Common mistake Use the base form or the past tense with a plural noun

Common Mistake: Incorrect Verb Inflection with Plural Nouns

One common grammatical mistake that many people make is using an incorrect verb inflection with plural nouns. This mistake can often lead to confusion and make your writing sound incorrect or unclear. To avoid this error, it is important to understand when to use the base form or the past tense of a verb with plural nouns.

Understanding the Correct Verb Inflection

When using a plural noun as the subject of a sentence, it is crucial to match the verb inflection correctly. Generally, the base form of the verb is used with plural nouns when they are used as a collective unit or when they refer to a group as a whole. For example:

The team are practicing for the upcoming game. (Correct)
The herd of elephants are migrating across the plains. (Correct)

On the other hand, when a plural noun refers to the individuals within the group, it is important to use the past tense form of the verb. For example:

The team is celebrating their victory. (Correct)
The herd of elephants is led by the matriarch. (Correct)

Common Mistakes and Corrections

Here are some examples of common mistakes and their correct versions:

The books was on the shelf. (Incorrect)
The books were on the shelf. (Correct)
The children has a soccer game. (Incorrect)
The children have a soccer game. (Correct)
The students start their exams tomorrow. (Correct)

By using the correct verb inflection with plural nouns, you can ensure that your writing is grammatically accurate and conveys your message effectively.

Linguix grammar checker is a useful tool that can help you identify and correct such errors, saving you time and ensuring your writing is mistake-free.

Use the base form or the past tense with a plural noun mistake examples

Incorrect:
The test results after Christmas shows great improvement.

Correct:
The test results after Christmas show|showed great improvement.
Incorrect:
Unfortunately, the results since Christmas has not been good.

Correct:
Unfortunately, the results since Christmas have|had not been good.
Incorrect:
Natural gas imports from Canada has steadily declined.

Correct:
Natural gas imports from Canada have|had steadily declined.
Incorrect:
All activities in Echo gets recognized as scenes.

Correct:
All activities in Echo get|got recognized as scenes.
Incorrect:
About 40–45% of educated people in Jamaica knows some form of Spanish.

Correct:
About 40–45% of educated people in Jamaica know|knew some form of Spanish.
Incorrect:
The examples of Mike consists of many unusual sentences.

Correct:
The examples of Mike consist|consisted of many unusual sentences.
Incorrect:
By contrast, the relationships between these families within Austro-Asiatic is debated.

Correct:
By contrast, the relationships between these families within Austro-Asiatic are|was|were debated.
Incorrect:
Societal changes in China exemplifies this well.

Correct:
Societal changes in China exemplify|exemplified this well.
Incorrect:
The later responses from Hyundai seems clear in its acceptance of repudiation.

Correct:
The later responses from Hyundai seem|seemed clear in its acceptance of repudiation.
Incorrect:
During a trial period the County Council provisions for Gotland has been evolved to provisions for a Regional Council.

Correct:
During a trial period the County Council provisions for Gotland have|had been evolved to provisions for a Regional Council.
Incorrect:
The tests in LanguageTool does not always give the correct result.

Correct:
The tests in LanguageTool do|did not always give the correct result.
Incorrect:
Many people in America likes hamburgers and beer.

Correct:
Many people in America like|liked hamburgers and beer.
Incorrect:
The potential arbitration proceedings with Shanghai needs to be added to the list as a retained litigation.

Correct:
The potential arbitration proceedings with Shanghai need|needed to be added to the list as a retained litigation.
Incorrect:
Some aircraft in America is made by Boeing.

Correct:
Some aircraft in America are|was|were made by Boeing.
Incorrect:
All errors by ENA has been corrected.

