Subject-verb agreement and tenses questions, with answers

The questions, with answers

1. 1How do you find the subject when it comes after the verb?

   In short: In sentences that begin with 'there' or 'here', and in questions, the subject follows the verb, so find the noun after it and make the verb agree with that.

   The usual order is subject then verb, and agreement errors are easiest to make when that order changes. In a sentence beginning with 'there' or 'here', neither word is the subject; the noun after the verb is: 'There are two errors in this code', 'Here comes the bus'. In questions, the subject sits after the auxiliary: 'Where are the results of the test?' has 'results' as its subject. A single gerund or a that-clause used as a subject is singular: 'Reading long reports is tiring', 'That the plan failed is clear'. Turn the sentence into normal order, subject first, and then check the agreement.

2. 2Which verb follows two subjects joined by 'and', 'or' or 'nor'?

   In short: Subjects joined by 'and' are plural; with 'or', 'either … or' and 'neither … nor', the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it.

   Two subjects joined by 'and' make a plural subject: 'The designer and the tester are travelling'. The exception is two words naming one thing or person: 'Bread and butter is his usual breakfast', or 'The secretary and treasurer has resigned' when one person holds both posts. With 'or', 'either … or', 'neither … nor' and 'not only … but also', the verb agrees with the nearer subject: 'Either the students or the teacher has the key', but 'Either the teacher or the students have the key'. When one subject is singular and the other plural, placing the plural one second reads more naturally, because the plural verb then sits beside it.

3. 3Do words like 'everyone', 'nobody' and 'one of' take a singular verb?

   In short: Yes: 'everyone', 'everybody', 'someone', 'anybody' and 'nobody' take singular verbs, and 'one of' takes a singular main verb, because it picks out a single member of a group.

   Pronouns ending in -one and -body are grammatically singular, even when they refer to many people: 'Everyone in the batch has cleared the test', 'Nobody knows the answer'. 'One of' picks out one item from a group, so the main verb agrees with 'one', not with the plural noun after 'of': 'One of my friends lives in Pune', not 'live'. The noun after 'one of' must itself be plural, so 'one of my friend' is a separate and common error. 'Many a' works the same way, with a singular noun and verb: 'Many a student has made this mistake'. 'All', 'some' and 'most' follow the noun after them: 'Most of the cake is gone', 'Most of the questions are easy'.

4. 4Are amounts, distances and titles singular or plural?

   In short: An amount of money, time or distance taken as one quantity is singular, and so is the title of a book or a subject, even when it looks plural.

   When a plural-looking phrase names a single quantity, the verb is singular: 'Ten kilometres is a long walk', 'Five thousand rupees is the fee', 'Two hours is enough for the test'. A quick check is to replace the phrase with 'that amount'; if the sentence still makes sense, the verb is singular. Titles of books, films and subjects are singular, whatever their form: 'Great Expectations is on the syllabus', 'Data Structures is my favourite subject'. Some nouns that end in s are also singular: 'news', and subjects of study such as physics, mathematics and economics, as in 'Mathematics is compulsory'. Plural-only nouns such as 'scissors', 'trousers' and 'spectacles' take plural verbs.

5. 5When do you use the present perfect with 'since' and 'for'?

   In short: For an action or state that began in the past and continues now: 'since' names the starting point and 'for' the length of time.

   When the period runs up to now, 'since' and 'for' take the present perfect ('I have known her since 2020') or, for an ongoing activity, the present perfect continuous ('She has been working here for three years'). 'Since' is followed by a point in time, such as a date, a day or an event, and 'for' by a period, such as three years or a week. Using a present tense instead, the present continuous in 'I am working here since 2021' or the simple present in 'I know him for years', is a common error. With 'since', the main verb cannot be in the simple past either, because here 'since' links a past starting point to the present; the simple past belongs inside the since-clause itself: 'I have lived here since I moved from Nagpur'. 'For' can go with the simple past, but only for a finished period: 'I lived in Nagpur for three years'.

6. 6Which tense follows 'when', 'if' and 'as soon as'?

   In short: When a time or condition clause refers to the future, use the present tense after 'when', 'if', 'as soon as', 'before', 'after' and 'until', and keep 'will' for the main clause.

   English does not use 'will' in most time and condition clauses, even when they refer to the future: 'I will call you when I reach Chennai', not 'when I will reach'; 'If it rains, the match will be postponed', not 'If it will rain'. The same holds after 'before', 'after', 'until', 'as soon as' and 'unless'. For an action completed before another future one, the present perfect can be used in the clause: 'You can leave after you have submitted the form'. The main clause carries the future, with 'will', 'can', 'should' or an imperative. A clause that is the object of a verb is different: 'Tell me when the results will be out' is correct. So when an option puts 'will' inside a time or condition clause, eliminate it first.

7. 7How do conditional sentences use tenses?

   In short: A real possibility uses the present and 'will', an imaginary present uses the past and 'would', and a past that did not happen uses 'had' and 'would have'.

   Three patterns cover most test questions. For a real possibility: 'If you practise daily, you will improve', with the present in the if-clause and 'will' in the main clause. For something imaginary or unlikely now: 'If I had more time, I would learn Japanese', with the past and 'would'. For a past that did not happen: 'If she had left earlier, she would have caught the train', with 'had' and a past participle, then 'would have'. In formal English, 'were' is used for every person in imaginary conditions: 'If I were the manager, I would change the policy'. Putting 'would' into the if-clause, as in 'If she would have left earlier', is the usual error.