Subject-Verb Agreement Quiz | Intermediate Level | 20 Questions & Answers with Explanations

"Milk" is an uncountable noun, so even with the fraction "half of" in front of it, the verb remains singular, following the rule that the verb matches the noun after "of."

Memory hook: uncountable nouns like milk stay singular no matter what fraction precedes them — half of the milk was spilt.

"Several" is inherently a plural quantifier, so it always pairs with a plural verb, similar to "both," "few," and "many."

Memory hook: several, few, many, both — all signal a plural verb — several members were absent.

The phrase "each and every" doubles down on singularity, so it always requires a singular verb — "has submitted" — no matter how many students are being described in total.

Memory hook: "each and every" is emphatically singular — each and every student has submitted, never have submitted.

"The number of" refers to the count itself — a single figure or statistic — so it takes a singular verb, unlike "a number of," which means "many" and takes a plural verb.

Memory hook: "the number" is one number, so keep it singular — the number of accidents is increasing.

"Each" always takes a singular verb, even when it connects two nouns with "and," because "each" treats every item individually rather than as a combined group.

Memory hook: "each" and "every" override "and" — each boy and girl is expected, not are expected.

With "neither...nor," the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it, and here "employees" (plural) sits closer to the verb than "manager" (singular).

This proximity rule is one of the most frequently tested SVA patterns.

Memory hook: the verb always listens to the nearer subject — neither the manager nor the employees were informed.

"A number of" means "many" or "several," carrying a plural meaning, so it takes a plural verb — "were."

This contrasts with "the number of," which refers to a count and takes a singular verb instead.

Memory hook: test it by substituting "many" — "many students were absent" confirms the plural verb is correct.

The subject here is "one" (singular), and "of the students" is simply a prepositional phrase that doesn't change the subject's number.

Crossing out "of the students" leaves "one was absent," which is clearly correct.

Memory hook: "one of the [plural noun]" always keeps "one" as the true singular subject.

When both subjects joined by "or" are singular — "Rahul" and "Priya" — the verb must also be singular, so "is" is correct.

This differs from "either...or" cases where one subject is plural, in which the nearer subject would govern instead.

Memory hook: two singulars joined by "or" stay singular — either Rahul or Priya is the monitor.

"As well as" is a parenthetical phrase, not a joining word like "and," so the verb agrees only with the subject that comes before it — "the captain" (singular).

"His players" is simply additional information tucked into the middle.

Memory hook: mentally bracket the "as well as" phrase — the captain [as well as his players] was present.

The relative clause "who won three gold medals" is extra information about "the boy" and doesn't change the subject, which remains "boy" (singular).

So the main verb "is" must agree with "boy," not with anything inside the relative clause.

Memory hook: relative clauses are detours — the real subject sits before them — the boy...is my cousin.

In Indian competitive exams, "none" is treated as "not one," making it singular, so it takes the singular verb "was."

This is the standard exam convention even though "none" can sometimes be used with a plural verb informally.

Memory hook: none = not one, so keep it singular in exams — none of the candidates was selected.

The real subject after "there" is "several complaints" (plural), so the verb must be plural — "were," not "was."

Students often default to "was" out of habit without checking what actually follows "there."

Memory hook: always check the noun after "there" before choosing the verb — there were several complaints.

With fractions and percentages, the verb agrees with the noun that follows "of" — here, "work," which is uncountable and singular, so "is" is correct.

If the noun after "of" were plural, the verb would be plural instead.

Memory hook: look past the fraction to the noun after "of" — work is singular, so two-thirds of the work is complete.

Since the noun after "of" is "students" (plural), the verb must also be plural — "have passed" — following the same fraction/percentage rule used with singular nouns like "work."

Memory hook: the noun right after "of" decides the verb — students is plural, so fifty percent of the students have passed.

Titles of books, films, and similar single entities are treated as one unit regardless of how plural they sound, so "Three Idiots," despite the word "idiots," takes the singular verb "is."

Memory hook: a title is one thing, not many — Three Idiots is a brilliant film, just like "The United States has its policy."

"Bread and butter" here refers to a single combined food item, not two separate things, which is why it takes a singular verb despite being joined by "and."

Fixed pairs like "law and order" and "slow and steady" behave the same way.

Memory hook: some "and" pairs are really one idea — bread and butter is his only food, like law and order is maintained.

Written as two words, "every one" (meaning "each individual one") is still singular, just like the one-word "everyone," so it takes the singular verb "has been."

"Of the candidates" is simply a prepositional distractor.

Memory hook: whether written as one word or two, "every one/everyone" stays singular — every one of the candidates has been shortlisted.

The relative pronoun "who" refers back to "players" (plural), not to "she" or "one," so the verb inside the relative clause must be plural — "perform."

Most students mistakenly make "she" the anchor for this verb, which is exactly the trap the exam sets.

Memory hook: trace "who" back to its true antecedent — players, not she — so the verb stays plural.

Here the order is reversed from a typical example — "manager" (singular) sits closer to the verb than "employees" (plural), so the verb agrees with "manager," making "was" correct.

Examiners often flip the subject order specifically to test whether you're checking proximity or just memorising a fixed pattern.

Memory hook: always check which subject is nearest the verb, since the order can change — neither the employees nor the manager was informed.