English Grammar and correct usage test - Jan 2, 2014
Each question below has a set of two sentences. Identify which of them is grammatically correct.1.
a. Riches are temporary.
b. Riches is temporary.
View Answer / Hide Answer a. Riches are temporary.
Here, the word riches is not the plural for rich. It means wealth that makes a man rich. So, as wealth does consist of a single item but is a mass of items, riches is not used in a singular form. That is why it is also followed by the plural form of the verb.
2.
a. The police are not taking any action.
b. The police is not taking any action.
View Answer / Hide Answer a. The police are not taking any action.
Police is a collective noun i.e. it looks singular but is used as plural.
3.
a. Such news are disturbing.
b. Such news is disturbing.
View Answer / Hide Answer b. Such news is disturbing.
News has an 's' at the end but it is a singular noun. It collectively refers to all the news.
4.
a. A number of deer are roaming around the forest.
b. A number of deers are roaming around the forest.
View Answer / Hide AnswerANSWER: a. A number of deer are roaming around the forest.
Some nouns remain the same in both their singular and plural forms. Deer is one of them as it does not change to Deers in its plural form.
5.
a. Indian folk is very colourful.
b. Indian folk are very colourful.
View Answer / Hide Answer b. Indian folk are very colourful.
Folk, again, is a collective noun, the collection of all the people of a particular place.
6.
a. All the information about the army is confidential.
b. All the informations about the army are confidential.
View Answer / Hide Answer a. All the information about the army is confidential.
Information is generally used in singular form.
7.
a. Mathematics is very interesting to me.
b. Mathematics are very interesting to me.
View Answer / Hide Answer b. Mathematics are very interesting to me.
Mathematics looks like a plural of a word but it is a singular noun as it refers to one subject.
8.
a. Collect all the apparatuses required for this experiment.
b. Collect all the apparatus required for this experiment.
View Answer / Hide Answer b. Collect all the apparatus required for this experiment.
Like Deer, Apparatus also has the same form both as singular and plural nouns.
9.
a. English alphabet are not very hard to learn.
b. English alphabet is not very hard to learn.
View Answer / Hide Answer b. English alphabet is not very hard to learn.
Alphabet refers to a whole sequence and, thus, is used as singular.
10.
a. I cut the paper with a scissor.
b. I cut the paper with a pair of scissors.
View Answer / Hide Answer b. I cut the paper with a pair of scissors.
Like stockings, scissors also have two parts joined at one point. Hence the plural form.
