1Neither praise nor censure ............... to affect him.
Wrong!
The singular compound subject "neither praise nor censure" takes "seems" here.
2Neither he nor his servants ............... aware of the events.
Wrong!
With "neither... nor", the verb agrees with the nearer subject, so "were" agrees with "servants".
3No house or shop ............... left unsearched.
Wrong!
The singular subjects joined by "or" take the singular verb "was" here.
4Either he or I ............... mistaken.
Wrong!
With "either... or", the verb agrees with the nearer subject, so "am" agrees with "I".
5Either you or he ............... right.
Wrong!
With "either... or", the verb agrees with the nearer subject, so "is" agrees with "he".
6One of them ............... agreed to come.
Wrong!
The singular subject phrase "one of them" takes "has".
7None of these books ............... taught me anything worthwhile.
Select 2 answers.
Wrong!
In modern English, both "has" and "have" can agree with "none" in this sentence.
8James, who ............... my friend, has agreed to come with me.
Wrong!
The relative pronoun refers to "James", so the correct verb is "is".
9I, who ............... your guardian, will take care of you.
Wrong!
The relative pronoun refers to "I", so the correct verb is "am".
10A lot of work ............... to be done.
Wrong!
The uncountable noun "work" is singular, so it takes "needs".
11A lot of people ............... to buy cars.
Wrong!
The plural noun "people" takes "want".
12Plenty of books ............... available on this subject.
Wrong!
The plural noun "books" takes "are".
Answers
- Neither praise nor censure seems to affect him.
- Neither he nor his servants were aware of the events.
- No house or shop was left unsearched.
- Either he or I am mistaken.
- Either you or he is right.
- One of them has agreed to come.
- None of these books has / have taught me anything worthwhile.
- James, who is my friend, has agreed to come with me.
- I, who am your guardian, will take care of you.
- A lot of work needs to be done.
- A lot of people want to buy cars.
- Plenty of books are available on this subject.
