English Grammar Exercises – Singular and plural

Exercise 1   

Complete each sentence. Sometimes you need a or some.

1   My eyesight isn’t very good. I need …………………….

2   ……………………. is a group of animals or plants that have the same characteristics.

3   Footballers don’t wear trousers when they play. They wear …………………….

4   The bicycle is ……………………. of transport.

5   The bicycle and the car are ……………………. of transport.

6   I want to cut this piece of material. I need …………………….

7   A friend of mine is writing ……………………. of articles for the local newspaper.

8   There are a lot of American TV ……………………. shown on TV in Britain.

9   While we were out walking, we saw many different ……………………. of bird.

Exercise 2   

In each example the words on the left are connected with an activity (for example, a sport or an academic subject). Write the name of the activity. The beginning of the word is given.

1   calculate   algebra   equation     m…………………….

2   government   election   minister    p…………………….

3   finance   trade   employment    e…………………….

4   running   jumping   throwing    a…………………….

5   light   heat   gravity    ph…………………….

6   exercises   somersault   parallel bars    gy…………………….

7   processor   silicon chip   gigabyte    el…………………….

Exercise 3   

Choose the correct form of the verb, singular or plural. In two sentences either the singular or plural verb is possible.

1   Gymnastics is / are my favourite sport.

2   The trousers you bought for me doesn’t / don’t fit me.

3   The police want / wants to interview two men about the robbery last week.

4   Physics was / were my best subject at school.

5   Can I borrow your scissors? Mine isn’t / aren’t sharp enough.

6   It’s a nice place to visit. The people is / are very friendly.

7   Fortunately the news wasn’t / weren’t as bad as we expected.

8   Where does / do your family live?

9   I can’t find my binoculars. Do you know where it is / they are?

10   Does / Do the police know how the accident happened?

11   Germany is / are playing Spain tomorrow night, but it’s not on TV.

12   Most people enjoy / enjoys music.

Exercise 4   

Most of these sentences are wrong. Correct them where necessary.

1   Three years are a long time to be without a job.  …………………….

2   The government have decided to increase taxes.  …………………….

3   Susan was wearing a black jeans.  …………………….

4   I don’t like hot weather. Thirty degrees is too hot for me.  …………………….

5   I like Martin and jane. They’re very nice persons.  …………………….

6   Ten pounds aren’t enough. I need more money than that.  …………………….

7   I’m going to buy a new pyjama.  …………………….

8   The committee haven’t made a decision yet.  …………………….

9   There was a police directing traffic in the street.  …………………….

10   What is the police going to do?  …………………….

11   This scissors isn’t very sharp.  …………………….

12   Four days isn’t enough for a good holiday.  …………………….