Noun and Verb Agreement

Question

Hi,I was reading a book called MINGSHI.  There are several questions that need to be answered. I would like to know the answers to these questions as well as the reasons behind the answers.Here are the following choice questions:4.  this kind of apples (tastes, taste) very good.5. No news (are, is) good news.6. Ten weeks (has, have) passed since the new term began.7. One hundred kilometers (is, are) a long distance.8. Five and eight (is, are) thirteen.I think the choice should be "is" because of the mathematical symbol "=".  Is that right?9. Few of his family really (understands, understand) him.12. The rest of the lecture (was, were) invited to the party.13. After the exam there (is, are) a lot of time for us to relax.18. None of this milk (is, are) sour.19. None of the books (are, is) interesting.21. The police (has, have) been sent to search the murderer.23. Nobody but Wu Dong and Wei Fang (was, were) in the room.I believe that should be "was" because "Nobody" is singular, am I right?25. Tom with his parents (is, are) watching TV.Could you please answer questions and provide reasons for them?  Thank you.

RedPenCJ · Accepted Answer

I think you will find this helpful:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/599/01/

BookNectar · Answer

Hi RedPenCJ,

The Subject/Verb Agreement webpage is indeed helpful. I have read the webpage and several English grammar books to find crystal-clear rules, crystal-clear examples, and crystal-clear reasons for some sentences. After I learned from those resources, the set of sentences/questions is now shrinking. Still I would like to have some confirmation for those sentences.

Here are the following choice questions:

4. this kind of apples (tastes, taste) very good.
Answer: This kind of apples tastes very good.
I only guess that the subject "kind" is singular. Please confirm that it is a correct answer.

6. Ten weeks (has, have) passed since the new term began.
Answer: Ten weeks has passed since the new term began.
Please confirm it.

8. Five and eight (is, are) thirteen.
I think the choice should be "is" because of the mathematical symbol "=". Is that right?
Please confirm it.

9. Few of his family really (understands, understand) him.
I have no idea whether the family should be singular or whether the "few" is actually the subject.

12. The rest of the lecture (was, were) not interesting.
Answer: The rest of the lecture was not interesting.
Please confirm it.

18. None of this milk (is, are) sour.
According to the rules, both "is" and "are" are okay. I prefer "is" because it is used in formal English for that particular sentence. Is that right?

19. None of the books (are, is) interesting.
Same reason as above.

Could anyone at least provide one answer/confirmation to one of my questions/sentences above? Thank you in advance.

Feebs11 · Answer

BookNectarHi RedPenCJ,

The Subject/Verb Agreement webpage is indeed helpful. I have read the webpage and several English grammar books to find crystal-clear rules, crystal-clear examples, and crystal-clear reasons for some sentences. After I learned from those resources, the set of sentences/questions is now shrinking. Still I would like to have some confirmation for those sentences.

Here are the following choice questions:

4. this kind of apples (tastes, taste) very good.
Answer: This kind of apples tastes very good.
I only guess that the subject "kind" is singular. Please confirm that it is a correct answer. Apple must also be singular here. "This kind of apple" / "These kinds of apples"

6. Ten weeks (has, have) passed since the new term began.
Answer: Ten weeks has passed since the new term began.
Please confirm it. "weeks" is plural = have. However, colloquially you can use "has" - it indicates "ten weeks" as a unit of time.

8. Five and eight (is, are) thirteen.
I think the choice should be "is" because of the mathematical symbol "=". Is that right?
Please confirm it. Yes

9. Few of his family really (understands, understand) him.
I have no idea whether the family should be singular or whether the "few" is actually the subject. Here it is "few" that governs the verb, and that contains a plural = understand

12. The rest of the lecture (was, were) not interesting.
Answer: The rest of the lecture was not interesting.
Please confirm it. Correct

18. None of this milk (is, are) sour.
According to the rules, both "is" and "are" are okay. I prefer "is" because it is used in formal English for that particular sentence. Is that right? In this context it has to be "is". Milk is usually uncountable.

19. None of the books (are, is) interesting.
Same reason as above. More arguable. None of these books are interesting is quite understandable. None of these books is interesting may be more technically correct.

Could anyone at least provide one answer/confirmation to one of my questions/sentences above? Thank you in advance.

Cool Breeze · Answer

BookNectar19. None of the books (are, is) interesting.

Both are correct because books is plural.

CB

Noun and Verb Agreement

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