t American.

The negation no can also be used, but this will have a slightly different meaning, for example:

There are no pictures on the wall — There are no pictures on the wall.

It also appears in expressions like:

no problem — no problem;
no comments — no comments.

General questions

General questions in English have a different structure. Let’s put a question to the proposal:

I am right — I am right (s).

To do this, you need to put the verb form at the beginning:

Am I right? — I’m right?

Consider other interrogative sentences with the verb to be:

Are you happy? — You are happy)?
Is it true? — This is true?
Is he married? — He is married?
Are they Russian? — They are Russians?
Are we from Moscow? — We are from Moscow?

The answers to these questions are simple: yes or no. For example:

Are you busy? — Are you busy?
Yes, I am — Yes, I’m busy.

Special Issues

There are also special questions, which in English are formed using interrogative words. They are placed at the beginning of the sentence, and they are already followed by the verb (to be) and the predicate. Consider proposals with each of them:

Where? [weə] — where, where

In the where question are you from? — where are you from ?, first there is an interrogative word, but the preposition is always at the end. In other suggestions:

Where are you going? — Where are you going?
Where is he? — Where is he?
Where are they? — Where are they?

Who? [hu:] — who

Who is it? «Who is this? Who are you?» — Who are you? — Who is he?

Who am I? — Who am I?

What? [wɒt] — what, what

What is your name? — What is your name?
What is it? — What is it?

How? [həu] — how, how

How are you? — How are you?
How is she? — How is she?

It is part of complex interrogative phrases:

how much many — how much; how long — how long;

how old — how old.

For example, in sentences:

How much is it? — How much does it cost? — How long are those cables?

How old is she? — How old is she?

Why? [wai] — why

Why are you here? — Why are you here.

When? [wen] — when

When is that party? — When that party.
When are you going to come? — When are you going to come.

It is very important to be able to freely construct sentences of different types in English. You need to bring your skills to automatism, then it will not be scary to speak, and speech will acquire a more fluent character.

Write in the comments about your difficulties in studying interrogative and negative sentences.

Source: https://www.lovelylanguage.ru/start/english-from-scratch/9-voprosy-i-otritsaniya

Are in English when given. The verb to be in English: meaning, types, rules of use

A person who learns a foreign language for the first time cannot be envied. The student thinks in his native language, unconsciously tries to transfer the categories, norms and rules of his own language to a foreign one. Therefore, when faced with a concept or phenomenon that is absent in native speech, even elementary things seem difficult to perceive.

Often the verbs am, is, are of the English language become a stumbling block. It is necessary to allocate time and understand this issue.

Three-headed dragon To be

The verb to be has no analogue in Russian. The fact is that the verb is more an indicator of a person and number, rather than an independent meaning. To be retained separate singular and plural forms for the first and third person in the present tense.

Other verbs have retained only the ending -s, which is a sign of the 3rd person singular, for example, She speaks… The same verb in conjunction with the pronouns of the 1st and 2nd persons will differ from the initial form to speak only by the absence of the to particle: «I speak» and «You speak». The verbs am, is, are are forms of to be. You can draw the student’s attention to this by depicting the verb to be in the form of a dragon, and call his head Am, Is and Are.

Translation problems

The translation sounds like «is» or «to be». The most common mistake young learners make is trying to translate phrases like “I am Kristian” as “I am Christian”. This is a delicate moment for beginners to learn a language. It is worth correcting such reservations immediately.

The interaction of native and foreign languages is very important for the learning process, therefore the translation must always sound competently and in accordance with the norms of the language. In general, everyone should learn by heart the verbs am, is, are.

When do they say am and is, and when do they say are?

Verbs are used in the present tense. For the past, there are the forms was and were, in sentences with a future tense they use the form will be and very rarely — shall be. You can remember the rules for using the forms of the verb to be by studying the table below.

As you can see from the table, the forms am, is, was are used to denote the singular, and are and were are used to denote the plural. In modern English, shall and will are considered insufficient verbs. Both verbs are used only in the form of the present tense — shall / will, and the past — should / would.

Source: https://msutt.ru/are-v-angliiskom-yazyke-kogda-stavitsya-glagol-to-be-v-angliiskom-yazyke-znachenie/

This rebellious verb to be How to make him a child? Interesting and useful exercises for children

Hello my dear.

Today I am in a hurry to help you in the fight against a frequent visitor of the English sentence: the verb to be. Fear not, he is not as scary as he seems. Therefore, we arm ourselves with knowledge and practice ahead, because you have a minimum of theory and a maximum of practice ahead of you.

Ready?

Then I officially start the tutorial titled: verb to be — exercises for children.

Few rules

The verb to be in translation means «to be». And it is used in almost EVERY sentence of the English language. How? — you ask. — And the sentences «I’m beautiful», «I’m a schoolboy», «Are you at home?», «I’m in the classroom»? The answer is simple: in English this verb is helped by 3 little friends who, in Russian, simply remain invisible. These are verbs am, is, are.

The use of the verbs am, is, are can be remembered by the example of your family. If we talk about ourselves as beloved, then we use the form am… If a sister, brother, or even a cat lives with you, then you can talk about each of them is… But you need to talk about parents together are .

See:

By the way, I also have for you funny videowhich we recorded with daughter — there we talk about what you can tell about yourself in English, using the given verb… Interesting? Look, show your guys and remember:

Exercises

Let’s practice verb forms. If your child went to grade 1, then the most important thing for him now is to remember which form is used with which pronoun.

Exercise 1:
Insert the correct form of the verb to be: am, is, are.

1. I _____ a girl.
2. He ____ my brother.
3. She____ my sister.
4. I____ from London.
5. He____ 17 years old.
6. She ___ a student.
7. They____ our parents.
8. We____ a family.
9. It ____ our dog.
10. You____ our friend.

Once in grade 2, his vocabulary will be much larger and he can already put verb forms without the presence of explicit pronouns.

Exercise 2:

Source: https://lizasenglish.ru/anglijskij-dlya-detej/to-be-uprazhneniya.html

English grammar for beginners, part 1

: 29.08.2016

We present you the first article in the series «English Grammar for Beginners». In this series of materials, we decided to outline all the rules in short and simple words, so that those who begin from scratch or those who do not remember the basics of English well can figure out grammar on their own, understand it and apply it in practice.

Be sure to check out the following articles in this series:

Also consider English classes at Inglex Online School. It is efficient and convenient.

Personal pronouns in English

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun. The pronoun does not name an object or person, but only denotes it. There are several features of English pronouns:

I (i) in English is always written with a capital letter.
He (he) and she (she) are used to refer to males and females, respectively. They are also used when you are talking about your pets and you need to indicate their gender.
It (it, it) is used to refer to inanimate objects as well as animals.
We (we) denotes the speaker with a group of people.
You (you, you, you) denotes the appeal «you», the appeal to a group of people «you» and the polite appeal to one person «you».
They are used to denote animate and inanimate objects in the plural.

Personal pronouns have three main forms:

Nominative (Who ?, What?) Object case (To ?, Whom ?, By whom?) Possessive case (Whose?)

I — I	me — me, me	my — my
he — he	him — him, him	his — his
she — she	her — her, her	her — her
it — it (it)	it — him / her, him / her	its — his / her
we — we	us — us, us	our — our
you — you, you	you — you, you, you, you	your — yours, yours
they — they	them — them, them	their — their

Nominative: A pronoun denotes an object or person who performs an action. In this case, the pronoun acts as a subject.
I am a manager. — Я manager.
It (radio) is working. — It (radio) works.
They are relatives. — They relatives.
They (shoes) are dirty. — They (shoes) dirty.
Object case: the action is directed to the pronoun. Here the pronoun acts as a complement and answers the questions «To whom?», «Whom?», «By whom?», And for inanimate objects — «What?».
Jim is writing a letter to me… — Jim writes a letter (to whom?) me.
She is cooking for Him… — She cooks for (who?) it.
I am looking at it (picture). — I’m looking at (what?) it (picture).
Possessive case: the pronoun shows the belonging of the object and answers the question «Whose?»
Nick is my friend. — Nick (whose?) my friend.
It’s your cup. — This (whose?) yours mug.
He is washing here dishes now. — He washes (whose?) her dishes now.

We advise you to watch this video to better understand the forms of pronouns:

Try the English Personal Pronoun Test, and then move on to the next section.

English personal pronoun test

If you want to know more, read our article Personal and Possessive Pronouns in English.

Plural in English

In English, as in Russian, all words are divided into countable and uncountable. This is important to understand when forming the plural of a word.

Countable nouns denote items that can be counted, for example: table (table), book (book), apple (apple). Uncountable nouns are abstract concepts, liquids, products, etc., that is, something that cannot be counted.

For example: knowledge, water, meat, flour. These words have no plural or singular.

Countable nouns can be used in singular and plural forms. The singular noun denotes one thing, this is the form of the word that is indicated in the dictionary: apple — apple. The plural noun denotes several things: apples — apples.

How the plural forms of nouns:

Usually, the plural of nouns is formed by appending the ending -s: book — books (book — books). However, there are several peculiarities of spelling:

If the word ends with -o, -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, then add the ending -es: hero — heroes (hero — heroes), bus — buses (bus — buses).Exceptions

Source: https://englex.ru/english-grammar-for-beginners-part-1/

Is or are is put. The verbs am, is, are and how to use them in English

Often the verbs am, is, are of the English language become a stumbling block. It is necessary to allocate time and understand this issue.

To be exercises: exercises with answers to the verb am is are (to be in the Present simple)

Exercise 1. Insert the verb to be in Present Simple
Exercise 2. Form a question with the verbs am, is, are
Exercise 3. Fill in the blanks using to be in the required form
Exercise 4. Form negative sentences with am, is, are
Exercise 5. Write the correct form of the verb to be in the Present simple
Exercise 6.
Choose the correct option to be from the proposed
Exercise 7. Expand the parentheses by writing the verb to be in correct conjugation
Exercise 8. Insert the missing words am, is, are, I’m, you’re, he’s, she’s, it’s, they’re, am I, are you, is he, is she, is it, are we, are they
Exercise 9. Make negative sentences out of affirmative
Exercise 10.
Complete sentences using I’m not, you’re not, he’s not, she’s not, it’s not, they’re not
Exercise 11. Form the abbreviated form of the pronoun with the verb to be in the present simple tense
Exercise 12. End the dialogue using only the verb to be in the correct conjugation and, if necessary, pronouns
Exercise 13.
Arrange the words in the correct order by adding the verbs am / is / are
Exercise 14. Make sentences from words plus the verb to be in the correct form
Exercise 15.
Translate sentences with the verb to be in simple present tense into English

I ___ Andrew
He____ happy
We ___ friends
I ___ a student
They ___ on a business trip
It ___ broken

View answers.

Exercise 2. Form a question with the verbs am, is, are

(she) a teacher
(dogs) angry
(shop) open
(it) free
(he) in London
(you) hungry

View answers.

Exercise 3. Fill in the blanks using to be in the required form

Her car ___ fast
I___ a boy
My apple___ red
It ___ good idea
This ___ a pen
You___ free

View answers.

Exercise 4. Form negative sentences with am, is, are

I am an engineer
She is a doctor
It is true
This is my hand
I am sad
He is from Moscow

View answers.

Exercise 5. Write the correct form of the verb to be in the Present simple

Hello. What ___ your name?
Hi. My name is ___ Irina. And what ___ your name?
I___ Max.
How ___ you, Max.
thanks. I___ fine.

View answers.

Exercise 6. Choose the correct option to be from the proposed

Ira (am / is / are) beautiful
The cost (am / is / are) good
You (am / is / are) my best friend
How (am / is / are) you?
My English (am / is / are) very well
I (am / is / are) Russian

View answers.

Exercise 7. Expand the parentheses by writing the verb to be in correct conjugation

She (be) in bed
I(be)27
Anna (be)rich
He (be)ill
Varvara (be) old woman
You (be) lucky

View answers.

Exercise 8. Insert the missing words am, is, are, I’m, you’re, he’s, she’s, it’s, they’re, am I, are you, is he, is she, is it, are we, are they

Sorry, ___ late
How ___?
The weather ___ bad
These trousers ___ comfortable
This ___ Mark
___ it dog?

View answers.

Exercise 9. Make negative sentences out of affirmative

I’m busy
He is young
Marina is very beautiful
summer is hot
The house is very expensive
You are tired

View answers.

