Why?
The news is encouraging
News is an uncountable noun.
Measles are highly contagious.
Measles is the name of an illness.
The news are spreading quickly across the country.
The news is spreading quickly across the country.
My family is noisy.
My family are noisy.
Unit vs individuals.
Choose the correct sentence:
A. The majority of my friends thinks social media is harmful.
B. The majority of my friends think social media is harmful.
Answer B
The majority of + plural noun usually takes a plural verb.
Fifty kilometres is too far to walk.
Quantity viewed as one amount.
The United Arab Emirates are wealthy.
Incorrect.
Countries ending in -s are treated as singular.
Fifty kilometres are too far to walk in one day.
Fifty kilometres is too far to walk in one day.
A number of students have failed the exam.
The number of students failing the exam has increased.
A number of = several → plural verb (have failed)
The number of = the figure/statistic → singular verb (has increased)
Choose the correct sentence:
A. More than one student have complained about the new timetable.
B. More than one student has complained about the new timetable.
Answer B
More than one takes a singular verb.
Every student has their own locker.
Every + singular noun = singular verb.
The data is inconclusive
Correct.
Data is traditionally plural, but can be treated as an uncountable singular noun.
A number of students has complained about the exam.
A number of students have complained about the exam.
All of the cake has been eaten.
All of the cakes have been eaten.
Cake = uncountable → singular verb
Cakes = countable plural → plural verb
Choose the correct sentence:
A. One in three adults say they are stressed at work.
B. One in three adults says they are stressed at work.
Answer B
One in three is treated as a singular proportion.
The criteria are clearly stated.
Criteria is a plural Greek form.
The police has made an arrest.
Incorrect.
Police always treated as a plural noun.
The police has arrested three suspects.
The police have arrested three suspects.
One in five students is absent today.
Five students are absent today.
One in five is treated as a singular proportion/statistic.
Five students refers directly to five individuals.
Choose the correct sentence:
A. Neither the manager nor the employees are willing to work overtime.
B. Neither the manager nor the employees is willing to work overtime.
Answer A
With neither...nor, the verb usually agrees with the noun closest to it (employees).
The government is debating.
The government are debating.
Collective noun can be singular (unit) or plural (members).
The media have become more influential.
Correct.
Media is a plural word and can take either singular or plural verbs.
The criteria for admission is clearly explained on the website.
The criteria for admission are clearly explained on the website.
The police are searching the area.
The army is searching the area.
Police is always plural.
Army is a collective noun usually treated as singular when acting as one unit.
Find ALL the mistakes:
The police is investigating after a number of witnesses has reported seeing suspicious activity. The news are spreading rapidly, and more than one journalist have already arrived at the scene.
The police are investigating after a number of witnesses have reported seeing suspicious activity. The news is spreading rapidly, and more than one journalist has already arrived at the scene
Mistakes: 4