THE VERB: PERSON AND NUMBER, THE INFINITIVE, THE PARTICIPLE — MCQs for Competitive Examinations

(Based on Wren & Martin's English Grammar)

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Average Standard

1. Choose the correct verb form to fill in the blank: "Neither the manager nor the employees ________ present at the meeting."

• A) was
• B) is
• C) were
• D) has been

2. Choose the correct verb form to fill in the blank: "Each of the players ________ given a trophy by the chief guest."

• A) were
• B) was
• C) are
• D) have been

3. Identify the correct use of the Infinitive in the following sentences:

• A) She went to the market for buying vegetables.
• B) She went to the market to buy vegetables.
• C) She went to the market for to buy vegetables.
• D) She went to the market for buy vegetables.

4. Choose the correct verb form to fill in the blank: "The committee ________ divided in its opinion on the new proposal."

• A) are
• B) were
• C) is
• D) have been

5. Identify the Participle in the following sentence: "Hearing the noise, the dog started barking loudly."

• A) the noise
• B) started
• C) Hearing
• D) barking

6. Choose the correct form of the Infinitive to complete the sentence: "He is too weak ________ the heavy luggage alone."

• A) carry
• B) carrying
• C) to carry
• D) for carrying

7. Identify the error in the following sentence: "Having finished his homework, the television was switched on by him."

• A) Having finished
• B) his homework
• C) the television was switched on
• D) by him
• E) No error

8. Choose the correct verb form to fill in the blank: "The news ________ very shocking to all of us present there."

• A) were
• B) are
• C) was
• D) have been

9. Identify the correct use of the Participle in the following sentences:

• A) Walking in the park, the birds were singing sweetly.
• B) Walking in the park, she enjoyed the cool morning breeze.
• C) Walking in the park, the flowers looked beautiful to me.
• D) Walking in the park, the trees were swaying in the wind.

10. Choose the correct form to complete the sentence: "________ the letter carefully, she realised that it contained very important information."

• A) Read
• B) Reads
• C) Having read
• D) To read

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Answers

1. C) were When two subjects are joined by "neither...nor," the verb agrees with the subject that is closer to it — here "the employees" is plural, so "were" is correct. Wren & Martin states that in "either...or" and "neither...nor" constructions, the verb agrees with the subject nearest to it — this is called the rule of proximity.

2. B) was "Each" is always singular regardless of the noun that follows in the "of" phrase. Wren & Martin clearly states that distributive pronouns like "each," "either," and "neither" always take a singular verb — "was" is therefore the correct verb form here.

3. B) She went to the market to buy vegetables. The Infinitive "to buy" correctly expresses the purpose of going to the market. Wren & Martin states that the Infinitive with "to" is used to express purpose — option A incorrectly uses "for + gerund," option C uses "for to" which is always wrong, and option D omits "to" entirely.

4. C) is "Committee" is a collective noun and takes a singular verb when it acts as a single unified body. Wren & Martin states that collective nouns like "committee," "jury," "class," and "team" take singular verbs when the group acts together as one unit — "is" is therefore correct here.

5. C) Hearing "Hearing" is a Present Participle that modifies the subject of the main clause — "the dog." Wren & Martin states that a Participle is a verbal adjective that modifies a noun or pronoun — "hearing the noise" is a Participial Phrase that describes the condition of the dog before it started barking.

6. C) to carry The structure "too + adjective + to + Infinitive" is a standard construction in English. Wren & Martin states that the Infinitive with "to" is used after "too...to" constructions to express an action that is beyond one's ability or capacity — "too weak to carry" correctly follows this rule.

7. C) the television was switched on This sentence contains a Dangling Participle — a very common grammatical error. Wren & Martin clearly states that a Participial Phrase must refer to the subject of the main clause. "Having finished his homework" must refer to "he" — not "the television." Correct sentence: "Having finished his homework, he switched on the television."

8. C) was "News" is an uncountable noun that is always singular in form despite appearing plural. Wren & Martin lists "news" among nouns that are singular in meaning and must always take a singular verb — "was" is therefore the correct verb form and "were" or "are" are always wrong with "news."

9. B) Walking in the park, she enjoyed the cool morning breeze. The Participial Phrase "walking in the park" correctly modifies "she" — the subject of the main clause. Wren & Martin states that a Participial Phrase must always refer to the subject of the main clause — in options A, C, and D the participial phrase incorrectly modifies "birds," "flowers," and "trees" respectively, creating Dangling Participles.

10. C) Having read "Having read" is a Perfect Participle used to show that one action was completed before another action began. Wren & Martin states that the Perfect Participle (Having + V3) is used when the action of the Participial Phrase is completed before the action of the main clause — "having read the letter carefully, she realised..." correctly shows the sequence of the two actions.