1. Read the sentence, find its subject 2. Find the verb. Is the verb singular of plural? 3.

Finish the rule The book on the table is mine. ---> Countable nouns in the singular take singular verbs. The books on the table are mine. ---> Countable nouns in the plural take plural verbs.

1. 2.

Example sentence(s) The water is very cold today. What time is the news on television? Gymnastics is my favourite sport. Where are my glasses? The police have arrested him. The scissors are very sharp. The people in the room are all my friends.

Subject Uncountable nouns Nouns that are always plural (glasses, scissors,
trousers, congratulations, earnings, looks, outskirts, people, police, stairs, wages)

Verb: singular or plural? take verbs

take verbs

3. 4. 5.

This pair of jeans looks really nice. Thats a nice pair of jeans. Six miles is a long way to walk every day. Three years is a long time to be without a job. Nobody knows his secret. Everybody has come to class today. Is there anything I can do to help? There is nothing impossible. Some of the water is gone. Some of those books are mine.

A pair of A sum of money, a period of time, a distance Everybody, somebody, anybody, nobody, everything, something, anything, nothing, everyone, someone, anyone, no one Some of + uncountable noun Some of + countable noun in the plural A and B A, as well as B; A, along with B, Each The number of A number of

takes a verb take a verb

take a verb

6. 7. 8. 9.

takes a verb takes a verb takes a verb take verbs takes a verb takes a verb takes a verb

The mayor and his brothers are going to jail. The mayor, as well as his brothers, is going to jail. The mayor, along with his brothers, is going to jail. 10. Each of the students is responsible for doing his or her work in the library. 11. The number of people we need to hire is thirteen. 12. A number of people have discussed this subject.

In a sentence with there, here check the noun that comes later in the sentence: There are two reasons for this. There is no reason for this. Here are two apples, take them. Here is an apple, take it.

Practice I: choose the correct verb form 1. The world (change, changes) so rapidly that we can hardly keep up. 2. People (is, are) often ten or twenty years behind the times in their knowledge of the world. 3. People who (live, lives) in poverty often do not even have television or newspapers. 4. He (doesnt, dont) want to be killed. 5. Life (is, are) very complicated 6. Traditionally, college students (has, have) been very active in politics. 7. There (is, are) both men and women at the meeting. 8. The students in my class (has, have) very poor work habits. 9. Each of you (has, have) an equal chance to make good grades. 10. All of the children (is, are) hunting Easter eggs in the garden. 11. A notebook and a pen (is, are) lying on the desk in the library. 12. My son, along with two friends, (is, are) coming for the weekend. 13. Everybody (hate, hates) to take tests. 14. Knowledge gained after long study (disappear, disappears) rapidly from our minds. 15. The news about Afghanistan (is, are) shocking, isnt it? 16. A number of workers in that company (feel, feels) they do not get paid enough. 17. The number of people taking the chemistry exam (is, are) increasing. 18. (Is, Are) fifty years a long time? Practice II: insert the correct form of the Present Simple 1. The price of these jeans _______ (to be) reasonable. 2. The books borrowed from the library ______ (to be) on my desk. 3. Everyone ___________ (need) to be loved. 4. Collecting matchboxes ___ (to be) one of his favourite pastimes. 5. The quality of the candies _____ (to be) poor. 6. No news ______ (to be) good news. 7. Some researchers _______________ (to suggest) that Vitamin C may help prevent cancer. Practice III: insert the correct form of the Present Continuous 1. The poor boy _______________ (to suffer). 2. The poor ________________ (to suffer). 3. The use of vitamin supplements ________________ (to become) increasingly popular among Americans. 4. John, as well as his younger brothers, __________________ (to study) at that school. 5. The mayor and his brothers ___________ (to go) to jail. 6.The police __________________ (to investigate) the crime.

Check: 9 of these sentences contain mistakes. Find them and correct them. 1. We cannot start the lesson, because not everybody are here. 2. All the people on the planet has the right to live in a safe environment. 3. Some of the milk has gone bad. 4. Each of the champions are going to get a sum of money from the government. 5. The teacher, along with his two colleagues, are going to a conference next month. 6. Economics are not a suitable area of study for everyone. 7. Is there any unsafe places I should avoid in the city? 8. A number of students in our class does not like group work. 9. This pair of scissors are mine. 10. Mathematics are a very interesting subject.

Practice IV: insert the correct verb form (Present Simple or Continuous) 1. The piano as well as the pipe organ ____________ (to have) to be tuned for the big concert. 2. The politician together with his two colleagues ____________ (to be tried) for accepting bribes. 3. There ____________ (to be) a list of committee members on the head-table. 4. Everybody in the class ____________ (to do) their homework every day. 5. The jury ____________ (to take) their seats in the courtroom. 6. Neither the teacher nor the students ____________ (to seem) to understand this assignment. 7. Hartford is one of those cities that ____________ (to work, now) hard to reclaim a riverfront. 8. At the moment, a few of the students ____________ (to do) so well they can probably skip the next course. 9. One of my instructors ____________ (to write) a letter of recommendation for me. 10. Dr. Ferndon is one of those professors who ___________ (to seem) distracted most of the time. 11. Neither Luis nor his parents ___________ (to be) the least bit interested in keeping in touch with her. 12. Everybody on this team ___________ (to try) really hard to please the new coach. 13. Because there ___________ (to be) so many students in that class, I can sometimes sleep in the back row. 14. There ___________ (to be) no reasons for this horrible development that I can see. 15. Carlos and his brother Raoul ___________ (to travel) across the country next summer. 16. There ____________ (to be) several reasons why you should reconsider your decision. 17. The chairman, along with his two assistants, ____________ (to plan) to attend the annual convention. 18. The issues of inflation and tax reform ____________ (to continue) to be on everyone's mind. 19. When there ____________ (to be) thunderstorms approaching, we are always reminded of the threat of tornadoes.