Exercise 10: Complete sentences using I’m, you’re, he’s, she’s, it’s, we’re, they’re, I’m not, you’re not, he’s not, she’s not, it’s not, they ‘ re not

Are you free? Yes, ___
Is this Riana? Yes, ___
Is it ball? No, ___
Am I fat? No, ___
Are you blonde? Yes, ___
Am I pretty? Yes, ___

View answers.

Exercise 11. Form the abbreviated form of the pronoun with the verb to be in the present simple tense

She is
I am
You are
he is not
we are not
The are

View answers.

Exercise 12. End the dialogue using only the verb to be in the correct conjugation and, if necessary, pronouns

How long ___ this road? ___ very long.
___ are you happy? No, ___ not.
Where ___ Sara? ___ at school.
How old ___ Tom. ___ twenty.
___ you sure? Yes, ___.
What ___ your name? ___ Dima.

View answers.

Exercise 13. Arrange the words in the correct order by adding the verbs am / is / are

warm / it / today
legs / my / cold
very / expensive / diamonds
Kazan / Anna / from
developer / Marina
apple / big

View answers.

Exercise 14. Make sentences from words plus the verb to be in the correct form

windy, today, it
Russia, country, the biggest
in, Moscow, Russia
your parents rich
interesting, book
at, school, my, children

View answers.

Exercise 15. Translate sentences with the verb to be in the simple present tense into English

She is a nurse
I am doctor
Maria teacher
I 21
Irina is hungry
Maxim is tall

View answers.

Exercise 1

Having problems? Then read the rules.

Back to exercise.

Exercise 2

Is she
Are dogs
Is shop
Is it
Is he
Are you

Back to exercise.

Exercise 4

I am not an engineer
She is not a doctor
It is not true
This is not my hand
I am not sad
He is not from Moscow

Back to exercise.

Exercise 8

I am
are you
is
are
is
is

Back to exercise.

Exercise 9

I am not busy
He isn’t young
Marina isn’t very beautiful
Summer isn’t hot
The house isn’t very expensive
You aren’t tired

Back to exercise.

Exercise 10

I am
She is
it is not
you are not
I am
You are

Back to exercise.

Exercise 11

She’s
I’m
You’re
He isn’t or He’s not
We aren’t or we’re not
They’re

Back to exercise.

Exercise 12

Is, It’s
Are, I’m
Is, She’s
Is, He’s
Are, I’m
Is, I’m

Back to exercise.

Exercise 13

It is warm today
My legs are cold
Diamonds are very expensive
Anna is from Kazan
Marina is developer
Apple is big

Back to exercise.

Exercise 14

It is windy today
Russia is the biggest country
Moscow is in Russia
Your parents are rich
Book is interesting
My children are at school

Back to exercise.

Exercise 15

She is a nurse
I am a doctor
Maria is a teacher
I’m 21
Irina is hungry
Maksim is tall

Back to exercise.

If you have any difficulties, then read the article am / is / are verbs.

Read more about Present simple on our website:

Source: https://infoeng.ru/exercises/am-is-are-exercises/

Verbs to be and to do in English: features of use

One of the most popular language confusion is the use of verbs to be и to do… This refers to the substitution of one verb for another, which occurs as a result of a misunderstanding of the functions and meanings of these words.

We have already covered the verb to be in detail, so now we will focus on comparing the use of verbs in situations in which confusion occurs most often.

Strong and weak verb

There are two broad categories of verbs in English — strong and weak.
Strong verbs include modal verbs and their equivalents, have got, auxiliary verbs (do / does / did) and to be… Strong verbs independently form negative constructs and questions:

Must he go to the dentist? — I must go to the dentist./I mustn’t eat apples.

In the case of weak verbs, we are not able to construct a question or negation without auxiliary ones, avoiding an error:

I live to Paris.

Live you in Paris? — error/
It is correct to say: Do you live in Paris?

He livesNote inParis. — error/
It is correct to say: He doesn’t live inParis.

So, we use the auxiliary do or two of its other forms (does / did) in order to correctly form questions and denials.

A mistake is born when students (by this word we mean all foreign language learners, young and old) begin to use auxiliary verbs for the forms to be:

He is Liza’s brother.

Does he is Liza’s brother? — error
He doesn’t is Liza’s brother. — error

Undoubtedly verb forms to be do not look like their original shape. We believe this is what can be confusing.
Remember: am, is, are, was, were are strong verbs and never use auxiliary do:

Is he Liza’s brother? — right
He is not Liza’s brither. — right

Rђ RІRѕS, do against. By itself how semantic this verb is weak and has a meaning делать… Accordingly, he needs the help of an auxiliary one that matches him in spelling and pronunciation doWhich is not translated into Russian and performs a purely grammatical function:

I do exercise every day.
Do I do exercise every day? — right
I don’t do exercise every day. — right

Do I exercise every day? — error
I do not exercise every day. — error / This sentence is meaningless and will be translated “I don’t exercise every day”. I would like to immediately ask “do not that? exercises»

Auxiliary

The second serious problem sometimes becomes choice of auxiliary verb.

Most of the courses are structured in such a way that acquaintance with English grammar and the language in general begins with the verb to be — to be, to be, to be somewhere.

Students are so used to designs with to bethat for them it becomes completely logical to use them as an auxiliary verb… It actually loses its meaning and sentences of this kind become grammatically equal:

She is inParis.
She lives inParis.

Let’s say that contextually it is possible to translate both of them as “She lives in Paris”. The following happens:

Is she in Paris? — right
Is she live in Paris? — ERROR

To benever will not be used as an auxiliary verb

Source: http://begin-english.ru/article/glagoly-to-be-i-to-do-v-angliyskom-yazyke-osobennosti-ispolzovaniya/

Am is are. The verb to be in English: meaning, types, rules of use

Useis with objects in the singular and are with plural objects.
After collective nouns, it is usually used isbut one can useare if you need to select individual objects that belong to the group.
After phrases like anumberofusually a plural verb is used.

In order to decide what to use is or are , see what number the noun is in, singular or plural. If the noun is singular, use is.

If it is plural or in a sentence with more than one noun, use are .

The cat is eating all of his food. — The cat eats everything that was given to her.

The cats are eating all of their food. —Cats eat whatever they’ve been given.

The cat and the dog are eating as fast as they can.— The cat and the dog eat as fast as they can.

These are the most basic grammatical rules of use. is и are .

Is vs. Are with collective nouns

A collective noun refers to a group of people or things that are treated as a unit in speech. Word committee (Committee) is a collective noun. A committee means many people, but the word itself is unique in form. In American English, collective nouns are used with is… In British English, collective nouns can be used with is or are .

The committee is considering the budget right now.— At the moment, the commission is considering a financial issue.

Theaudienceisgettingantsy. — Those sitting in the audience become restless.

The couple is moving to California. — This couple is moving to California.

But even in American English, the collective noun can be used with are when it is necessary to focus on individual members of the group.

The couple are keeping secrets from each other. — This couple keeps secrets from each other.

Is vs. Are with uncountable nouns

Real nouns (also called uncountable nouns) are similar to collective nouns. They refer to things or objects that cannot really be counted. Water and sandare uncountable nouns. Uncountable nouns are used with is in both British and American English.

The sand is too hot to walk on!— The sand is too hot to walk on!

Water is our most precious resource. — Driving is the most valuable resource.

Pudding is very easy to make.“The pudding is very easy to make.

Is round. Are with phrases a Number of / a Pair of / a Group of

Collective phrases like anumberof or apairof make you wonder what to use, is or are .

Which verb should be used when we talk about phrases like anumberofpeople? One side, number is a singular noun that implies the use of is. But people this is the plural that the use of are .

It is generally best to use are with the phrase anumberof… Perhaps you accidentally run into a person who disagrees with this, but the choice is yours.

A number of people are concerned about the lack of progress. — Many are worried about the lack of progress.

A number of people are concerned about the lack of progress.

Other collective phrases like groupof can be used with is when the focus is on the group:

That group of protesters is sure to be distracting. — This group of demonstrators will surely distract attention.

This series of books is phenomenal. “This series of books is phenomenal.

But can also be used are when focusing on individual individuals.

A bunch of my friends are going to different schools next fall. — A bunch of my friends are going to go to different schools next fall.

A handful of new books are published each week. — A small number of new books are published every week.

When we talk about pairs, we usually mean two things as a unit, so it is common to use is.

// 65 Comments

The construction there is / there are is used to report the location of objects and persons. Remember a simple rule: if the Russian sentence begins with the circumstance of the place (the first word of the Russian sentence answers the question «where?»), then we start the English sentence with there is / there are.

For example: «There is a mouse in the box» — There is a mouse in the box. In this case, the very circumstance of the place (in the box — in the box) must be put at the end of the sentence. English sentences with the construction there is / there are are translated from the end (while There is there are not translated).

For example: There is a bench in the garden — There is a bench in the garden.

If the sentence begins with a subject («who?» Or «what?») This construction is not used, we translate it as it is: the car is on the street — the car is in the street.

Google shortcode

Let’s compare the two sentences «vase on the table» and «vase on the table». The first begins with the circumstance of the place, and the second with the subject, respectively, to translate the first sentence we use There is a. — “there is a vase on the table”, and we translate the second sentence without this construction — “the vase is on the table”. If the subject (the subject referred to in the sentence) is singular, then there is is used, and if plural, then there are.

Please note that (is, are) in such sentences can be translated as «lies», «stands», «hanging», «growing», «is»: There are toys in the box — In the box lie toys, There is a big tree in front of my house — In front of my house is growing a big tree.
When listing items, there is used yeah,if the first item listed is in the singular (There is a copy book, three pencils and a ruler on the table) and there are if the first item listed is plural (There are three pencils, a copy book and a ruler on the table).

Word order in affirmative, interrogative, and negative there is / there are

Prepositions of place are service words that connect the members of a sentence and are closely related to the use of the construction there is / there are, so we consider them in this post. First, let’s remember the prepositions of place and direction in English.

On — on: there is an apple on the plate — there is an apple on the plate
In — inside: there are pens in the bag — there are pens in the bag
Above / over — over: there is a picture above the fireplace — a picture hangs over the fireplace
At — at: at the wall — at the wall
Near — near, near, nearby: near my house — near my house
Under — under: under the table — under the table
Below — below, under: below the window — under the window
Behind — behind: behind the tree — behind the tree
To — indicates movement towards the subject: to school — to school, to work — to work, to a friend — to a friend
Into — inside: into the room — into the room
From — indicates movement from the subject: from school — from school, from work — from work, take the cup from that boy — take the cup from that boy, take the book from the table — take the book from the table

Source: https://warfields.ru/detektor-lzhi/stavitsya-am-is-are-glagol-to-be-v-angliiskom-yazyke-znachenie-vidy-pravila-upotrebleniya/

When is the verb to be in English? When to put «are» and when «is»

Often the verbs am, is, are of the English language become a stumbling block. It is necessary to allocate time and understand this issue.

Источник

Is the number and address valid?

Are the number and address valid?

Which form of the verb is correct for the sentence?

Your 1st version («is») sounds okay to my AmE ear. The 2nd version («are») sounds awkward to me. If you’re not comfortable in using the 1st version («is»), then you could reword your example sentence into another form, one which you’d feel more comfortable with.

I’d think it reasonable to think that the 2nd version («are») would not be fully acceptable to many people when it is heard in an informal or casual setting.

A big problem with the 2nd version («are») is that the listener first hears the plural verb «Are» which is then followed by a singular noun phrase «the number», and that is jarring due to the clash in grammatical number. The listener was expecting to hear a plural subject, but instead gets what seems to be a singular subject.

Though the subject in its entirety would end up being plural in number, that doesn’t help during the initial stages when the listener is hearing the spoken sentence. For example, consider:

A. «Are a dog—«

This immediately sounds awkward, due to a violation of proximity concord. (Note: proximity concord is when the verb agrees in number to the closest noun phrase. In general, the listener will initially assume that the closest noun phrase is the intended subject, and often that noun phrase is located right before the verb.)

Let’s continue and finish the rest of that spoken sentence:

B. «Are a dog and a cat on the gift list?»

We can see that version #B does have formal concord with respect to subject-verb agreement. Both the subject and the verb are plural in number, but that can only be seen after the whole sentence has been processed. Notice how this problem (in #A/B) does not exist in the corresponding declarative clause version:

C. «A dog and a cat are on the gift list.» — (declarative clause)

There’s no corresponding problem here because the listener gets to process the whole subject («A dog and a cat») first, and gets to realize that the subject is plural. And so, the listener is now expecting a plural verb to come along soon.

