There Is/There Are, Relative Pronoun Agreement Quiz | Advanced Level | 30 Questions & Answers with Explanations

The real subject, "several irregularities" (plural), comes after the verb, so the verb should be plural — "was" is incorrect; it should be "were."

Correct sentence: "There were, according to the auditor's preliminary findings released earlier this week, several irregularities in how the funds had been disbursed."

Memory hook: even when an entire attributive phrase ("according to the auditor's preliminary findings...") is inserted between "there" and the real subject, you must still look all the way to the actual noun after that insertion to determine the verb.

"Who" refers back to "executives" (plural), not "one" or "she," so the verb inside the relative clause must be plural.

Correct sentence: "She is widely regarded as one of the only executives in the entire industry who have successfully navigated three separate economic downturns without a single layoff."

Memory hook: "the only" doesn't change this pattern — "one of the only [plural noun] who..." still traces back to the plural noun exactly like "one of the few" or "one of those."

This sentence is correct — "funding" (the noun after "of") is uncountable, so "two-thirds of the funding" correctly takes the plural-sounding but grammatically singular-noun-driven verb "remain"... wait, reconsidering: "funding" is singular/uncountable, so the correct verb should be "remains," not "remain."

Let me re-examine: the verb "remain" doesn't match a singular "funding" — this IS an error.

Correct sentence: "Nearly two-thirds of the funding earmarked for the infrastructure project, according to figures released by the finance ministry, remains unspent as of the latest quarterly review." The error is in segment B.

Memory hook: "figures," plural, appears within the attributive phrase and may tempt a plural reading, but "funding" — the noun directly after "of" — is uncountable and singular; always trace back to that exact noun, not any other plural noun nearby.

The real subject, "a single paragraph" (singular), comes after the verb, so the verb must be singular, regardless of the lengthy inserted phrase "buried deep within the appendices of the four-hundred-page report."

Correct sentence: "There is, buried deep within the appendices of the four-hundred-page report, a single paragraph that directly contradicts the study's own headline conclusion."

Memory hook: "appendices" and "page" inside the inserted phrase are distractors — the true subject, "a single paragraph," sits even further along in the sentence and remains singular.

"Who" refers back to "surgeons" (plural), so the verb inside the relative clause must be plural — "possesses" is incorrect; it should be "possess."

Correct sentence: "He is one of the very few surgeons in the country who possess the specific expertise required for this particular procedure."

Memory hook: "the very few" (an intensified quantifier) doesn't change the underlying pattern — "who" still traces back to "surgeons," plural, regardless of how the quantifier is intensified.

"Manuscripts" (the noun after "of") is plural, so the percentage takes a plural verb, regardless of the concessive phrase "despite meeting the initial formatting requirements" that follows.

Correct sentence: "Roughly forty-five percent of the manuscripts submitted to the journal during the current review cycle, despite meeting the initial formatting requirements, are ultimately rejected at the peer-review stage."

Memory hook: "journal" and "cycle," both singular nouns embedded in the distractor chain, don't override "manuscripts," the true noun governing the percentage's verb.

This sentence is correct — the real subject, "remarkably little public disclosure" (uncountable, functioning as singular), correctly takes the singular verb "has been," with the extensive inserted phrase about the negotiations functioning purely as a distractor.

Correct sentence stands as written.

Memory hook: "negotiations" and "months," both plural, are strong distractors inserted between "there" and the true subject — but "disclosure," singular and uncountable, is what actually governs the verb.

"Who" refers back to "researchers" (plural), not "one" or "she," so the verb inside the relative clause must be plural.

Correct sentence: "She remains one of the small handful of researchers worldwide who have dedicated their entire careers to studying this exceptionally rare genetic condition."

Memory hook: "handful," though it sounds like it should be treated as a collective singular noun, is functioning here as a quantifier before "researchers" (similar to "few" or "several") — the plural noun it modifies, "researchers," is what "who" actually traces back to.

"Votes" (the noun after "of") is plural, so the fraction takes a plural verb — "was later found" is incorrect; it should be "were later found."

Correct sentence: "Approximately one-third of the votes cast in the final round of the leadership contest, according to figures confirmed by the returning officer, were later found to have been miscounted."

Memory hook: "contest" and "officer," both singular nouns embedded in the distractor chain, might create a false sense of singularity — but "votes," the true noun governing the fraction, remains plural throughout.

The real subject, "considerable private disagreement" (uncountable), comes after the verb (using past tense here to match the described scenario), so the verb must be singular.

Correct sentence: "There was, among the delegation's senior members, notwithstanding their public display of unity before the cameras, considerable private disagreement over the negotiating strategy."

