General English - Common Errors 6
Click on the correct sentence from the pair given in the following sentences.
Q1:
The sceneries of the mountains are splendid
The scenery of the mountains is splendid
The word scenery is uncountable in English. So sceneries is wrong. Similarly you cannot say "a scenery"
Q2:
Great pains were taken by them
Great pains was taken by them
Pains is plural and so the verb should be plural
Q3:
Mumps is a contagious disease
Mumps are a contagious disease
Plural form subjects with a singular meaning take a singular verb. (e.g. news, measles, mumps, physics, etc.)
Q4:
Neither the teacher nor the students are reading books
Neither the teacher nor the students is reading books
The verb agrees with the subject nearer to it when subjects are joined by or/nor
Q5:
The furniture is damaged
The furnitures are damaged
Furniture is an uncountable noun and the verb should be singular
Courtesy: Mrs. Rugmini Menon, TGT English for preparing questions and guidance in creating the exercises