But unfortunately, in version #A/B the verb comes first before the subject. That same problem of verb arriving before its subject is in the OP’s version #2 («Are the number and address valid?»). And that is why the OP’s version #2 is awkward to many people — the violation of proximity concord.

LONG VERSION:

Some common abbreviations:

NP == noun phrase

NOTE: The rest of this here post is gonna be something somewhat like a rainy day post. You’ll see what I mean by how I ramble here and there, as I attempt to answer the OP’s question. But there’s a reason for the meandering, maybe. And the rambling is probably necessary, due to what all has to be touched upon. And so, here we start . . .

The subject in the OP’s examples is the noun phrase (NP):

«the number and address»

which is in the form of a coordination of nouns. In general, the number of the verb (in the OP’s case, the verb «is» or «are») will often match the number of the subject, but not always. When they do match, then subject-verb agreement will have formal concord (concord is explained further on down below).

There is a misconception out there that subject-verb agreement can be defined by a few simple rules, and that it is, in general, easy to figure out. But it isn’t definable by a few simple rules, and there are many so-called exceptions, which are commonly found in the wild. A major factor in determining subject-verb agreement, w.r.t. grammatical number, is in determining the subject’s grammatical number, but that is not a simple task in itself. It too has many so-called exceptions, which are also commonly found in the wild.

Most of this answer post contains info that is related in someway to these two problems: figuring out what the subject’s grammatical number is, and figuring out what the corresponding verb’s grammatical number should be. A big assist in figuring out those two problems is a native English speaker’s «ear». That ear has learned the grammatical rules over many years, or decades, and basically, it intuitively understands and knows English grammar better than the person that is attached to that ear. Anyhow . . .

Types of concord: There’s three main kinds of concord, also commonly known as kinds of agreement: formal/grammatical concord, notional concord, proximity concord. Sometimes other terms are used, such as the principle of proximity (or as blind agreement or attraction). You can probably get a good feel for their definitions from your favorite grammar sources. And hopefully, when I use these terms later on, the surrounding context will make their meanings clear.

The context style: Since the OP’s two examples are questions in the form of interrogative clauses, they would probably be more likely used in an informal context, that is, printed in fiction or narrative prose, or spoken in a casual or neutral style, than be printed in a very formal context like a dry textbook. (Though, textbooks are supposedly using more of the techniques found in narrative prose, so as to not bore the students to sleep.) So, let’s keep that in mind: the context in which the OP’s example sentence would be used is more likely to be informal to neutral in style.

Default number and person: It’s probably practical to consider that the default number and person for subject-verb agreement of a clause is singular and 3rd person. There would usually have to be some reason or reasons for it to be something else; and often there are such reasons.

Type of clauses: There are many different types of clauses, and the clause type of the matrix clause and the construction types of its clausal dependents often have strong influences on subject-verb agreement (such as copular-like main clauses, which often are acceptable with singular verbs even when the subject is plural in number, and then there’s pseudo-cleft constructions which have a default of singular verb).

But grammar usage books seem to mostly use, or only use, declarative non-copular clauses when they do most of their discussion on subject-verb agreement. And then, generally they use clauses with prototypical subject-verb-complement order, which often means that interrogative clauses usually aren’t used as examples. (Reader, remember that the OP’s examples are closed interrogative clauses.)

Many kinds of overrides: There can be overrides of formal concord, and those overrides can occur at clause level, and there also can be respecification of the NP when the NP is a measure phrase. A discussion and examples of overrides are found in CGEL pages 354, 504-7.

An example of a measure override is:

[14.ii] [Twenty dollars] seems a ridiculous amount to pay to go to the movies. — (CGEL page 504)

The subject is a plural NP which is taking a singular verb. The speaker is interpreting that subject NP, which is a measure phrase, as being notionally singular. Since the verb is singular, that means that notional concord has overridden formal concord.

«And» coordination of NPs: Sometimes these will take singular verb. CGEL page 507:

[26]

i. [Eggs and bacon] is/~~are~~ my favourite breakfast.

ii. [The hammer and sickle] was/~~were~~ flying over the Kremlin.

iii. [Your laziness and your ineptitude] amazes/amaze me.

Note that only the singular verb is acceptable in [i-ii], while both singular and plural verb is acceptable in [iii].

Coordination of distributive NPs: Usually they take singular verb. CGEL, page 508:

Finally, coordinations of NPs containing distributive each or every take singular verbs:

[28]

i. [Each dog and each cat] has/~~have~~ to be registered.

ii. [Every complaint and every suggestion] was/~~were~~ thoroughly investigated.

Though, there might be some disagreement on this, such as with «every» where MWCDEU finds both singular and also some plural usage: page 318,

Every single word and meaning of great ancient writers like Geoffrey Chaucer were recorded in the OED —Robert Burchfield, U.S. News & World Report, 11 Aug. 1986

«Or» coordination of NPs: The resolution rules will only give fully acceptable results when the NPs are either all singular or all plural. If the NPs are mixed, then many speakers will find any subject-verb agreement to be doubtful. CGEL page 508-9:

[31.ii ] [(Either) Mary or the twins] ?is/?are sure to go. — [both are of questionable grammaticality]

[31.iii ] [(Either) the twins or Mary] ?is/?are sure to go. — [both are of questionable grammaticality]

and CGEL explains:

Usage manuals generally invoke the principle of proximity, saying that the verb should agree with the nearest coordinate. This rule would select are in [ii] and is in [iii]. In practice, however, many speakers tend to feel uncomfortable with both forms and will typically find ways of avoiding the conflict, e.g. by using a modal auxiliary, which has no agreement properties: (Either) Mary or the twins will be sure to go.

In a way, this shows that proximity concord can influence the acceptability of a sentence to a speaker (and to style manuals).

The power of «one»: When «one» is the head of a partitive, the presence of «one» can often attract a singular verb, and it can do that even when the semantics call for a plural verb. CGEL page 506 (and especially notice version [22.ii ]):

. . . The relativized element in these examples is object. Where it is the subject that is relativized, the expectation would be that the number of the verb would be determined by the antecedent, giving a plural verb in Type I, and a singular in Type II. In practice, however, singular verbs are often found as alternants of plurals in Type I:

[22]

i. He’s [one of those people who always want to have the last word]. — (Type I )

ii. He’s [one of those people who always wants to have the last word]. — (Type I )

iii. He’s [one of her colleagues who is always ready to criticize her]. — (Type II )

Examples [i] and [iii] follow the ordinary rules, but [ii] involves a singular override. It can presumably be attributed to the salience within the whole structure of one and to the influence of the Type II structure (it is in effect a blend between Types I and II ). But it cannot be regarded as a semantically motivated override: semantically the relative clause modifies people. This singular override is most common when the relative clause follows those or those + noun.

Coordination of clauses: When the subject is an and-coordination of clauses, then usually subject-verb agreement will be singular, but sometimes it can be plural. CGEL, page 508:

And-coordination of clauses

Subjects with the form of an and-coordination of clauses generally take singular verbs:

[29]

i. [That the form was submitted on the very last day and that the project had not been properly costed] suggests that the application was prepared in a rush.

ii. [How the dog escaped and where it went] remains a mystery.

It is nevertheless possible to have a plural verb when the predicate treats the coordinates as expressing separate facts, questions, or the like:

[30]

i. [That the form was submitted on the very last day and that the project had not been proper costed] are two very strong indications that the application was prepared in a rush.

ii. [How the dog escaped and where it went] are questions we may never be able to answer.

Notice how the latter two examples, which use plural verbs, also have plural predicative complements (PCs).

The above and-coordinations were of finite clauses, which will usually take singular agreement, and that is also usually true when the clauses are infinitival clauses. When the clauses are -ing clauses, and because an -ing clause can often syntactically behave somewhat as a noun phrase, an and-coordination of them can often be even less clear as to subject-verb agreement, in that the coordination can sometimes be functioning more similar to a coordination of NPs than of finite clauses.

IN SUMMARY: There are many other types of cases where subject-verb agreement is not so straightforward or as simple as traditional grammar rules can lead a person to think. But I think you’ve got the picture, and if you’re interested in seeing more of these cases, then a vetted grammar source, such as a reference grammar like CGEL, would be a good place to start.

THE ANSWER:
And now, let’s see if we can put that above rambling to good use.

First of all, let’s look at some declarative clauses, which use the prototypical subject-verb-complement order, that correspond to the OP’s examples:

The number and address [ is / ~~are~~ ] valid. — (corresponds to OP’s examples)
The number and the address [ is / are ] valid. — (has an extra «the»)

The speaker might prefer to use version #3 with «is» if they are seeing «the number and address» as being singular in concept, where «number» and «address» are closely tied to each other as though they make up one entity (e.g. «pencil and paper»). That is, the speaker is notionally seeing the subject as being singular for subject-verb agreement. And consistent with that, the speaker would probably use only one determiner («the») for that coordination of «number» and «address».

But if the speaker is seeing the «number» and «address» as two separate things, where the coordination of them two would be plural in concept, then the speaker might prefer to use version #4 with «are». That is, the speaker is notionally seeing the subject as being plural for subject-verb agreement, which would also support the formal concord of interpreting that subject as plural. And consistent with that interpretation, the speaker would probably also use a pair of determiners (two instances of «the») for that coordination of singular nouns «number» and «address».

Notice that the OP’s examples are using only one determiner («the») in the subject NP (similar to #3), not two determiners. That will help support the speaker’s notional concord of singular.

The above discussion was not laying out «rules», like those often taught in traditional grammars, but rather tendencies and preferences, sorta more like guidelines.

Notice that both #3 and #4 are in the form of copular clauses. Sentences in the form of copular clauses often accept singular verbs, even when that would seem to contradict formal concord. You’ll often see them use the template «X is Y», even when the subject is formally a plural NP.

When prototypical declarative clauses are used, the subject is read or heard first, and if the subject is interpreted by the reader or hearer to be plural, then they will usually expect to hear a plural verb (for the matrix verb). And accordingly, if the subject is interpreted to be singular, then a singular verb is expected. For example:

[That ten days we spent in Florida] was fantastic. — (CGEL page 354, [71.i])
[Those ten days we spent in Florida] were fantastic. — (CGEL page 354, [72.i])

In the first version, the singular subject is signaled to the reader by the use of the singular «That», and that supports the singular verb «was». And correspondingly, in the second version the plural subject is signaled to the reader by the use of the plural «Those», and that supports the plural verb «were».

But for a sentence that is a question which is in the form of a closed interrogative clause, like that of the OP’s examples, the verb happens to come first, and we’ll naturally use the number of the verb when we then parse the following NP, for we’ll be naturally assuming that the closest NP is the subject. If that NP doesn’t match in number, then that will often be jarring. The OP’s examples:

Is [the number] and address valid? — (okay, the verb and the closest NP match in number)
Are [the number] and address valid? — (awkward, the verb and the closest NP don’t match in number)

The OP’s version #1 with its singular «is» matches the number of its nearest NP, which is proximity concord in action, and that singular is consistent with the writer’s intended singular notional concord. (And also consistent with the singular interpretation is the use of only one determiner «the» in the subject NP.)

But the OP’s version #2 with its plural «are» will be jarring to many hearers due to the mismatch with the number of its closest NP. (In other words, version #2 violates proximity concord.)

Notice how there would be no problem for version #2 if the closest NP had been plural, for instance:

Are [the boys] and girls going to show up at the same time?

In that last example, all three concords (formal, notional, proximity) match in having a plural interpretation.

CONCLUSION: A speaker or writer constantly juggles the three main types of concord—formal, notional, proximity—as they construct their sentences, and when the three main types of concord align up with each other, together supporting the same number agreement, then the resulting sentences will usually sound okay. But when there is a mismatch, then sometimes that can cause an awkward sentence which might not be acceptable to many native English speakers.

Styles and registers will weight the different concords differently. For instance, there are some very formal registers that weight formal concord very heavily, at the expense of notional and proximity concord, which when combined with their adherence to a style guide that uses rules based on traditional grammar’s misunderstandings of how English grammar works (rules that cause an overuse of «whom», a rule for not splitting infinitives, a rule for not stranding prepositions, etc.), will often end up producing sentences that are unacceptable to many or most native English speakers when those sentences are spoken in an informal or neutral environment.

These three main concords are often in competition with each other, and grammatical discussions of that competition done in grammar usage books will usually use examples that are in the form of declarative clauses with prototypical subject-verb-complement order. In these types of examples, proximity concord will have a certain range of weight. But when the example sentence is in the form of a closed interrogative main clause, such as in the OP’s examples where the verb comes first before the subject NP, then it seems that proximity concord has even more of an influence on subject-verb agreement than it would have in a corresponding declarative clause version. And that mismatch with proximity concord is a big factor in making the OP’s 2nd version («are») sound so awkward.

