Articles, Tenses and Subject-Verb Agreement

This is the heaviest unit of the English paper, with about seven questions and the core of what the Dean's Office model tests: "She is ___ obedient student" (an), "Ramesh ___ here for the last seven years" (has worked), "Neither of them ___ a problem" (anticipates).

Three skills decide it: choose the article by sound, choose the tense by the time signal, and make the verb agree with the real subject.

3.1 Use of articles

• a / an depend on the sound: an hour, an honest man, an MP, an umbrella; a university, a European, a one-rupee note.
• the: unique things (the sun, the moon), superlatives (the highest peak), rivers, ranges and oceans (the Koshi, the Himalayas, the Pacific), nationalities (the Nepalese), when both speaker and listener know which one.
• no article: meals (have breakfast), languages (speak English), games (play cricket), general plurals and uncountables (water boils), names, and institutions in their normal use (go to school, go to bed).

(a) an hour (silent h)

(b) an umbrella (vowel sound)

(c) the highest peak (superlative)

for / since. For a length of time (for three days); since a starting point (since 2015). Both take the present perfect. Do not use the present perfect with yesterday, last year, ago.

3.3 Subject-verb agreement

• Singular: each, every, either, neither, one of the + plural noun, everyone, nobody; mathematics, physics, news, economics; the number of; distances and sums treated as one (two-thirds of the land is).
• Plural: a number of, both, few, many; scissors, trousers, spectacles; the poor, the rich.
• along with, together with, as well as, besides do not change the verb: Ram, along with his friends, is going.
• either … or, neither … nor, not only … but also: the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
• There is/are: the verb agrees with the noun after it.

3.4 Eight traps in articles, tenses and agreement

These three topics produce most of the grammar marks, and the wrong options are built from the same eight mistakes.

1. Sound decides a or an, not the letter. We say an hour and an honest man because the first sound is a vowel, and a university and a one-rupee note because the first sound is a consonant (Fig 3.1). Say the word aloud. Do not look at the first letter alone.
2. Use the for unique and superlative things. The sun, the highest peak, the Koshi, the Himalayas and the Nepalese all take the. Meals, languages and games take no article: have breakfast, speak Nepali, play cricket. The phrase go to school has no article when you go to study.
3. Do not use the present perfect with a finished time. He has gone yesterday is wrong; use He went yesterday. Words such as yesterday, last year and ago need the simple past (Fig 3.2). The present perfect goes with for, since, already, yet, just and ever.
4. Since gives the start and for gives the length. I have been waiting since 8 a.m. and I have been waiting for three hours mean the same thing (Fig 3.3). Both take the present perfect or present perfect continuous. Never write since three hours.
5. Past perfect marks the earlier action. In "The film had started when we arrived", the film started first, so it takes had started (Fig 3.3). Only use it when two past actions are in the same sentence. A single past action needs the simple past.
6. Find the real subject. In "Ram, along with his friends, is going", the subject is Ram, so the verb is singular. Along with, together with and as well as do not change the verb (Fig 3.4). Ignore the words between the subject and the verb.
7. Either-or and neither-nor use the nearer subject. "Neither the teacher nor the students are present" uses are because students is nearer. Swap the order and the verb changes to is. For there is/are, look at the noun after the verb.
8. Know the singular surprises. Mathematics, physics, news, economics and the number of are singular. A number of, scissors, trousers and spectacles are plural. Each, every, either, neither and everyone always take a singular verb.

3.4.1 Worked checks

Q. Fill in the blank: "She is ____ honest girl." (a / an / the)

Answer. Honest begins with the vowel sound on, because h is silent, so the answer is an: "She is an honest girl" (Fig 3.1).

Q. Correct the sentence: "He has gone to Pokhara yesterday."

Answer. Yesterday is a finished time, so the present perfect is wrong. The correct sentence is "He went to Pokhara yesterday" (Fig 3.2).

Q. Choose the verb: "The number of students ____ increasing. (is / are)"

Answer. The number of is singular, so the verb is is. With a number of students the verb would be are (Fig 3.4).

Q. Choose the tense: "The film ____ when we reached the hall. (started / had started)"

Answer. The film began before we reached the hall, so use the past perfect: "The film had started when we reached the hall" (Fig 3.3).

Practice questions

Set A — Recall (20 questions)

1. She is ___ obedient student.aabthecandno article
2. ___ sun rises in the east.aAbAncNo articledThe
3. He is ___ honest man.aanbacthedno article
4. Ramesh ___ here for the last seven years.aworkedbhas workedcis workingdworks
5. He has been ill ___ three days.asincebfromcatdfor
6. Mount Everest is ___ highest peak in the world.aabancthedno article
7. Neither of the boys ___ present.aarebiscweredhave
8. Each of the students ___ a prize.ahasbhavecaredwere
9. She ___ to Pokhara yesterday.agoesbhas gonecwentdgone
10. I ___ my homework before my mother came home.ahad finishedbhave finishedcfinishdwas finish
11. Mathematics ___ my favourite subject.aarebwerechavedis
12. The news ___ true.aarebiscweredhave
13. He is ___ European.aanbthecadno article
14. Water ___ at 100°C.ais boilingbboiledchas boileddboils
15. I ___ TV when the phone rang.awas watchingbwatchedcam watchingdhave watched
16. There ___ many books on the table.aisbarecwasdhas
17. He plays ___ cricket every evening.aabthecno articledan
18. I have ___ umbrella.aanbacthedno article
19. By next year, he ___ his degree.acompletesbcompletedcwill completedwill have completed
20. The Koshi is ___ longest river in Nepal.aabthecandno article

Set B — Understanding (12 questions)

1. A number of students ___ absent today.aisbwascaredhas
2. The number of students ___ increasing.aisbarecweredhave
3. Ram, along with his friends, ___ going to Pokhara.aarebwerechavedis
4. Either Hari or his brothers ___ responsible.aisbarecwasdhas
5. By the time we reached, the film ___.astartedbhas startedchad starteddwas starting
6. I ___ for him since morning.ahave been waitingbam waitingcwaiteddwait
7. He said he ___ the book already.areadbreadschas readdhad read
8. One of my friends ___ a doctor.aarebiscweredhave
9. The poor ___ always been neglected.ahavebhascisdwas
10. Choose the correct sentence.aHe don't know the answer.bHe doesn't knows the answer.cHe doesn't know the answer.dHe don't knows the answer.
11. He is ___ MP from Kaski.aabthecno articledan
12. The scissors ___ on the table.aisbarechasdwas

Set C — Application (8 questions)

1. Each boy and each girl ___ a book.ahavebwerecaredhas
2. He ___ in Kathmandu since 2010.ahas livedblivedcis livingdlives
3. I ___ him last week.ahave metbmeetcmetdhad meet
4. The sun ___ in the east.arosebrisescis risingdhas risen
5. Not only the students but also the teacher ___ present.awerebarechavedwas
6. She ___ for two hours when I arrived.ahad been waitingbhas waitedcwas waitdwaits
7. ___ university is a place of learning.aAnbAcThedNo article
8. Two-thirds of the land ___ under water.aarebwerecisdhave