Subject-verb agreement – B2 English Grammar Test

1  Complete one of the sentences in each pair with the singular form of the verbs in the box, and the other with the plural form. Use the present simple or the past simple, as appropriate.

1   A   Some people thought the news ……was…… quite interesting last night.

      B   Last night some people on the news ……were…… quite interesting.

2   A   The majority of TV series these days ……………… very famous actors.

      B   That new TV series ……………… one of my absolute favourite actors.

3   A   The long-distance events in athletics ……………… me anymore.

      B   Athletics ……………… me anymore, especially the long-distance events.

4   A   The athletes from the United States of America usually ……………… a lot of medals.

      B   The United States of America usually ……………… a lot of medals.

5   A   Everyone at football practice ……………… talking about the earthquake yesterday.

      B   All my classmates and everyone at football practice ……………… talking about the earthquake yesterday.

6   A   Repeating these same old arguments ……………… pointless.

      B   These arguments ……………… pointless, especially if you just repeat them.

2  Complete the sentences with the verb be in the present tense in the positive or negative, to make it true for you. Give more details.

1   I think physics ……is…… a useful subject to learn.

      ……We need it to understand the world. ……

2   The causes of diabetes …………… obvious to me.

      ……………………………………………….

3   I think five kilometres …………… too far to run every day.

      ……………………………………………….

4   In my view, crisps …………… a good snack.

      ……………………………………………….

5   The United States of America …………… a country I’d like to live in.

      ……………………………………………….

6   I think politics …………… a complicated subject.

      ……………………………………………….

7   I think the majority of TV series …………… worth watching.

      ……………………………………………….

8   In my opinion, eating lots of sweets …………… bad for you.

      ……………………………………………….

9   My favourite TV series …………… in English.

      ……………………………………………….

10   Most of the things we learn in maths …………… interesting.

        ……………………………………………….

3  Cross out the mistakes in the sentences. Write the correct sentences.

1   My favourite mean of transport are the car.

      My favourite means of transport is the car.

2   For me, gymnastics are so exciting. I love watching them on TV.

      ………………………………………………………

3   I liked the hotel but our surrounding, I would say, was not very pretty.

      ………………………………………………………

4   Wow! This lyric is absolutely amazing. I wonder who wrote it.

      ………………………………………………………

5   I think they spent six millions of euros. They are quite a lot to invest.

      ………………………………………………………

6   Doing this exercises help me improve my grammar.

      ………………………………………………………

4  Complete the conversation with the correct form of the verb be. Use the negative if necessary.

Sean:   I think The Seven Seas 1……is…… my favourite place to eat around here.

David:   Yeah, it’s great, though it is a bit expensive. Eight pounds for chicken nuggets 2…………… quite a lot. 3…………… a poor student, I don’t go there very often.

Sean:   Me neither. Maybe I’d go more if it 4…………… so expensive.

David:   What do you usually have?

Sean:   Well, for me the fish and chips 5…………… the best thing on the menu. But, to be fair, everything we ordered last time we went 6…………… good. If I’ve got one complaint, it’s that the chips 7…………… sometimes a little greasy.

David:   At least the portions are big. When you go, you know you can look forward to 8…………… so full you think you might explode!