NOTE: CGEL is the 2002 reference grammar by Huddleston and Pullum et al., The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language.

NOTE: MWCDEU is the 2002 Merriam-Webster’s Concise Dictionary of English Usage.

Источник

English grammar often follows logical patterns and rules, which makes it easier to teach and learn. However, there are times when English grammar isn’t logical, such as when the indefinite subject there is followed by a series of nouns. What’s the best way to present this tricky grammar point to our students?

Subject-Verb Agreement

In English, a plural subject takes a plural verb. We often use the conjunction and to create a plural subject.

Friends are important.
Mika and Juan are classmates.

Sentences that begin with the indefinite subject there are very common in English. They are used to describe a situation (often involving preposition of place and a location). When we use there as a subject, the verb must agree with the nouns that come after the verb.

There is a book on the table.
There are five books on the table.

But when there refers to a series of nouns using a conjunction like and or or, it seems like logic goes out the window. We know that X and Y means at least two, so why would there ever be a singular verb used in this case? It can be very surprising for students to learn that it is not only possible but also common to see a singular verb before more than one noun.

There is a cat and a dog on my bed.
There is a fork, a knife, and a spoon in front of me.

Let’s take a closer look at the not-so-logical rules for noun series with there.

Rule 1: There Is

When the first noun in the series is singular or non-count, use there is.

There is a book and a pen in my bag.
There is a computer, a whiteboard, and an overhead projector in the classroom.
There is a pillow, sheets, and two blankets on my bed.
There is cream and sugar on the table.
There is juice, milk, and soft drinks in the fridge.
There is a lot of dirt and pebbles on my son’s clothes.*

*(Dirt is non-count, so we use is even with the plural quantifier a lot of.)

Rule 2: There Are

When the first noun in the series is plural, use there are.

There are flowers and herbs in my mom’s garden.
There are cookies and a sandwich in my lunch bag.
There are three pens, a pencil, and two erasers in that desk drawer.
There are chips and popcorn at the party.
There are many types of music and food at this event.
There are a lot of pebbles and dirt on my son’s clothes.

Notes

1. Contractions

It is very common to shorten there is to there’s in informal speaking and writing. However, there’re is almost never used because it is awkward to say and write (and to me it’s wrong, though some people say it’s possible). I encourage my students to use there’s, but I teach them not to use there’re.

There’s a box and some packing tape in the storage room.
There’s a lot of money and help available for refugees in my city.

2. Articles

Even though there is and there are are describing a specific noun, they are almost always followed by a, not the (see this post for a few exceptions). Make sure students realize that the second noun in the sentence (that describes the location) will take the, as usual.

There is a bird and a squirrel in the tree.
There is a piano and two guitars on the stage.

Can we have there twice in a sentence? It’s definitely possible. The first there is an indefinite subject with no real meaning, while the second there is a location that’s usually a bit further away (i.e., the opposite of here).

There is a gas station and a grocery store over there.
You mean the parking lot behind the school? There is a car and three trucks there.

4. Tenses

Tell learners that this rule can be used in any tense (e.g., there was/were, there has been/have been, etc.). You should also point out that modal constructions only have one form, so students can’t go wrong here (e.g., there will be, there can be, there should be, etc.).

There was a business conference and a wedding going on at our hotel last night.
There were two canoes and a kayak out on the lake last weekend.
There will be a luncheon and an awards ceremony next Friday.
There will be refreshments and drinks at the meeting.

5. Euphony

When how something sounds to the ear trumps grammatical logic, it is known as euphony. Merriam-Webster defines euphony as “pleasing or sweet sound; especially: the acoustic effect produced by words so formed or combined as to please the ear.” Euphony helps explain the less-than-logical situation of there is + nouns in a series.

6. Controversy

Note that not everyone agrees on how to treat there with a series of nouns.

Some grammar books consider the rules mentioned in this post to be standard. For example, Collins Cobuild English Grammar states “You use a singular form of ‘be’ when you are giving a list of items and the first noun in the list is singular or uncountable.”
Other grammar books state that the above rules are only for informal English. They say that in formal English, you should always use a plural verb with a series of nouns, even if the first noun is singular. Consider Azar’s Understanding and Using English Grammar, which states: “Sometimes in informal English, a singular verb is used after there when the first of two subjects connected by and is singular. For example: Formal: There are a book and a pen on the desk. Informal: There is a book and a pen on the desk.”

There Is/There Are Grammar & Usage Resource
Subject-Verb Agreement
Articles 1
Articles 2
“There Is A” Vs. “There Is The”

Источник

UNIT 3. AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE NOUN AND THE VERB

Entry Test.

Choose the proper item.

1. The cattle on his farm _____ taken good care of.

1) was 2) are 3) is

2. The contents of the book _____ not much varied.

1) is 2) was 3) are

3. Ten dollars _____ not much to live on.

1) is 2) are 3) were

4. Cheese and crackers _____ a good snack after school.

1) are 2) is 3) were

5. Andy is one of those people who _____ me.

1) support 2) supports 3) has supported

6. Gymnastics _____ up most of my sister’s spare time.

1) take 2) takes 3) have taken

7. Three miles _____ the distance from here to the railway station.

1) is 2) are 3) were

8. A number of students _____ planning to go on a trip to Britain.

1) is 2) are 3) was

9. Her long hair _____ really charming.

1) looks 2) look 3) are looking

10. Most police _____ uniforms.

1) wear 2) is wearing 3) wears

11. Eating sweets _____ the level of sugar in your blood.

1) increase 2) are increased 3) increases

12. Each chair and table _____ freshly painted.

1) look 2) looks 3) are looking

13. Money _____ always bring happiness.

1) aren’t 2) doesn’t 3) don’t

14. The orchestra _____ know what to play.

1) isn’t 2) don’t 3) doesn’t

15. The number of students considering college _____ each year.

1) increase 2) increases 3) are increasing

1. Nouns that are Always Plural

Exercise 1.1. Study the rule, translate the words given as examples.

In English the verb usually agrees with the subject even if the verb is separated from its subject by the prepositional phrases, relative clauses, brackets or commas.

e.g. The petrol station across the road from the new shops has just cut its prices.

Some nouns are always plural, often because they are made up of two similar parts. This especially true of:

some clothes:

e.g. trousers, pajamas, tights, shorts, jeans, dungarees, overalls, gloves, etc.

some tools:

e.g. scissors, pliers, tweezers, tongs, glasses, scales, binoculars, pincers, shears, spectacles, braces, handcuffs, compasses, etc.

To refer to them as a single object, we usually use a pair of.

e.g. a pair of scissors, a pair of trousers

Here are some nouns that are always plural in English:

e.g. annals, antics, archives, authorities, belongings, brains, clothes, conditions, congratulations, contents, goods, greens, grounds, earnings, expenses, foundations, funds, lodgings, minutes, odds, outskirts, particulars, premises, proceeds, races, regards, refreshments, remains, resources, riches, sales, savings, sights, stairs, suburbs, supplies, surroundings, terms, thanks, troops, valuables, wages, wits, etc.

Practice Activities.

Exercise 1.2. Complete the following sentences with the appropriate verb or pronoun.

1. Where (be) the scissors? – _____ (be)__________ in the first drawer on the left.

2. How much (do)__________ a good pair of trousers cost these days?

3. How much did you pay for __________ trousers? – __________ (be)__________ very expensive.

4. If your clothes (be)__________ dirty, please put __________ in the laundry basket.

5. My jeans (have)___________ not faded much even though I keep washing __________.

6. I’m looking for the pliers. – You’ll find __________ on the shelf.

7. __________ scissors (do)__________ not cut very well.

8. My earnings (be)__________ not high, but at least __________ (be)__________ regular.

9. __________ shorts (do)__________ not fit me at all.

10. __________ goods (have)__________ arrived from China.

Exercise 1.3. Use the following nouns belongings, brains, congratulations, contents, expenses, goods, refreshments, resources, sights, terms to complete the sentences below.

1. If I spend a lot of money, can I claim __________?

2. Britain needs to export more __________.

3. There was a short break for __________.

4. I know he’s very clever, but __________ aren’t the only thing in life.

5. I’m so pleased you got into university! __________ on your success.

6. He carries all his __________ with him in an old suitcase.

7. We took some time off to walk round the town and see the __________.

8. He emptied the __________ of his pockets.

9. We do not have the __________ to deal with the problem.

10. These are our __________ for ending the strike.

Exercise 1.4. Some of the sentences contain mistakes. Underline the mistakes and then correct them.

1. Your reading glasses is by the bed.

2. Can you explain why my best trousers have a hole in them?

3. The scissors in the sewing box needs sharpening.

4. This pair of binoculars have been in the drawer for as long as I can remember.

5. Where has those kitchen scales gone?

6. Refreshments are available inside.

7. Be careful, this scissors are sharp.

8. My clothes are soaking wet, I need to change them.

9. This pair of pliers are broken.

10. Troops was sent to restore the order.

Exercise 1.5. Translate the words in brackets into English.

1. She spent several hours in the film (архив)___________.

2. He swallowed half the (содержимое)__________ of the glass in one gulp.

3. I didn’t relish the prospect of climbing another flight of (лестницы)__________.

4. The land was bought out of the (выручку)__________ of the sale of his paintings.

5. You must learn how to take the (протокол)__________.

6. Give my (привет)___________ to your daughter.

7. The object of the show was to stimulate the (продажу)___________ of his new novel.

8. Her only chance was to use her (ум)___________ to bluff and outsmart the enemy.

9. The scandal has shaken the Democratic Party to its (основания)__________.

10. They expressed their (благодарность)____________ to the organizers.

2. Nouns Ending in -s

Exercise 2.1. Study the rule, translate the words given as examples.

Some uncountable nouns that end in -s look like plural countable nouns but they are not, so we use a singular verb with them. They usually refer to:

subjects of study – mathematics, physics, linguistics, genetics;
activities – athletics, gymnastics, aerobics;
games – cards, darts, billiards, checkers, draughts, dominoes, bowls;
illnesses – measles, mumps, rabies.

The nouns: acoustics, economics, politics and statistics take a singular verb when they refer to the academic subject.

They take a plural verb when the reference is specific.

Compare: Politics is popular at this university. (academic discipline). – His politics are bordering on fascism. (political beliefs).

Statistics was always my worst subject. (academic discipline). – Statistics are able to prove anything you want them to. (numerical information).

Economics has only recently been recognized as a scientific study.(academic discipline). – The economics behind their politics are unreasonable.(financial system).

Acoustics is a subject I know little about. (academic discipline). – The acoustics of this room are very good. (particular reference).

Practice Activities.

Exercise 2.2. Complete the following sentences with the appropriate verb or pronoun.

1. Politics (be)__________ a dirty business.	13. The contents of the letter (have)___________ not been changed.
2. Your statistics (be)__________ unreliable.	14. The proceeds of the sale of goods (have)_________ been transfered to London.
3. (be)__________ there any statistics for road accidents?	15. His clothes (be)__________ wet as he had been caught in the rain.
4. My maths (be)__________ getting worse and worse.	16. The goods you ordered (have)__________ arrived.
5. Phonetics (be)__________ a branch of linguistics.	17. (be)__________ there any kennels in this area?
6. Mathematics (be)__________ a compulsory subject.	18. Many species of butterflies (have)___________ dissappeared.
7. There (be)__________ four crossroads in our village.	19. Our works (have)___________ a good canteen.
8. Genetics (be)__________ a subject I know little about.	20. There (be)___________ crossroads every mile.
9. There (be)_________ many series of books on birds.	21. The statistics in this report (be)__________ today a major tourist attraction.
10. This species (have)_________ green and white spots.	22. The flat is nice but the surroundings (be)__________ not very beautiful.
11. What a pity! Your trousers (be)__________ torn.	23. His manners were as mild as his politics (be)_____ extreme.
12. The authorities (have)__________ refused them their civic rights.	24. I believe congratulations (be)__________ in order!

Exercise 2.3. Choose the right variant.

1. Electric shears _____ used for sheep shearing

1) is 2) are 3) have 4) has

2. The annals of the British parliament _____ recorded in a publication called Hansard.

1) is 2) are 3) have 4) has

3. _____ flared trousers in fashion or out of fashion at the moment?

