Question

1. They ________ known each other since childhood. 2. He ________ to eat mangoes during summers. 3. The President as well as his ministers _________ invited to the function. 4. Neither the boy nor his friends __________ responsible for the destruction. 5. Either my brother or my sister _______ going to babysit today. 6. A herd of sheep ______ tended by the shepherd.

Answer 1

Since there are no answer options, I will fill in the blanks with the verbs that are most likely to appear in these structures.

Answer:

1. They have known each other since childhood.

2. He loves to eat mangoes during summers.

3. The President as well as his ministers were invited to the function.

4. Neither the boy nor his friends were responsible for the destruction.

5. Either my brother or my sister is going to babysit today.

6. A herd of sheep is tended by the shepherd.

Explanation:

This question basically aims at testing our understanding of subject-verb agreement, that is, if we know when to use a singular and when to use a plural verb to agree with the subject.

1. The subject is "they", plural, so the verb "have" is also plural.

2. The subject is "he", singular, so the verb "loves" is also singular.

3. Here the subject includes the president and the ministers, which makes it a plural subject. Thus, the verb "were" is also plural.

4. With "neither/nor", if one of the elements of subject is plural, then the verb must also be plural. "Friends" is plural, so "were" is also plural.

5. The same goes for "either/or". In this case, both elements are singular, so the verb "is" is also singular.

6. A "herd" refers to a large number of sheep. However, the word "herd" itself is singular, so the verb "is" is also singular.