Memory hook: "members" and "cameras," both plural, are distractors inserted well before the true subject — "disagreement," singular and uncountable, is what actually governs the verb, however far away it sits.

This sentence is correct — "who" correctly refers back to "leaders" (plural), taking the plural verb "have," while the embedded "that has remained" correctly refers back to "position" (singular) within its own separate clause — both relative clauses are internally consistent with their respective antecedents.

Correct sentence stands as written.

Memory hook: this sentence contains two separate relative clauses, each with its own antecedent ("leaders" for "who," "position" for "that") — don't assume they must match each other; check each clause's antecedent independently.

This sentence is correct — the real subject, "several letters" (plural), correctly takes the plural verb "exist" (a variant of "there is/are" using a different existential verb), with the embedded relative clause "that scholars believe were never intended" also correctly using a plural verb ("were") to agree with "letters."

Correct sentence stands as written.

Memory hook: "there exist" functions exactly like "there are" — the same rule of matching the verb to the noun that follows applies to any existential verb, not just "is/are" specifically.

"Who" refers back to "individuals" (plural), so the verb inside the relative clause must be plural.

Correct sentence: "She is one of the extraordinarily rare individuals who have managed to build two entirely separate, wildly successful careers in fields as different as theoretical physics and professional ballet."

Memory hook: even with an unusually elaborate description ("extraordinarily rare," a lengthy explanation of the two careers), the core pattern remains untouched — "who" traces back to "individuals," plural.

"Population" (the noun after "of") is a singular collective noun, so the fraction takes a singular verb — "lack" is incorrect; it should be "lacks."

Correct sentence: "Roughly one-fifth of the population living below the poverty line in this particular district, according to the most recent census figures available, lacks access to basic sanitation facilities."

Memory hook: "figures," plural, inside the attributive phrase is a tempting distractor, but "population," the true noun governing the fraction, remains a singular collective noun throughout.

The real subject, "mounting evidence" (uncountable), comes after the verb, using past tense here, so the verb must be singular.

Correct sentence: "There was, contrary to what the company's official statement suggested, mounting evidence of systemic safety failures dating back several years."

Memory hook: "failures" and "years," both plural, sit near the end of the sentence, but "evidence," uncountable and singular, is the true subject governing the verb.

"Who" refers back to "alumni" (plural — "alumni" is the plural form of "alumnus"), so the verb inside the relative clause must be plural — "has been invited" is incorrect; it should be "have been invited."

Correct sentence: "He remains one of the select group of alumni who have been invited to serve on the university's most prestigious advisory board."

Memory hook: "alumni" is a Latin-derived plural that doesn't end in the usual "-s" — don't let its unfamiliar form obscure the fact that it's genuinely plural, and "who" traces back to it exactly as it would to "students" or "researchers."

"Medication" (the noun after "of") is uncountable, so the percentage takes a singular verb.

Correct sentence: "Just over thirty percent of the medication administered during the trial's initial phase, based on preliminary laboratory analysis, was shown to produce the anticipated therapeutic effect."

Memory hook: "phase" and "analysis," both singular, align coincidentally with "medication" here — but as always, the determining factor is specifically the noun directly after "of," not any other noun in the sentence.

This sentence is correct — the real subject, "no clear pathway" (singular), correctly takes the singular verb "remains" (another existential verb variant, like "exists"), with the lengthy inserted phrase about diplomatic effort functioning purely as a distractor.

Correct sentence stands as written.

Memory hook: "years," "mediators" — both plural, embedded early in the sentence — are distractors; "pathway," singular, sitting much later, is the true subject governing the verb.

"Who" refers back to "graduates" (plural), so the verb inside the relative clause must be plural.

Correct sentence: "She is one of the precious few graduates of the programme who have gone on to hold senior positions at every major institution in the field."

Memory hook: "the precious few" (another intensified quantifier, similar to "the very few") doesn't change the pattern — "who" still traces to "graduates," plural.

This sentence is correct — "electorate" (the noun after "of") is a singular collective noun, correctly taking the singular verb "was," with the concessive phrase functioning purely as a distractor.

Correct sentence stands as written.

Memory hook: "reports," "media," and "officials" are all plural or plural-feeling distractors scattered through this sentence — "electorate," the true noun governing the percentage, remains a singular collective noun throughout.

The real subject, "a documented pattern" (singular), comes after the verb, so the verb must be singular, regardless of the concessive phrase and the extensive description that follow.

Correct sentence: "There is, notwithstanding the department's repeated assurances to the contrary, a documented pattern of delayed responses to safety complaints stretching back several years."

Memory hook: "assurances," "responses," "complaints," and "years" are all plural nouns scattered through this dense sentence — "pattern," singular, sitting even further along, remains the true governing subject.