1) is 2) are 3) have 4) has

4. Authorities _____ the group of people with official responsibilities for a particular area.

1) is 2) are 3) have 4) has

5. The conditions of the contract _____ that we don’t build on the land.

1) is 2) are 3) have 4) has

6. This new-found means of fighting viruses _____ proved very successful.

1) is 2) are 3) have 4) has

7. The minutes of the last meeting _____ approved unanimously.

1) is 2) are 3) was 4) were

8. All your particulars _____ to be noted in this form.

1) is 2) are 3) have 4) has

9. When his old premises _____ demolished, he had to relocate his business.

1) have 2) has 3) was 4) were

10. A rare species of orchid _____ found in the rain forest not long ago.

1) is 2) are 3) was 4) were

11. Export sales _____ up by 12% last year.

1) is 2) are 3) was 4) were

12. Light refreshments _____ available in the hall.

1) are 2) is 3) was 4) have

13. She’s going on a trip to New York, all expenses _____ paid by her company.

1) are 2) have 3) has 4) is

14. The proceeds of last week’s festival _____ donated to several local charities.

1) was 2) were 3) have 4) has

15. Traditionally, United Nations troops _____ been deployed only in a peace-keeping role.

1) was 2) were 3) has 4) have

16. A new TV series called «The Hamilton Dynasty» _____ starting next autumn.

1) is 2) are 3) was 4) were

17. There _____ carp in the pond and we saw them.

1) was 2) were 3) is 4) are

18. A series of disasters _____ forced the company to close down.

1) was 2) were 3) have 4) has

19. Twenty-six known spacecraft _____ launched into deep space from 1960 to 1965.

1) was 2) were 3) have 4) has

20. There _____ a lot of sheep grazing in the fields.

1) is 2) are 3) was 4) has

Exercise 2.4. Some of the sentences contain mistakes. Underline the mistakes and then correct them.

1. Measles are in most cases a harmless illness.	9. His politics is right wing.
2. Physics is too difficult for me.	10. Darts are a popular game in the USA.
3. Statistics is a branch of economics.	11. The stairs are made of wood.
4. This species of moth is rare.	12. His belongings has been destroyed in the fire.
5. This crossroads are dangerous.	13. Mathematics form the basis of many other sciences.
6. That pair of pliers on the shelf are broken.	14. These statistics is misleading.
7. A new glass works has been built near the town.	15. Gymnasticts are fun to watch.
8. Our company’s headquarters are in London.	16. Statisctics are said to be difficult.

3. Collective Nouns

Exercise 3.1. Study the rule, translate the words given as examples.

Some nouns referring to groups are called collective nouns.

We can use singular or plural verbs with nouns like

association, army, audience, band, cast, class, club, college, committee, community, company, crew, crowd, department, electorate, family, firm, generation, gang, government, group, herd, jury, management, media, population, press, the public, staff, team, the youth of today, union and the names of specific organizations such as the United Nations, the Bank of England, the BBC, IBM, Sony, the European Union, etc.

e.g. The committee has/have decided to dismiss him.

We use a singular verb if we see the institution or organization as a whole unit, and a plural verb if we see it as a collection of individuals. Often you can use either a singular verb or a plural verb with very little difference in meaning, although in formal writing it is more common to use a singular verb.

e.g. The Vatican has/have issued a further statement this morning.

We use only plural verbs with nouns like

the cattle, the poultry, the military, the police, the clergy, the gentry, vermin.

Substantivized adjectives denoting people are used with the plural verb.

e.g. The middle-aged have a lot to offer their employers, if only they would see it.

Practice Activities

Exercise 3.2. Comment on the usage of the plural and singular verbs.

1. The orchestra are just tuning up – let’s hurry in.

2. A cricket team is made of eleven members, including its captain.

3. The staff do not like the new manager.

4. The club is fifty per cent more members than a year ago.

5. In England, a state school has to give time to religious education.

6. When the family were alone she often read to them before going to bed.

7. The public are requested not to leave litter in these woods.

8. That day the committee was meeting at her friend’s house.

9. A team of inspectors is visiting the prison tomorrow afternoon.

10. The family has agreed that the funeral should be held in Ireland.

Exercise 3.3. Complete the following sentences with the appropriate verb or pronoun. Give two variants of the verb where possible and explain the difference in meaning.

1. What will you do when the family (be)__________ on holiday?

2. The government (be)__________ bringing in a new bill.

3. The company (be)__________ going to employ six staff.

4. The jury (be)__________ trying to decide now.

5. The youth of today (have)__________ many advantages.

6. There (be)__________ vermin in this restaurant.

7. The military (have)__________ occupied the house.

8. The police (be)___________ interested in this case.

9. The public (be)__________ concerned about it.

10. The navy (be)__________ demanding more money to maintain the country’s fleet.

11. The management (be)___________ arguing about how to cut the company’s costs.

12. The jury (have)___________ decided that the man is innocent.

13. The team who won (be)___________ all amateur players.

14. The crew of the ship (be)__________ taking it in turns to go on shore.

15. The orchestra (be)__________ the most famous ever to play in this concert hall.

16. The BBC (be)___________ showing the programme later this year.

17. The crew of the film (be)__________ giving it their all.

18. The cast (perform)__________ brilliantly.

19. The staff (be)__________ working under great pressure.

20. The committee (be)__________ meeting now.

Exercise 3.4. Some of the sentences contain mistakes. Underline the mistakes and then correct them.

1. The island’s politics is complex, with over twelve political parties competing for power.

2. Economics has become an increasingly popular course at university.

3. The latest news of the earthquake survivors are very disturbing.

4. Jim’s politics has changed considerably since he was in his twenties.

5. Diabetes are an illness caused by too much sugar in the blood.

6. Recent government statistics show a sharp decline in crime.

7. Women’s gymnastics are no longer dominated by eastern Europeans.

8. Statistics are now compulsory for all the students taking a course in engineering.

9. Measles is still a fairly serious childhood disease in some countries.

10. The committee usually raise their hands to vote.

Exercise 3.5. Complete the following sentences with the appropriate verb or pronoun. In some sentences both singular and plural forms of the verb are possible.

1. Our class __________ planning a party.

2. She was wearing shorts which __________ too big for her.

3. His clothes __________ dirty but he is actually well off.

4. Conditions in the prison __________ very poor.

5. The foundations of the building __________ laid ten years ago.

6. The outskirts of the city __________ a very nice place to have a house.

7. The goods in the airport lounge __________ sold duty-free.

8. I bought a pair of jeans which __________ much cheaper.

9. The expenses for her trip __________ paid by the firm.

10. Refreshments __________ served in the interval.

11. Bring me the pliers that __________ on the table.

12. The scissors __________ in the drawer.

13. The City Council __________ the best it can with its limited resources.

14. The mass media nowadays, TV and the press, __________ enormous power.

15. The jury __________ weighed all the evidence and found the accused guilty.

16. Our troops __________ ready to attack the enemy.

17. The crowd __________ growing restless as the day got hotter.

18. Sony __________ announced rising profits for the third year running.

19. The police __________ issued a warrant for Adamson’s arrest.

20. When she was found, her face was bruised and her clothes __________ torn.

21. The public __________ a right to know how the money is to be spent.

22. Thomas was thought to be in Spain, though his exact whereabouts __________ unknown.

23. The stairs leading to the exit __________ steep and dangerous.

24. Lord Travers’ family __________ lived in the house for twelve generations.

25. The company’s earnings __________ increased for the last five years.

Exercise 3.6. Finish the following sentences so that they have a similar meaning to the first sentence.

Model: You can find the shears on the table. – The shears are on the table.

1. They drove the cattle into the barn. – The cattle _______________.

2. He found the police very helpful. – The police ________________.

3. Someone needs to clean the stairs. – The stairs ________________.

4. There is a disagreement among the staff about the new contract. – The staff _______________.

5. You have to evacuate the premises immediately if there is a fire. – The premises _______________.

6. We can see from the statistics that unemployment has increased. – The statistics _______________.

7. They are teaching Physics in Room 2A. – Physics _______________.

8. We give exam advice at the end of the course. – Exam advice _______________.

9. We need new members for our tennis club. – Our tennis club _______________.

10. One doesn’t need money to be happy. – Money _______________.

Miscellaneous Practice.

Exercise 1. Put in the correct form of the verb in brackets.

Statistics (be)__________ a branch of economics, but it is often said that there (be)__________ lies, damn lies and statistics. Recent statistics of British life (show) that the family (be)__________ happier than it used to be. The youth of today (be)__________ likely to live longer than the previous generation. People (own)__________ more things than they used to, but more police (be)__________ employed to fight crime. Mathematics (be)__________ a subject which is studied by boys more than girls, as (be)__________ physics. The earnings of working women (be)__________ getting higher all the time and many women earn more than their husbands. Good manners (be)__________ declining. The public (spend)__________ more on clothes, and clothes (be)__________ becoming more and more expensive. Glasses (be)__________ worn by more people, but only a minority (favour)__________ contact lenses. Statistics (make)__________ us want to grind our teeth and can probably tell us if we have any teeth to grind.

Exercise 2. Use the following nouns to complete the sentences below:

contents, draughts, earnings, expenses, goods, lodgings, proceeds, resources, suburbs, supplies, terms, bowls, belongings, goods, statistics

1. You’re lucky – travelling around the world, staying in nice hotels, all __________ paid.

2. The __________ of the sale of the house went to an animal-welfare charity.

3. I put a few personal __________ in a bag and left the house for the last time.

4. __________ show that, in general, women live longer than men.

5. We have to make the best use of the __________ we have.

6. Bill enjoyed living in the __________, and got on very well with his landlady.

7. There is a 25% discount on all electrical __________ until the end of the month.

8. __________ is a game played by two players.

9. I spend half my __________ on childcare.

10. Countries such as Japan and Korea put taxes on imported __________.

11. The customs officer opened my suitcase and examined its __________.

12. Most of the people in my office live in the __________.

13. President Bush refused to reveal the __________ of the peace agreement.

14. __________ is one of the most popular sports in Britain.

15. We are running of food and water – we’ll have to ask for more __________ to be sent.

Exercise 3. Complete the following sentences with the appropriate verb or pronoun.

1. The odds on our winning (be)__________ not very high.

2. Politics (be)__________ by no means the only area where women are doing better.

3. The company (have)__________ found the shelter from the rain in the village inn.

4. Monty’s family (be)__________ of about the same social status as my own

5. The police (be)__________ co-operating with the authorities in other countries which have a drugs problem.

6. The audience (be)__________ requested not to bring any refreshments into the auditorium.

7. He was a fluent talker when politics (be)__________ under the discussion.

8. The house was surrounded and the gang (be)__________ arrested.

9. The office is closed. The staff (be)__________ on strike.

10. The audience (be)__________ much bigger than at last night’s performance.

11. Despite numerous searches and enquiries, her whereabouts (be)__________ unknown.

12. I wonder whether the committee (be)__________ competent enough to consider the project

13. German measles (be)__________ a particularly dangerous illness for pregnant women.

14. Politics (be)__________ a topic best avoided with people you don’t know well.

15. The United Nations (be)__________ in disagreement on this issue.

16. Fifty years ago, the typical family (be)__________ a husband, a wife, and two or three children.

17. The ship sank but the crew (be)__________ safe.

18. A highly organized gang of criminals (have)__________ been operating in this area for years.

19. All medical staff (be)__________ tested for the virus.

20. My personal politics (be)__________ quite simple.

Exercise 4. Complete the following sentences with the appropriate verb or pronoun.

1. The public (be)_________ eager to know how __________ (be)__________ governed.

2. The company’s staff (be)_____ worried about losing __________ jobs.

3. The audience (be)__________ taking __________ seats in the theatre.

4. My family (be)_____ very angry with me, __________ (think)__________ I should go to university.

5. The average family (be) 3,5 members, _____ (be)_____ much smaller than in 1990.

6. Physics (be)__________ an interesting subject at school but I wasn’t very good at __________.

7. Cattle (be)__________ kept for __________ meat.

8. Athletics (be)__________ less popular before the Olympics made __________ fashionable.

9. The goods (be)__________ being packed now and _________ will be delivered first thing tomorrow.

10. The jury (have)__________ retired to consider __________ verdict.

11. His clothes (be)__________ usually filthy and I am sure he never washes __________.

12. The Government (be)__________ planning new taxes but __________ (do)__________ not know yet whether their own supporters will accept such a policy.

13. The French actress Sarah Bernhardt wore a pair of men’s trousers in 1876. She was brave enough to wear __________ in public. Trousers for women (be)__________ not acceptable at that time.

