English grammar rules are very essential and important for any competitive exams, especially in Punjab PSSSB, PPSC, Punjab Police, and other exams like SSC, IBPS, and Railways. These become important for the candidates, so knowledge of each and every grammar rule is necessary not only in the examination but also in daily routine, which gives you extra confidence and an edge over the competition.
5 Important English Grammar Rules (With Examples)
Rule 76 – Use of ‘A variety of + Plural countable noun’
The English grammar rule ‘A variety of + Plural countable noun,’ when used as the subject of the sentence, is followed by a plural verb.
E.g. A variety of options are available in the party.
Here in the sentence, ‘A variety of’ is used with a plural countable noun, that is ‘options.’ So according to Grammar Rule Number 76, ‘A variety of + Plural countable noun’ is used with the plural verb, which in this case is ‘are.’ ‘A variety of options’ here is used as the subject of this sentence, which is plural in form, so that is why ‘are,’ which is plural in form, is used.
E.g. A variety of options is available in the party.
Now here in this sentence again, ‘A variety of’ is used with the plural countable noun ‘options,’ and the verb used after this is ‘is,’ which is singular in form. So according to Grammar Rule 76, when ‘A variety of + Plural countable noun’ is used as a subject, the verb should be plural in form. Therefore, using the verb ‘is’ is incorrect here, and in place of ‘is,’ ‘are’ should be used, which makes this sentence correct.
Rule 77 – Use of ‘The variety of + Plural countable noun’
The English grammar rule ‘The variety of + Plural countable noun,’ when used as the subject of the sentence, requires the verb to be in the singular form.
As in Grammar Rule 76, when ‘A variety of + Plural countable noun’ is used, it follows with a plural verb. But here in Grammar Rule 77, the subject of the sentence is ‘The variety of + Plural countable noun,’ which in common usage is treated as a singular subject. So according to subject–verb agreement, it should be used with a singular verb.
E.g. The variety of items at the party was relished by all the guests.
Here in the example sentence, ‘The variety of items’ is used as the subject of the sentence, and it is followed by the verb ‘was.’ According to Grammar Rule 77, when ‘The variety of + Plural countable noun’ (in this case ‘items’) is used, the singular form of the verb ‘was’ makes this sentence correct.
E.g. The variety of items at the party were relished by all the guests.
Here in this example sentence again, ‘The variety of items’ is used as the subject of the sentence, but it is followed by the plural form of the verb, which in this case is ‘were.’ So according to Grammar Rule 77, when ‘The variety of + Plural countable noun’ is used, the verb should be in the singular form. Therefore, ‘were’ makes this sentence incorrect, and to correct this sentence, ‘were’ should be replaced with ‘was.’
Note: Relish (Verb) means to enjoy; to get pleasure out of (swad lena, aanand prapat karna).
E.g. I would relish a rasgula now.
E.g. I would relish a journey by car.
Rule 78 – Place names that appear plural but are treated as singular
There are some place names that appear to be plural but are treated as singular and take a singular verb. E.g. Athens, Brussels, Wales, The West Indies, Headquarters, Mews, etc.
E.g. The Hebrides is a group of islands off the north-west coast of Scotland.
Here in the example sentence, ‘The Hebrides,’ which is a group of islands, according to Grammar Rule 78 is treated as a singular noun. Therefore, the verb that follows the noun ‘Hebrides’ should also be in singular form. So ‘is,’ which is singular in form, makes this sentence correct.
E.g. The Hebrides are a group of islands off the north-west coast of Scotland.
Here in this example, most aspirants get confused because ‘The Hebrides’ appears to be plural in form. So according to subject–verb agreement, it seems that a plural verb ‘are’ should be used. But according to Grammar Rule 78, some place names may appear plural but they use the singular verb as they are treated as singular subjects. So here in this example, ‘Hebrides’ is also treated as a singular subject, and a singular verb is needed in place of ‘are.’ Therefore, ‘is’ should be used, which makes this sentence correct.