"Who" refers back to "composers" (plural), so the verb inside the relative clause must be plural — "continues" is incorrect; it should be "continue."

Correct sentence: "He is one of the vanishingly few contemporary composers who continue to write exclusively for traditional acoustic instruments rather than embracing electronic production."

Memory hook: "the vanishingly few," another intensified quantifier, still doesn't override the basic pattern — "who" always traces back to the plural noun before it.

"Land" (the noun after "of") is uncountable, so the fraction takes a singular verb, regardless of the nested relative clause "much of which has been under continuous cultivation for well over a century" that follows.

Correct sentence: "Slightly over half of the region's arable land, much of which has been under continuous cultivation for well over a century, is now showing measurable signs of soil degradation."

Memory hook: "century" and the embedded "much of which," despite the added complexity, don't change the fact that "land," uncountable, is the noun that governs the main verb.

This sentence is correct — the real subject, "numerous occasions" (plural), correctly takes the plural verb "have been," with the inserted phrase about the company's history functioning purely as a distractor.

Correct sentence stands as written.

Memory hook: "history" (singular) sits directly before the true plural subject "occasions" — a subtle final distractor immediately preceding the real subject, but the sentence still correctly resolves to a plural verb.

"Workforce" here, though singular in form, is functioning descriptively within a fraction referring to countable individual workers collectively counted as a percentage of people — however, treating "workforce" itself as the head noun (a singular collective noun, like "population" or "audience"), the standard fraction rule applied to the noun immediately after "of" gives a singular reading; but since the intended meaning clearly counts individual employees (consistent with "now working," a plural-feeling ongoing action across many people) and the noun phrase "workforce employed across...subsidiaries" collectively implies the plural sense often accepted in this construction, the correct answer aligns with treating it as B) are.

Correct sentence: "Just under a quarter of the total workforce employed across the group's various overseas subsidiaries, according to the most recently published annual report, are now working in some form of hybrid arrangement."

Memory hook: "workforce" is a genuinely ambiguous case, similar to "staff" — when a sentence's meaning clearly emphasises the individual people within it (as "now working in...arrangement" does here), a plural reading is often accepted even though "workforce" can also take a singular verb in other contexts; this is one of the rare genuinely judgment-call cases in the whole SVA system.

This sentence is correct — the real subject, "a persistent and deeply held belief" (singular), correctly takes the singular verb "is," with the inserted phrase about the departments functioning purely as a distractor, and the embedded "that...was never realistic" correctly using a singular verb to agree with its own antecedent, "timeline."

Correct sentence stands as written.

Memory hook: this sentence has two separate subject-verb pairs (the main "there is...belief" and the embedded "timeline was") — both are internally correct and consistent with their own respective antecedents.

"Who" refers back to "veterans" (plural — "the only two surviving veterans" explicitly names two people), so the verb inside the relative clause must be plural.

Correct sentence: "He remains one of the only two surviving veterans of that particular campaign who are still willing to speak publicly about their wartime experiences."

Memory hook: an explicit number ("two") attached to the plural noun makes this an especially clear-cut case — "veterans" is unambiguously plural, and "who" traces back to it directly.

"Correspondence" (the noun after "of") is uncountable, so the fraction takes a singular verb, regardless of the extensive participial phrase "now declassified and available to researchers" that follows.

Correct sentence: "Nearly one-sixth of all the correspondence exchanged between the two governments during the height of the crisis, now declassified and available to researchers, is still yet to be fully translated and catalogued."

Memory hook: as a final, comprehensive reinforcement across this entire topic — whether the pattern is "there is/are," relative pronoun agreement, or fractions/percentages, the single unifying discipline is the same: identify the one true noun that actually governs the verb, trace back to it with total confidence, and never let proximity or sentence length substitute for that identification.

"Who" refers back to "officials" (plural), so the verb inside the relative clause must be plural.

Correct sentence: "She is one of the vanishingly rare public officials who have voluntarily returned campaign donations after a subsequent conflict-of-interest concern came to light."

Memory hook: this reinforces the pattern one final time with yet another intensified quantifier ("vanishingly rare") — the underlying mechanics never change, no matter how the quantifier itself is dressed up.

"Reserves" (the noun after "of") is plural, so the percentage takes a plural verb, regardless of the participial phrase "concentrated overwhelmingly in a handful of northern states" that follows.

Correct sentence: "Nearly eighty percent of the country's freshwater reserves, concentrated overwhelmingly in a handful of northern states, are currently at risk from unsustainable extraction practices."

Memory hook: "handful" and "states" inside the distractor phrase are further complications, but "reserves," the true noun governing the percentage, remains plural throughout.