Use of English Grammar
Subject-verb agreement is the single highest-yield topic in UTME Use of English. These rules cover every concord trap examiners set: prepositional noise, distributives, correlative pairs, collectives, and the many "special subjects" that break the usual singular/plural pattern.
The rule: A singular subject takes a singular verb; a plural subject takes a plural verb, regardless of intervening prepositional phrases.
Why: Prepositions (of, in, for, with) introduce descriptive modifiers, never grammatical subjects. Strip intervening phrases mentally to locate the true Head Noun.
The list of successful candidates is (not are) out.
The rule: Distributive pronouns (each, every) force single-unit evaluation and always take singular verbs.
Why: The Ticket Inspector Model: Distributives force the sentence to evaluate items one individual at a time (Count = 1).
Each of the boys has (not have) submitted his form.
The rule: Correlative pairs setting up alternatives require the verb to agree strictly with its nearest neighbor.
Why: Correlatives present choices, not addition. The clause can only take one verb, which responds to its adjacent subject.
Neither Jane nor her puppies were (not was) vaccinated.
The rule: In inverted question formats starting with a verb, the verb agrees with the first subject following it.
Why: The Nearest Neighbor rule works in reverse: draw the agreement arrow from the front verb blank to the immediate first subject.
Is (not Are) either the manager or his assistants attending?
The rule: Parenthetical connectors (as well as, together with, alongside, in addition to) do not create compound subjects.
Why: Accompaniment expressions act as modifying prepositional clauses. The verb agrees strictly with Subject 1.
The principal, alongside the teachers, was (not were) present.
The rule: Mathematical calculations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) take singular verbs.
Why: Arithmetical expressions represent a single mathematical total or unit value.
Two plus three is (not are) equal to five.
The rule: 'A number of' takes a plural verb; 'The number of' takes a singular verb.
Why: 'A number' is an indefinite quantifier meaning 'many' (plural count); 'The number' refers to a single specific total digit (singular).
A number of students were absent, but the number of absentees was small.
The rule: Verb agreement with fractions or percentages depends strictly on whether the governing 'of-noun' is countable or uncountable.
Why: Fractions are neutral operators; they inherit the physical state (countable units vs. mass quantity) of the noun they measure.
Two-thirds of the cake was eaten, but two-thirds of the apples were rotten.
The rule: Specific measurements of money, time, distance, or weight take singular verbs when treated as a single entity.
Why: The quantity represents one cumulative bulk amount or lump sum, not separate individual coins or miles.
Ten million naira is (not are) a huge sum of money.
The rule: Collective nouns (committee, jury, audience) take singular verbs when acting as a single unanimous body.
Why: When all members act in unison, the group functions as one single entity.
The committee has (not have) submitted its report.
The rule: Collective nouns take plural verbs when members act individually or hold conflicting views.
Why: When members act separately or clash, the single group entity dissolves into multiple individuals.
The jury are (not is) divided in their opinions.
The rule: Nouns ending in '-s' that represent academic fields, diseases, or news (mathematics, news, physics, measles) take singular verbs.
Why: The terminal '-s' is a morphological spelling trait, not a plural marker.
Mathematics is (not are) a compulsory subject.
The rule: Tools or garments with two symmetrical parts (scissors, trousers, spectacles) take plural verbs, but take singular verbs when preceded by 'a pair of'.
Why: Without 'a pair of', the two parts count as plural units. With 'a pair of', the Head Noun becomes 'pair' (singular).
The scissors are sharp, but a pair of scissors is missing.
The rule: Verbs of demand, recommendation, or order (demand, insist, recommend, suggest) require a bare infinitive verb in the 'that-clause'.
Why: The mandative mood strips tense and agreement endings (-s, -ed) to emphasize the pure, unfulfilled action.
The judge ordered that he be (not is/was) remanded in custody.
The rule: Hypothetical or unreal conditions in present/future time use 'were' for all subjects (including I, he, she, it).
Why: Subjunctive mood shifts 'was' to 'were' to signal that the state is contrary to reality.
If I were (not was) the president, I would reform the sector.
The rule: In the structure 'one of those who...', the relative pronoun 'who' refers to the plural antecedent ('those/Nouns') and takes a plural verb.
Why: The relative pronoun 'who' hooks directly to the immediate plural noun before it, not to 'one'.
He is one of those candidates who excel (not excels) under pressure.
The rule: When 'the only' precedes 'one of those who...', the verb becomes singular.
Why: 'The only' isolates the single individual out of the entire group as the unique performer of the action.
He is the only one of the applicants who has (not have) passed.
The rule: 'More than one' takes a singular noun and a singular verb; 'More than two' takes a plural noun and plural verb.
Why: Grammatical Concord trumps Notional sense: 'one' is morphologically singular, overriding the plural meaning.
More than one candidate was (not were) disqualified.
The rule: Two titles joined by 'and' take a singular verb if both titles refer to one person (indicated by a single article 'the').