14. The Government (have)__________ been discussing the matter for a long time but __________ (have)__________ shown no sign of reaching agreement.

15. Classics (be)__________ what I wanted to study but my parents persuaded me that economics (be)__________ more useful so I did __________ instead.

5. Special Problems of Agreement (1)

Exercise 5.1. Study the rule.

The following expressions

a number of, a couple of, a dozen of, a group of, the (a) majority, the (a) minority, a lot of, the rest of, most of, half of + plural noun/pronoun usually have plural verbs:

e.g. The majority of the people disagree with the new decision of the government.

There are a couple of children outside. A number of us are worried about it.

Some expressions have singular verbs:

names of quantities expressing measurement of time, money, distance, weight, temperature;

e.g. About three meters separates the runners in first and second places. Ten pounds is too much to pay.

plural names of countries;

e.g. The United States is a country with a high level of inflation.

compound nouns joined by ‘and’, denoting one dish;

e.g. Fish and chips costs $3.

more than one + singular noun;

e.g. There is more than one child in the family.

one of + plural noun;

e.g. One of your children has lost a shoe.

the number of + plural noun;

e.g. The number of violent crimes has gone up dramatically.

After per cent (percent or %); vulgar fractions (two thirds, three fourths, etc) + uncountable noun we use a singular verb. In phrases after per cent (percent or %); vulgar fractions (two thirds, three fourths, etc) + plural noun/ pronoun we use a plural verb.

e.g. Around 10% of the forest is destroyed each year.

Only 20% of people interviewed admit smoking.

After there is/ there are the first noun normally determines whether the verb is singular or plural.

e.g. There is one potato and two onions in the recipe.

There are two onions and one potato in the recipe.

Titles of books, films, etc. take a singular verb, even if they are plural nouns.

e.g. Moments of Danger is about an American president who disappears for an hour.

In arithmetic calculations any number may be used, but the singular is preferable.

e.g. Ten divided by five equal(s) two.

Practice Activities.

Exercise 5.2. Complete the sentences with either is/are, was/were or has/have. In some sentences both variants are possible.

1. A number of shoppers (have)__________ complained about the price increases.

2. The majority of primary school teachers (be)__________ women.

3. The number of pupils in school with reading difficulties (have)__________ fallen this year.

4. Meat pie and peas (be)__________ Tom’s favourite meal at the moment.

5. Some 80% of the people (be)__________ expected to vote.

6. Three multiplied by five (be)__________ fifteen.

7. Almost three fourths of the apples (have)__________ been picked.

8. A small number of children (be)__________ educated at home.

9. A number of refugees (have)__________ been turned back at the border.

10. The book Two Lives (be)__________ about an affair between an MP and his secretary.

11. The United States (be)__________ smaller than Canada.

12. Fish and chips (be)__________ one of the most common English dishes.

13. Twenty-four hours (be)__________ a long time in politics.

14. The majority of the employees (have)__________ university degrees.

15. Most of the books (be)__________ chosen from the latest catalogue.

16. Almost three fourths of the land (be)__________ cultivated.

17. Two kilos (be)__________ pretty small for a newborn child.

18. The police (think)__________ that more than one person (be) in the stolen car.

19. A lot of the residents (have)__________ already left the island, the rest (be)__________ preparing for the typhoon.

20. A number of people (have)__________ complained about the noise.

21. More than one house in the street (have)__________ been broken in recently.

Exercise 5.3. Some of the sentences contain mistakes. Underline the mistakes and then correct them.

1. The painting was sold for $20.000 in 1925, which was a lot of money in those days.

2. A large number of women works in the clothing industry.

3. A group of teenagers in the town has organised a scheme to help old people with their shopping.

4. Do you think three pounds are a big enough tip?

5. Hamburgers and chips are not a very healthy lunch.

6. The majority of the union members have voted to go on strike, the rest of the members are expected to support the strike.

7. Our teenage son thinks there is a number of good reasons for staying up late.

8. A couple of dangerous-looking men are waiting for you.

9. One of my friends have just won three free plane tickets to New York.

10. Six weeks is a long time to wait for news of your family.

11. The majority of children’s parents are unemployed.

12. A lot of shops are close on Sundays now.

13. In connection with the theft, the outskirts have been searched.

14. The police is called if a serious accident occurs.

15. All the office staff has agreed to work late tonight to get the job finished.

6. Special Problems of Agreement (2)

Exercise 6.1. Study the rule.

When there are two subjects in a sentence, one of which is negative and the other is positive, the verb agrees with the positive subject.

e.g. A good band, not fancy decorations, makes a promenade a success.

When a parenthetical expression beginning with a word (words) such as along with, accompanied by, as well as, in addition, including, like, together with, except, apart from interrupts a subject and a verb, the verb agrees with the subject, not with a word in the parenthetical expression.

e.g. The actress accompanied by her manager is going to the party. The boys as well as their uncle are going to the barbecue.

We usually use a plural verb with compound subjects linked by and or both … and.

e.g. The stapler and the glue are in the top drawer.

Both the doctor and the surgeon have advised to have an operation on my knee.

Plural or singular verbs are used with any of, each of, either of, neither of, none of + plural noun/pronoun.

e.g. Either the cafes or the cinemas is/ are a good place to meet.

When a subject is made of two or more items joined by either (neither) … or (nor)… we use a singular verb if the last item is singular, and a plural verb if it is plural.

e.g. Neither the President nor his representatives are to attend the meeting.

But if the last item is singular and the previous item is plural, a singular or a plural verb can be used.

e.g. Either the teachers or the principal is/ are to blame for the accident.

If every or each comes before a compound subject, that is joined by and, each subject is considered separately. As a result, the verb must be singular.

e.g. Every athlete and coach attends the banquet at the end of the school year. Each chair and table looks freshly painted.

If an attributive clause is preceded by the expression one of in the main clause, then the verb in the clause is plural.

e.g. Patience is one of the requirements that make a good leader.

Practice Activities.

Exercise 6.2. Complete the sentences with either is/are, was/were or has/have. In some sentences both variants are possible.

1. Both those magazines and that book (be)__________ left in a study hall.

2. Soapstone was one of the rocks that (be)__________ highly prized by the Indians.

3. Either Tom or his friends (be)__________ going to clean the car.

4. Neither of the French athletes (have)__________ won this year.

5. Mum and Dad (be)__________ hoping that you’d join them this evening.

6. The horror writer Stephen King, together with the romance novelist Danielle Steel, (be)__________ the most popular of the authors.

7. The parents, not their child, (be)__________ to blame.

8. Six people including a policeman (be)__________ killed in the riot.

9. Nobody except my uncle and aunt (be)__________ willing to help me.

10. Every door and window in the cottage (be)__________ bolted.

11. Everyone, including the musicians, (have)__________ lined up for the final curtain call.

12. None of my friends (be)__________ invited to John’s birthday party.

13. Approximately four cents (be)_________ paid for each acre of land in the region a century ago.

14. Both taxes and unemployment (have)__________ increased since Mr. Brown became President.

15. The library, along with bookstores, (provide)__________ reading materials.

Exercise 6.3. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets.

1. Tom and Rosie were late, but the rest of us (be)__________ in time.	14.Mumps (be)__________ contagious.
2. A number of problems (have)__________ arisen.	15. The odds on our winning (be not)__________ very high.
3. (Be)__________ bacon and eggs what you usually eat for breakfast?	16. One of our students (be)__________ missing.
4. A couple of our club members (have)__________ been chosen for the national team.	17. The goods (be)__________ already on the way.
5. J. Green, as well as M. Binchy (rank)__________ first in author popularity.	18. Average earnings (be)__________ rising sharply.
6. The United States (be)__________ a rich country.	19. The majority of the people who live around here (be)__________ over 60.
7. All the staff here (be)__________ very experienced and most (have)__________ been with us for over ten years.	20. Each child in the Browns family, as well as other members, (be)_________ given a Christmas present.
8. Only two thirds of the stolen valuables (have)__________ been found.	21. There (be)__________ a number of reasons why I believe that the family (be)__________ still as important as ever.
9. Neither the brakes, nor the starter (have)_________ been fixed properly.	22. The pills, as well as the ointment, (have)_________ proved to be absolutely safe.
10. Physics (be)__________ my least favourite subject.	23. Manchester United (have)__________ been beaten by Oxford more than once.
11. Your bathroom scales (be)__________ not very accurate.	24. Fifty percent of the tomato crop (have)__________ been ruined by the rain.
12. $2.000 (be)__________ far too expensive for that stereo.	25. Many cattle (be)__________ suffering from a disease called BSE.
13. Binoculars (be)__________ needed to see that far.

7. Special Problems of Agreement (3)

Exercise 7.1. Study the rule.

Some nouns that are always singular in Russian are used in the plural in English:

e.g. arms – оружие, ashes – пепел, etc.

Some nouns that are always plural in Russian are used in singular in English:

e.g. clock – часы, cream – сливки, etc.

Practice Activities.

Exercise 7.2. Translate the nouns into Russian and give their substituting pronouns.

Advice, applause, arms, ashes, auspices, belongings, blues, clock, cream, clothes, contents, customs, dregs, eaves, election, evidence, field-glasses, foliage, foundations, fruit, funeral, gate, goods, grapes, greens, hair, information, ink, knowledge, lodgings, machinery, money, moustache, news, oats, outskirts, proceeds, progress, quarters, regards, research, riches, sledge, slums, stairs, suds, sweepings, thanks, twilight, wages, watch, yeast.

Exercise 7.3. Translate the words in brackets into English.

1. We’ve got the (товар)__________, and we know how to put (его)__________ across.

2. Mary was still gazing at the (часы)__________. She couldn’t make up her mind whether (они)__________ was fast or slow.

3. A milky (сумерки)__________ crept about the stairway and the landing below.

4. He approached the (ворота)__________, and then turned at (них)__________ to look back.

5. Tom felt for his (часы)__________ and was about to draw (их)__________, when he changed his mind.

6. I seldom ask other people’s (советы)__________ and never take (их)__________.

7. Some women tint their (волосы)__________ when (они)__________ goes grey.

8. If the (похороны)__________ is detestable to you, you don’t have to go to (них)__________.

9. I would like some (виноград)__________ for dessert. Will you buy (его)__________?

10. He decided to save some (деньги)__________ and put (их)__________ in the bank.

11. The (сведения)__________ is top secret, everybody is interested in (них)__________.

12. His (пижама)__________ were stuffed untidily beneath the pillow so he couldn’t find (её)__________.

13. Dad went indoors and brought out her (имущество)__________ and placed (его)__________ as she directed.

14. There was very (мало улик)__________ against the two men, we can’t base the case on (них)__________.

15. Net (доход)__________ for 2010 were $15 million, (он)__________ will be used to fund further growth.

Exercise 7.4. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets.

1. Money (be)__________ the fruit of all evil as often as the root of it.	16. Most of the things you told me (be not)__________ true.
2. He stayed in cheap lodgings that (be)__________ situated not far from the university.	17. The vast majority of children (prefer)__________ watching TV to reading.
3. Once she got an offer, but the wages (be)_________ only fourteen shillings a week.	18. Ethics (be)__________ a difficult study.
4. The ashes (be)__________ still hot.	19. Five litres of petrol (be)__________ not enough, we need twice as much.
5. Where (be)__________ that five dollars I lent you?	20. One of my friends (be)__________ getting married.
6. The knowledge that I acquired on the training course (have)__________ been extremely useful.	21. Politics (have)__________ always interested me.
7. News from the scene of disaster (be not)_________ very hopeful.	22. The crew of the ship (consist)__________ of twenty seamen including the captain and his mate.
8. Your jeans (be)__________ torn. Is it fashionable?	23. His staff (be)__________ very small. I don’t know how he manages to do any business at all.
9. Fruit (be)__________ cheap this year.	24. Her hair (be)__________ loose and falling, and she wore a nurse’s dress.
10. Twenty miles (be)__________ a long way to go.	25. Last year over $10 million (be)__________ paid to the company.
11. Six shillings a week (be)__________ just enough to live from hand to mouth.	26. ‘Little Women’ (be)__________ written by L.M. Alcott.
12. He can’t leave the country until the police (return)__________ his passport.	27. As the police (be)__________ no longer able to keep order during the last strike, the military (be)__________ asked to help them.
13. Don’t you see that the shoes you are buying (be not)__________ a pair?	28. ‘Christina’s World’ is one of the paintings that (have)__________ been selected for Andrew Wyeth’s exhibition.
14. Most food, as well as tropical fruits, (be)_________ often flown to northern cities by jet.	29. All the remains of the food, as well as the broken plate, (be)__________ thrown away.
15. An increasing number of small banks (be)___________ facing crisis because of unpaid debts.	30. More than one person (be)__________ going to have to find a new job.