Rule 79 – Use of the word ‘Politics’
In the examination, many times the word ‘Politics’ has been asked to check the grammatical knowledge of the candidate. So here are the two scenarios where the noun ‘Politics’ can be used in different senses, and the verb changes according to its meaning.
1. If the word “Politics” is used in the sense of study (Academic Discipline), science, or general activity of governing or political activities taken as a whole, then it is considered singular, and a singular verb is used with it.
E.g. Politics is a very tough subject that never gives you full marks in the examination like Mathematics.
Here in the above example sentence, the word ‘Politics’ is used as the subject of the sentence. According to Grammar Rule 79 (1), if the word ‘Politics’ is used as the study of a subject, even though it appears plural as it has -s at the end, it always takes a singular verb, which is ‘is.’ So the above sentence is correct.
E.g. Politics are a very tough subject that never gives you full marks in the examination like Mathematics.
Here again in the above example sentence, the word ‘Politics’ is used as the subject of the sentence. According to Grammar Rule 79 (1), it should be used with a singular verb, but here ‘are’ is used, which is plural in form. This makes the sentence incorrect, and to make it correct, ‘is’ should be used in place of ‘are.’
E.g. Politics in the village has become very interesting these days.
Now in the above example sentence, the word ‘Politics,’ which is the subject of the sentence, is used in the sense of political activity (village politics). According to Grammar Rule 79 (1), it is treated as singular, so the singular verb ‘has’ is used, which makes this sentence correct.
E.g. Politics in the village have become very interesting these days.
Now in this above example sentence, the word ‘Politics’ is again used in the sense of political activities. According to Grammar Rule 79 (1), the word ‘Politics,’ when used as the subject of the sentence, should always take a singular verb. But in this example, the verb ‘have’ is used, which is plural in form. This makes the sentence incorrect, and to make it correct, ‘have’ should be replaced with ‘has.’
2. If the word “Politics” is used in the sense of someone’s political ideas, opinions, beliefs, or activities, and it is used with “the” or a possessive adjective (like my, his, their), then it is considered plural, and a plural verb is used with it.
E.g. His politics are known to every member of this party.
Here in the above example sentence, the noun ‘Politics’ is used as the subject of the sentence. According to Grammar Rule 79 (2), when the noun ‘Politics’ is used in the sense of political views, beliefs, or activities, and preceded by a possessive adjective or the article ‘the,’ it should be treated as plural. Therefore, the verb after it should also be plural. So here ‘are,’ which is plural in form, makes this sentence correct.
E.g. His politics is known to every member of this party.
Again here in the above example sentence, the noun ‘Politics’ is used in the sense of political views, beliefs, or activities, and preceded by a possessive adjective. The verb should be plural in form, but in the above sentence, the verb ‘is’ is used, which makes the sentence incorrect. To make this sentence correct, ‘is’ should be replaced with ‘are.’
Rule 80 – Use of ‘lots’ with infinitive (to + V1)
If “lots” is followed by an infinitive (to + V1), then “lots” is considered singular because an infinitive is singular. Here, the subject requires a singular verb form. For example:
E.g. There is lots to do.
In the above example sentence, ‘lots’ is used with the infinitive ‘to’ plus the first form of the verb ‘do,’ which according to Grammar Rule Number 80 is correct. ‘Lots’ is considered singular, and here the verb ‘is’ is used, which is also correct.
E.g. There are lots to do.
Here again in the above example sentence, the word ‘lots’ is used with the infinitive ‘to do.’ According to Grammar Rule 80, ‘lots’ is considered singular, and therefore the verb should also be singular in form. But in this example sentence, the verb ‘are’ is used, which is plural in form. This makes the sentence incorrect. To make this sentence correct, ‘are’ should be replaced with ‘is.’
So here are the most important grammar rules which you have studied, which are as important for competitive exams as for daily routine usage. For more related English grammar rules from Rule Number 1 to Rule Number 75, please refer to our previous article and read all related articles to get an extra edge in the competition. For this, refer to our English grammar section.