Why: A single article 'the' before Title 1 means 1 human holds both roles. Two articles ('the... and the...') signal 2 distinct individuals.
The principal and founder has arrived (1 person). The principal and the founder have arrived (2 people).
The rule: Two nouns joined by 'and' take a singular verb if they form a single combined meal, idea, or compound concept.
Why: The two items merge conceptually into a single functional unit or compound idea.
Bread and butter is (not are) his wholesome breakfast.
The rule: Pronouns like somebody, anyone, everything, nothing always take singular verbs.
Why: Indefinite pronouns quantify entities individually or as an indivisible non-count mass.
Everything in the halls was (not were) destroyed.
The rule: Nouns of multitude carry no terminal '-s' but are inherently plural and always take plural verbs.
Why: These words are collective plurals by definition and cannot take singular modifiers or verbs.
The cattle are (not is) grazing in the field.
The rule: Information enclosed in paired commas between subject and verb never alters the agreement of the main Head Noun.
Why: Commas mark non-essential parenthetical insertions. Strip the comma-delimited text to check subject-verb agreement.
Dr. Musa, despite all his personal challenges, remains (not remain) steadfast.
The rule: In sentences beginning with 'There' or 'Here', the true subject follows the verb.
Why: 'There' and 'Here' are dummy adverbs, not grammatical subjects. Look past the verb to find the true subject.
There are (not is) three major issues to consider.
The rule: 'Many a' is followed strictly by a singular noun and a singular verb.
Why: 'Many a' distributes a large quantity across single instances, forcing singular morphological agreement.
Many a student has (not have) fallen into this trap.
The rule: 'All but one' takes a plural verb because 'All' is the true plural subject.
Why: 'But one' is an exception phrase subtracting 1 unit from 'All'. The remaining count is still plural.
All but one candidate were (not was) successful.
The rule: The verb following 'more of' or 'most of' depends on whether the subsequent noun is countable plural or uncountable singular.
Why: 'More' and 'most' inherit number from the noun they modify.
Most of the water was spilled; most of the books were saved.
The rule: A relative pronoun (who, which, that) takes a verb that agrees in number and person with its immediate antecedent noun.
Why: The relative pronoun acts as a proxy for the antecedent noun.
It is I who am (not is/are) responsible for this mistake.
The rule: Titles of books, movies, or plays take singular verbs even if the title contains plural nouns.
Why: A title names a single creative work, regardless of its internal wording.
'Gulliver's Travels' is (not are) an interesting novel.
The rule: 'None of' takes a singular verb with uncountable nouns, and preferred singular or plural verb with countable nouns in formal SBE.
Why: 'None' means 'not one' (singular) or 'not any' (plural depending on context). Formal UTME prefers singular with countables.
None of the money was found. None of the candidates was/were ready.
The rule: When 'Either' or 'Neither' acts as a standalone pronoun without 'or/nor', it is strictly singular.
Why: As standalone pronouns, they mean 'one or the other' / 'not one nor the other' (Count = 1).
Two options were presented, but neither was (not were) suitable.
The rule: When a subject has a negative and a positive part, the verb agrees with the positive subject.
Why: The predicate asserts an action done by the positive subject, ignoring the excluded negative part.
Not the students, but the teacher was rewarded.
The rule: Words cited purely as linguistic terms take singular verbs.
Why: A quoted word is treated as a single lexical entity.
'People' is a noun of multitude.
The rule: 'The majority of' + plural noun takes a plural verb; 'The majority' alone takes a singular or plural verb based on unity.
Why: 'Majority' acts as a quantifier transferring number from the plural noun.
The majority of the voters have decided.
The rule: Even small fractions (e.g. 1%) of a plural countable noun take plural verbs if the resulting number is > 1.
Why: Number agreement reflects the physical count of units affected.
Ten percent of the 1,000 workers were retrenched (100 workers = plural).
The rule: 'No' + singular noun takes a singular verb; 'No' + plural noun takes a plural verb.
Why: 'No' adopts the singular or plural state of the noun it modifies.
No student was present. No students were present.
The rule: 'This kind of book is...' (singular) vs. 'These kinds of books are...' (plural).
Why: The Head Noun is 'kind/kinds', not the object of the preposition 'of'.
This type of question causes (not cause) confusion.
The rule: Adjectives preceded by 'the' representing a class of people (the poor, the rich, the elderly) take plural verbs.
Why: 'The + Adjective' refers to all individuals belonging to that class (plural human count).
The poor are (not is) receiving support.
The rule: 'Wish' expresses hypothetical/impossible desires using past/past perfect verb forms, while 'hope' uses present/future indicative.
Why: 'Wish' shifts mood into subjunctive unreality.
I wish I knew (not know) the answer.
The rule: 'One and a half' takes a plural noun but takes a singular or plural verb depending on structural focus; formal SBE uses plural noun + plural verb.
Why: The fractional addition brings the count above 1.
One and a half hours have passed.
Use of English questions, revision notes and interactive widgets turn each rule into an exam reflex.
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