Miscellaneous Practice.

Exercise 1. Open the brackets choosing the correct form of the verb which agrees with the subject noun.

1. Look, the police (have)__________ finally arrived.

2. Linguistics (be)__________ a subject taught at our university.

3. Acoustics (have)__________ developed in modern times.

4. Mumps (be)__________ an ailment of children.

5. I’m sorry, but the news (be)__________ very bad.

6. Six or seven o’clock (be)__________ a good time to start the day.

7. In her pocket there (be)__________ thirty-five cents, all she had in the world.

8. A dozen similar letters (be)__________ sent to Martin by the editors of various magazines.

9. The archives of our town (be)__________ kept in the Town Hall.

10. Splendid cattle (be)__________ bought by Mr. Smith last week.

11. Mumps (be)__________ an infectious disease.

12. Manchester United (be)__________ one of the best teams in Great Britain.

13. Checkers (be)__________ my favourite game.

14. My family (be)__________ moving to Australia.

15. The audience (be)__________ delighted with the performance.

16. The government (be)__________ planning a new defense system.

17. Twenty dollars (be)__________ not much for a pair of trousers like that.

18. The crowd (be)__________ calling for the government’s resignation.

19. When (be)__________ the army going to attack?

20. Cattle (be)__________ driven hundreds of miles by the cowboys.

21. Three hours (be)__________ long enough to look round the museum.

22. The board (be)__________ going to consider your application at the next sitting.

23. The clergy (be)__________ responsible for the spiritual welfare of the parish.

24. The public (be)__________ unaware of the problem.

25. The team (be)__________ all wearing an identical strip.

26. The crew (be) __________all experienced sailors.

27. The jury (be)__________ spending a long time over the verdict.

28. The committee (be)__________ responsible for fund-raising.

29. Billiards (be)__________ a popular game in Great Britain.

30. Your means of getting money (be not)__________ fair.

31. The first Polish annals (be)__________ written in Latin.

32. Mathematics (be)__________ a very useful subject to study.

33. These cattle (be)__________ on the way to the market.

34. Vermin (be)__________ harmful animals or insects.

35. When I’m ill, my hair (become)__________ greasy.

Exercise 2. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Оркестр гордится своим успехом.

2. Содержимое ящика было выброшено.

3. Публике не разрешают входить в комнату, где идет заседание суда.

4. Персонал этого магазина очень дружелюбен.

5. Все местное духовенство присутствовало на церемонии.

6. Почти каждая семья в деревне имеет телевизор.

7. Прессе не разрешили присутствовать на процессе.

8. Правительство приветствует новое предложение премьер-министра.

9. Вся наша семья собирается прийти на 80-летний юбилей нашей бабушки.

10. Жюри собирается объявить имена победителей.

11. Каковы ваши политические взгляды?

12. Популярен ли бильярд в Беларуси?

13. Достаточна ли хорошая акустика у этого зала для проведения концерта классической музыки?

14. Аэробика приобрела большую популярность в последнее время.

15. Эта одежда хорошо защищает вас от холода.

Revision.

Exercise 1. State whether these statements are right or wrong, provide your answers with examples.

1. When we talk about amounts and quantities we usually use singular verbs and pronouns.

2. Only singular verbs are possible after plural number subjects in spoken calculations.

3. Plural verbs are normally used in many singular quantifying expressions with plural nouns and pronouns.

4. After expressions like one of the …plural verbs are used in relative clauses beginning with who, which or that.

5. In English a verb agrees only with the subject of a sentence, not with a following complement.

Exercise 2. Explain the use of singular and plural verbs in the following sentences.

1. The team (be)__________ going to lose.

2. The family (have)__________ decided to move to York.

3. The average family (have)__________ 3.6 members.

4. My firm (be)__________ founded in the 18^th century.

5. The committee, who (be)__________ hoping to announce important changes, (be)__________ voting now.

6. The committee, which (be)__________ elected at the annual meeting, (have)__________ decided to raise membership fees for next season.

7. A team which (be)__________ full of enthusiasm (have)__________ a better chance of winning.

8. The government (have)________ promised to cut taxes.

Exercise 3. Translate the words in brackets from Russian into English.

1. A research project has been set up under the (покровительство)__________ of the University of Michigan.

2. It will be interesting to see what happens at the next (выборы)__________.

3. I plan a holiday as a way to beat the (тоска)__________.

4. He sends his best (привет)__________ to everybody at home.

5. Staff will hold (серию)__________ of meetings over the next few weeks.

6. He doesn’t have the skills or (знания)__________ needed to do the job.

7. Jimmy, entering through the open gates, stared at the motorcar, a sign of real (богатство)__________.

8. Isn’t it surprising that the world’s largest and richest cities contain the world’s most extensive (трущобы)__________?

9. You can remove (чернила)__________ by scrubbing lightly with a nail brush, using warm water and soap (пену)__________.

10. Joe got up and left without a word of (благодарности)__________.

11. There was very (малоулик)__________ against the two men.

12. Dad went indoors and brought out her (имущество)__________ and placed (его)__________ as she directed.

13. Has everyone seen the (протокол)__________ of last month’s meeting?

14. He thinks of art as (средство)__________ of expressing his pessimistic attitude to life.

15. The customs official rummaged through the (содержимое)__________ of his briefcase.

Exercise 4. Some of the sentences contain mistakes. Underline the mistakes and then correct them.

1. A new TV series called «The Hamilton Dynasty» are starting next autumn.

2. The first prize that she got was a year’s supply of baby food.

3. She looked exhausted as she managed to get only a few hour’s sleep a night.

4. There comes a time in everyone life when a big decision has to be taken.

5. The majority of students finds it quite hard to live on the amount of money they get.

6. One of the things that really makes me angry are people who don’t answer letters.

7. Half of the students attending the six-months course are from abroad.

8. If card users are not able to make their payment on time, it’s often the credit company fault.

9. It’s so irritating how she always tries to finish peoples’ sentences for them.

10. The president, together with the first lady and their daughters, is going to Europe next week.

11. I don’t think that his opinion would be the main criteria for the project.

12. Statistics show that far more people are able to ride a bicycle than can drive a car

13. The aquarium has some interesting specimen of unusual tropical fish.

14. After they examined the contents of our bags, we were requested to proceed to the passport control’s counter.

15. A large number of farmers are incapable of heavy work, and has given up their farms.

Exercise 5. Translate the following sentences into English.

1. Экипаж был готов выполнить приказ командира.

2. Она считает, что современная одежда – модная и удобная.

3. Статистика показывает, что 30% новых фирм разоряется в первый год.

4. Количество машин на наших дорогах увеличивается с каждым годом.

5. Вся семья сидела за столом, ожидая моего прихода.

6. Циркуль – инструмент для рисования кругов.

7. Весы используются для взвешивания продуктов.

8. Можно воспользоваться вашими ножницами? Мои недостаточно острые.

9. Некоторые из этих людей – мои друзья, остальные – мои коллеги.

10. 10 дней – не слишком длинный отпуск.

11. Парочка моих друзей собирается открыть новый хозяйственный магазин.

12. В корзинке несколько рыб – две щуки и три карпа.

13. У меня хорошая новость – дети отправляются в двухнедельное путешествие.

14. Количество исчезающих видов животных постоянно растет.

15. Фрукты очень полезны, в них много витаминов.

16. Мне кажется, я нашел средство сократить свои расходы.

17. Мне приходится запоминать много математических формул.

18. Тропические рыбки – маленькие и ярко окрашенные.

19. Очки снова сползли у него с носа.

20. Полиция расследует исчезновение м-ра Джонса.

Exercise 6. Choose the right variant.

1. To put things right will be _____ work.

1) whole week’s 2) a whole week’s 3) a whole weeks’

2. She was wearing a black _____ with a fur collar.

1) coat of feather 2) feather’s coat 3) feather coat

3. Elizabeth is _____ youngest daughter.

1) old Mr’s Granger 2) old Mr Granger’s 3) old Mr Granger

4. Do you remember how long Snow White stayed at the _____ house?

1) seven dwarfs’ 2) seven dwarf’s 3) seven dwarve’s

5. Would you eat _____ meal, if you were hungry?

1) somebody’s else 2) somebody’s else’s 3) somebody else’s

6. Don’t forget to put the _____ address at the top.

1) other person’s 2) other’s person 3) other person

7. The judge sentenced him to _____ imprisonment for this crime.

1) five year’s 2) five-years 3) five years’

8. Every year in October they hold _____ opera festival.

1) a two weeks’ 2) a two-week 3) two week’s

9. We launched the new _____ magazine in April and it was a great success.

1) woman’s 2) womens’ 3) women’s

10. The teachers were pleased with the _____ agreement to help fund the new playground.

1) parents’ 2) parent’s 3) parents’s

11. His company has been awarded a contract to repair all the _____ engines.

1) bus’s 2) bus 3) buses’

12. The villa we are borrowing belongs to my _____ parents.

1) sister’-in-law 2) sister-in-law’s 3) sister’s-in-law’s

13. I adore _____ music especially the early staff.

1) Lennon and McCartney’s 2) Lennon’s and McCartney’s 3) Lennon and McCartney

14. Could you give me _____ worth of those bananas, please?

1) a three dollar’ 2) three dollars’ 3) three dollar’s

15. This term the class will be reading _____.

1) the short stories’ collection of Graham Green 2) Graham Green’s short stories’ collection 3) Graham Green’s collection of short stories

16. Inspector Walkers achieved fame with _____.

1) the famous killer’s arrest 2) the arrest of the famous killer 3) the famous killer arrest

17. She saw a fantastic article in _____ local paper.

1) the today’s 2) today’s 3) the today

18. My friend can’t talk, he uses _____ to show what he means.

1) sign’s language 2) language of sign 3) sign language

19. There is a beautiful old house for sale at the local _____.

1) estate’s agent 2) estate agent’s 3) estate agent

20. The gunman in _____ attack has been identified as Lee Giggs, an unemployed truck driver.

1) Wednesday 2) Wednesday’s 3) Wednesdays’

Exercise 7. Translate the following word combinations from Russian into English.

1. трехколесный велосипед	14. двустороннее движение
2. десятиэтажный дом	15. пятизвездочный отель
3. пятидесятилетний юбилей	16. двухгодичное плавание
4. семилетний ребенок	17. трехпроцентный налог
5. четырехмесячное плавание	18. недельный отпуск
6. трехступенчатая ракета	19. реформы Петра Первого
7. двухуровневое образование	20. десятилетний ребенок
8. двухдневная поездка	21. десятилетний юбилей
9. стометровое расстояние	22. десятилетний период
10. доклад на тридцати страницах	23. вчерашние цены
11. девятичасовой поезд	24. девятиэтажный дом
12. четырехкомнатная квартира	25. пятичасовые новости
13. двухместная машина

Источник

Sometimes we use a plural noun for one thing that has two parts. For example:
trousers (two legs) also jeans/tights/shorts/pants
pyjamas (top and bottom)
glasses (or spectacles)
binoculars
scissors

These words are plural, so they take a plural verb:
* My trousers are too long. (not ‘is too long’)

You can also use a pair of + these words:
* Those are nice jeans. or That’s a nice pair of jeans. (not ‘a nice jeans’)
* I need some new glasses. or I need a new pair of glasses.

Some nouns end in -ics but are not usually plural. For example: athletics gymnastics mathematics (or maths) physics electronics economics politics
* Gymnastics is my favourite sport. News is not plural:
* What time is the news on television? (not ‘are the news’)

Some words ending in -s can be singular or plural. For example:
means a means of transport many means of transport
series a television series two television series
species a species of bird 200 species of bird

Some singular nouns are often used with a plural verb. For example:
government staff team family audience committee company firm

These nouns are all groups of people. We often think of them as a number of people (= ‘they’), not as one thing (= ‘it’). So we often use a plural verb:
* The government (= they) want to increase taxes.
* The staff at the school (= they) are not happy with their new working conditions.

In the same way, we often use a plural verb after the name of a sports team or a company:
* Scotland are playing France next week (in a football match).
* Shell have increased the price of petrol.

A singular verb (The government wants…/Shell has… etc.) is also possible.
We always use a plural verb with police:
* The police have arrested a friend of mine. (not ‘The police has’)
* Do you think the police are well-paid?
Note that a person in the police is ‘a policeman/a policewoman/a police officer’ (not ‘a police’).

