CIP Online English Learning - IELTS Online - Singular or Plural
IELTS Online Lessons / By

Singular or Plural?

 

Check the sentences in each pair. 

  1. Multiple problems or multiple problem ?
    1. Often, we combine multiple problems into one and then look for one solution to solve them all.
    2. Often, we combine multiple problem into one and then look for one solution to solve them all.
  2. Provide or Provides
    1. The organization provides medical assistance to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty and disaster, both in the United States and throughout the world.
    2. The organization provide medical assistance to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty and disaster, both in the United States and throughout the world.

If you use a plural noun, you must use a plural verb. The verb must “agree” with the noun.

  • There are bears and other animals in the woods. (Plural verb + Plural noun)
  • Always in style, she prefers to wear high heels when out on the town or appearing at media events or award presentations. (Singular noun + Singular verb)

We use a plural noun with:

  • plural verbs are, were, have, do, play:  He had a lot of friends in Texas.
  • numbers great than one:  20 classes, 50 students
  • many: He visited many lands and saw many wonderful things.
  • the number of: It has a large number of landlocked nations without ports to access the international markets, both for imports and exports.

NB: Note that we use plural noun but a singular verb after the number of.

We use a singular noun with:

  • Singular verbs: is, was, has, does, plays, etc: There is no time to play.
  • a / an or one: a desk, an apple, one teacher.

NB: Some nouns can look plural but are singular such as news and mathematics, and some nouns have a different form in the plural (Children, men, women, and people)

Based on IELTS Writing Rubrics, 

You can get 7 in Grammatical Range and Accuracy when 

  • You use a variety of complex structures. 
  • Produces frequent error-free sentences.
  • You should have good control of grammar and punctuation but may make a few errors.

 

If you are still having problems, Clark Institute of the Philippines is offering Online courses. Check them out here. 

CIP Online 1: https://online.cipenglish.com/
CIP Online 2: https://cipenglish.com/

Credits and Sources: https://sentence.yourdictionary.com/ and  Common Mistakes in IELTS