We do not often use the plural of person (‘persons’). We normally use people (a plural word):
* He’s a nice person. but They are nice people.
* Many people don’t have enough to eat. (not ‘doesn’t have’)

We think of a sum of money, a period of time, a distance etc. as one thing. So we use a singular verb:
* Twenty thousand pounds (= it) was stolen in the robbery. (not ‘were stolen’)
* Three years (= it) is a long time to be without a job. (not ‘Three years are …’)
* Six miles is a long way to walk every day.

EXERCISES
78.1 Complete the sentences using a word from Sections A or B. Sometimes you need a or some.
1. My eyes aren’t very good. I need _glasses._
2. This plant is _a_ very rare _species._
3. Footballers don’t wear trousers when they play. They wear —.
4. The bicycle is — of transport.
5. The bicycle and the car are — of transport.
6. I want to cut this piece of material. I need —.
7. Ann is going to write — of articles for her local newspaper.
8. There are a lot of American TV — shown on British television.
9. While we were out walking, we saw 25 different — of bird.

78.2 In each example the words on the left are connected with an activity (for example, a sport or an academic subject). Write the name of the activity. Each time the beginning of the word is given.
1. calculate algebra equation: mathematics.
2. government election minister: p—
3. finance trade industry: e—
4. running lumping throwing: a—
5. light heat gravity: ph—
6. exercises somersault parallel bars: gy—
7. computer silicon chip video games: el—

78.3 Choose the correct form of the verb, singular or plural. In one sentence either the singular or plural verb is possible.
1. Gymnastics _is/are_ my favourite sport. (‘is’ is correct)
2. The trousers you bought for me _doesn’t/don’t_ fit me.
3. The police _want/wants_ to interview two men about the robbery last week.
4. Physics _was/were_ my best subject at school.
5. Can I borrow your scissors? Mine _isn’t/aren’t_ sharp enough.
6. Fortunately the news _wasn’t/weren’t_ as bad as we expected.
7. Where _does/do_ your family live?
8. Three days _isn’t/aren’t_ long enough for a good holiday.
9. I can’t find my binoculars. Do you know where _it is/they are?_
10. Do you think the people _is/are_ happy with the government?
11. _Does/Do_ the police know how the accident happened?
12. I don’t like very hot weather. Thirty degrees _is/are_ too warm for me.

78.4 Most of these sentences are wrong. Correct them where necessary; Put ‘RIGHT’ if the sentence is already correct.
1. The government want to increase taxes. _RIGHT (wants’ is also correct)_
2. Susan was wearing a black jeans.
3. Brazil are playing Italy in a football match next Wednesday.
4. I like Martin and Jill. They’re very nice persons.
5. I need more money than that. Ten pounds are not enough.
6. I’m going to buy a new pyjama.
7. The committee haven’t made a decision yet.
8. Many people has given up smoking.
9. There was a police standing at the corner of the street.
10. Has the police arrived yet?
11. This scissors is not very sharp.

78.1

3 shorts

4 a means

5 means

6 some scissors or a pair of scissors

7 a series

8 series

9 species

78.2

2 politics 3 economics

4 athletics 5 physics

6 gymnastics 7 electronics

78.3

2 don’t 3 want

4 was 5 aren’t

6 wasn’t 7 does or do

8 isn’t 9 they are

10 are 11 Do 12 is

78.4

2. wearing black jeans

3 right (is playing is also correct)

4 nice people

5 Ten pounds is not enough.

6 some new pyjamas or a new pair of pyjamas

7 right (hasn’t is also correct)

8 Many people have

9 a policeman/a policewoman/a polce officer

10 Have the police

11 These scissors aren’t

Источник

ENGLISH
GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

70. Countable and Uncountable 2

Many nouns can be used as countable or uncountable nouns, usually with a difference in meaning.

Compare:

Countable

Uncountable

·
Did you hear a
noise just now? (=a specific noise)

·
I bought a
paper to read. (=a newspaper)

·
There’s a hair in my soup! (=one single hair)

·
You can stay with us. There’s a spare room. (=a room in a
house)

·
I had some interesting experiences while I was travelling. (=things that happened
to me)

·
Enjoy your trip. Have a good time!

·
I can’t work here. There’s too much noise. (=noise in general)

·
I need some paper
to write on. (=material for writing on)

·
You’ve got very long hair. (not hairs) (=all the hair on your head)

·
You can’t sit here. There isn’t room. (=space)

·
They offered me the job because I had a lot of experience. (not
experiences)

·
I can’t wait. I don’t have time.

Coffee/tea/juice/beer etc. (drinks)
are normally uncountable:

·
I don’t like coffee
very much.

But you can say a coffee(= a cup of coffee), two coffees (=two cups) etc. :

·
Two coffees and an orange juice, please.

The following nouns are usually
uncountable:

accommodation	behaviour	damage	luck	permission	traffic
advice	bread	furniture	luggage	progress	weather
baggage	chaos	information	news	scenery	work

You cannot use a/an with these nouns:

·
I’m going to buy some bread.
Or              … a
loaf of bread. (not a
bread)

·
Enjoy your holiday! I hope you have good weather. (not ~~a good weather~~)

These nouns are not usually plural (so we do not say ‘breads’,
‘furnitures’ etc.):

·
Where are you going to put all your furniture? (not ~~furnitures~~)

·
Let me know if you need more information. (not
~~informations~~)

News is uncountable, not plural:

·
The news was very
depressing. (not ~~The news were~~)

Travel (noun) means ~travelling in general’
(uncountable). We do not say ‘a travel’ to mean a trip or a
journey:

·
They spend a lot of money on travel.

·
We had a very good trip/journey. (not
~~a good travel~~)

Compare these countable and uncountable
nouns:

Countable

Uncountable

·
I’m looking for a job.

·
What a
beautiful view!

·
it’s a
nice day today.

·
We had a lot of bags and cases.

·
These chairs are mine.

·
That’s a
good suggestion.

·
I’m looking for work. (not a
work)

·
What beautiful scenery!

·
It’s nice weather
today.

·
We had a lot of baggage/luggage.

·
This furniture
is mine.

·
That’s good advice.

EXERCISES

70.1

Which of the underlined parts of these
sentences is correct?

1	‘Did you hear ~~noise~~ /a noise just now?’ ‘No, I didn’t hear anything.’ (a noise is correct)
2	a. If you want to know the news, you can read paper /a paper. b. I want to print some documents, but the printer is out of paper /papers.
3	a. Light /A light comes from the sun. b. I thought there was somebody in the house because there was light /a light on inside.
4	a. I was in a hurry this morning. I didn’t have time /a time for breakfast. b. ‘Did you have a good holiday?’ ‘Yes, we had wonderful time /a wonderful time.’
5	This is nice room /a nice room. Did you decorate it yourself?
6	Sue was very helpful. She gave us some very useful advice /advices.
7	Did you have nice weather /a nice weather when you were away?
8	We were very unfortunate. We had bad luck /a bad luck.
9	Is it difficult to find a work /job at the moment?
10	Our travel /journey from Paris to Moscow by train was very tiring.
11	When the fire alarm rang, there was total chaos /a total chaos.
12	I had to buy a bread /some bread because I wanted to make some sandwiches.
13	Bad news don’t /doesn’t make people happy.
14	Your hair is /Your hairs are too long. You should have it I them cut.
15	The damage /The damages caused by the storm will cost a lot to repair.

70.2

Complete the sentences using the
following words. Use the plural (-s) where necessary.

advice	chair	experience	experience	furniture	hair
information	job	~~luggage~~	permission	progress	work

1	I didn’t have much ____ luggage____ just two small bags.
2	They’ll tell you all you want to know. They’ll give you plenty of ___________
3	There is room for everybody to sit down. There are plenty of ___________
4	We have no ___________, not even a bed or a table.
5	‘What does Alan look like?’ ‘He’s got a long beard and very short ___________
6	Carla’s English is better than it was. She’s made ___________
7	Mike is unemployed. He can’t get a ___________
8	Mike is unemployed. He can’t get ___________
9	If you want to leave early, you have to ask for ___________
10	I didn’t know what to do. So I asked Chris for ___________
11	I don’t think Dan should get the job. He doesn’t have enough ___________
12	Nicola has done many interesting things. She could write a book about her ___________

70.3

What do you say in these situations?
Use a word from Section B (luggage,
weather etc.) in each sentence.

1	Your friends have just arrived at the station. You can’t see any cases or bags. You ask them: ____ Do you have any luggage________?
2	You go into the tourist office. You want to know about places to see in the town. You say: I’d like ______________________________________.
3	You are a student. You want your teacher to advise you about which courses to do. You say: Can you give me ______________________________________?
4	You want to watch the news on TV, but you don’t know when it is on. You ask your friend: What time ______________________________________?
5	You are at the top of a mountain. You can see a very long way. It’s beautiful. You say: It ______________________________________, isn’t it?
6	You look out of the window. The weather is horrible: cold, wet and windy. You say: What ______________________________________!

ANSWER
KEY

Источник

Are the words each, every, and any singular or plural? Which verb form should we use with them in the present simple? What about the word some? Never confuse these subjects and their verbs again! Everyone needs (or is it “need”?) to check this grammar lesson out. Don’t forget to check your understanding with the quiz.

Quiz

Test your understanding of this English lesson

Test your understanding of the English lesson by answering these questions. You will get the answers and your score at the end of the quiz.

In what cases are. when to put the verb to be in English

How to master English grammar

Verb forms «is» / «are»: use in speech

to be (in the present)

Verb to be: rule (am, is, are) in English, forms, conjugation, tables — SPEAK ENGLISH

Present tense forms of the verb to be

Verb conjugations tobe in present time

Verb conjugations tobe in the past and future tense

Conjugation / declension of the English verb to be (convenient conjugation table)

Examples of using «to be»:

The use of am is are a rule table, in English

Some theory

Negative particle not

Negatives and questions with the verb to be — lesson 9 — english from scratch

Negative sentences

General questions

Special Issues

Where? [weə] — where, where

Who? [hu:] — who

What? [wɒt] — what, what

How? [həu] — how, how

Why? [wai] — why

When? [wen] — when

Are in English when given. The verb to be in English: meaning, types, rules of use

Three-headed dragon To be

Translation problems

When do they say am and is, and when do they say are?

This rebellious verb to be How to make him a child? Interesting and useful exercises for children

Few rules

Exercises

English grammar for beginners, part 1

Personal pronouns in English

Plural in English

Is or are is put. The verbs am, is, are and how to use them in English

To be exercises: exercises with answers to the verb am is are (to be in the Present simple)

Exercise 2. Form a question with the verbs am, is, are

Exercise 3. Fill in the blanks using to be in the required form

Exercise 4. Form negative sentences with am, is, are

Exercise 5. Write the correct form of the verb to be in the Present simple

Exercise 6. Choose the correct option to be from the proposed

Exercise 7. Expand the parentheses by writing the verb to be in correct conjugation

Exercise 8. Insert the missing words am, is, are, I’m, you’re, he’s, she’s, it’s, they’re, am I, are you, is he, is she, is it, are we, are they

Exercise 9. Make negative sentences out of affirmative

Exercise 10: Complete sentences using I’m, you’re, he’s, she’s, it’s, we’re, they’re, I’m not, you’re not, he’s not, she’s not, it’s not, they ‘ re not

Exercise 11. Form the abbreviated form of the pronoun with the verb to be in the present simple tense

Exercise 12. End the dialogue using only the verb to be in the correct conjugation and, if necessary, pronouns

Exercise 13. Arrange the words in the correct order by adding the verbs am / is / are

Exercise 14. Make sentences from words plus the verb to be in the correct form

Exercise 15. Translate sentences with the verb to be in the simple present tense into English

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 4

Exercise 8

Exercise 9

Exercise 10

Exercise 11

Exercise 12

Exercise 13

Exercise 14

Exercise 15

Verbs to be and to do in English: features of use

Strong and weak verb

Auxiliary

Am is are. The verb to be in English: meaning, types, rules of use

Is vs. Are with collective nouns

Is vs. Are with uncountable nouns

Is round. Are with phrases a Number of / a Pair of / a Group of

When is the verb to be in English? When to put «are» and when «is»

LONG VERSION:

Subject-Verb Agreement

Rule 1: There Is

Rule 2: There Are

Notes

1. Contractions

2. Articles

4. Tenses

5. Euphony

6. Controversy

Related

Test your understanding of this English lesson