Correct:
All errors by ENA have|had been corrected.
Correct:
The test results after Christmas showed great improvement.
Correct:
Natural gas imports from Canada have steadily declined.
Correct:
Ports of GNU utilities for Microsoft Windows
Correct:
Types of tackles in Australian rules
Correct:
BS 57 Report on heads for Small Screws
Correct:
Oil price spikes as Iraq stops exporting in protest at UN sanctions.
Correct:
Tom has more friends than Mary does.
Correct:
It collects data via API calls to Insights.
Correct:
Kew Gardens in London has one of the biggest non-commercial compost heaps in Europe.
Correct:
New Relic now supports creating dashboards via API calls: https://docs...
Correct:
1910 – The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.
Correct:
The controversial removal of price caps in California is allowing prices to rise.
Correct:
If this holds true, sounds like Burton plans to make things pretty messy.
Correct:
Any workarounds while Steve works on a fix?
Correct:
The coat of arms of Cuba features a fasces
Correct:
A bunch of filings on Thursday is next.
Correct:
Make sure the box that reads Cache Jars in Memory is NOT checked.
Correct:
My Years of Pain is what gave me a unique insight into other people.
Correct:
1890 – The United Mine Workers of America is founded in Columbus, Ohio
Correct:
The relationship between the utility and AG Signs of Stockton spans two decades.
Correct:
Cheshvan has 29 days while Kislev has 30 days.
Correct:
The military of Algeria consists of the People's National Army (ANP), the...
Correct:
In The Knights for instance, Cleon's corrupt service to the people of Athens is originally depicted as a household relationship in which the slave dupes his master.
Correct:
Data from 2010 suggests that one in 10 children in Afghanistan dies before they are five years old.
Correct:
Two thirds of Azerbaijan is rich in oil and natural gas.
Correct:
Kate has three times as many records as Jane has.
Correct:
Tom hasn't been to Australia as many times as Mary has.
Correct:
I don't have as many pairs of socks as Tom does.
Correct:
For example, towers of Hanoi is a well understood in recursive implementation.
Correct:
The virtual assignment of British Energy's contracts to Enron gives the UK coal team total...
Correct:
And joining us now from his company headquarters in Houston is Kenneth Lay.
Correct:
Joining us now with her fans from Houston is Layla Kent.
Correct:
Visiting them now with their friends in Paris gives me great pleasure.
Correct:
Each of the major scripts of India has its own numeral glyphs.
Correct:
Contact and migration with Han people from China has brought Confucianism, Daoism...
Correct:
A Hewlett Packard office for French-speaking countries in Africa is in Algiers.
Correct:
One trend among imitators of Poe has been...
Correct:
Whether the Russian Government shares any of the station's radar data with Azerbaijan is unknown.
Correct:
The first of a series of bombings in Moscow kills one person and wounds 40 others
Correct:
Which very violent series of terribly long bombings in Moscow shows that the...?
Correct:
...decides to quit and join Galt's strike moments before Dagny arrives to try to persuade him otherwise.
Correct:
It's been three weeks since Tom has been here.
Correct:
Also, Enron will deliver forms as Barclays wishes.
Correct:
Oil prices spikes as Iraq stops exporting in protest at UN sanctions.
Correct:
Terraxis wipes blues after Luther is gone.
Correct:
Their ability to provide services for India needs to be sorted out quickly.
Correct:
The only way to execute JavaScript actions in Chrome is via AppleScript.
Correct:
The franchising of foreign goods and services to India is in its infancy.
Correct:
The oldest of the non-Christian communities in Wales is Judaism.
Correct:
The earliest record of Hazara in the areas of Pakistan is found in Broadfoot's Sappers company from 1835 in Quetta.
Correct:
Tana's primary role is "special projects" but she is helping Susan and Samantha with daily matters until Stephanie begins work and has some experience.
Correct:
Tom is counting the days until Mary arrives.
Correct:
The ratepayers will be reminded for 10 years after Davis is gone about his expensive brilliance.
Correct:
Skis up to 280 cm have been produced in Finland, and the longest recorded ski in Norway is 373 cm.
Correct:
You know that anyone wearing pants in November is just visiting from Ohio.
Correct:
Another perk that draws many expats to Ecuador is its low cost of living.
Correct:
Q7: What versions of Jira does JPT support?
Correct:
The death of thousands of people in Gaza is inevitable.
Correct:
Ethics in English refers to several things.
Correct:
The word ethics in English refers to several things.
Correct:
Today women's athletics at UT has its own corporate structure and hierarchy.
Correct:
The variety of climates, soils, and drainage conditions in Brazil is reflected in the range of its vegetation types.
Correct:
Recent analysis of the competitive effects of school vouchers in Florida suggests that more competition improves performance in the regular public schools.
Correct:
Translating sentences on Tatoeba is more fun than doing homework.
Correct:
The revised invoices for Duke contracts 27291 and 27349 appear to be correct.
Correct:
Anything the corporate media spins against Bernie is simply their usual attack, smear, or LIES against “America’s Dad”!
Correct:
The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Guinea is 680.
Correct:
Such an assumption pertinent to the ownership claims and assets of DPC is implicit in his provocative statement.
Correct:
...41% in 3 weeks with Microsoft calls...
Correct:
One of the most striking, although inconclusive, features of Chronicles is that its closing sentence is repeated as the opening of Ezra–Nehemiah.
Correct:
Ten years in Washington is longer than any other man has had it—too long!
Correct:
Because with this macro, then text data from Excel is still 12 MB but...
Correct:
The number of flying insects collected in traps in nature reserves in Germany has declined by 75% over the last 25 years.
Correct:
Today, all that remains of Ctesiphon is the shrine town of Salman Pak.
Correct:
In translations of Disney works the nephews have different local-sounding names.
Correct:
Since the adoption of a new constitution, early in 2010, the politics of Angola takes place in a framework of a presidential republic.
Correct:
The absence of any older Iranian (Avestan) loanwords in Brahui supports this hypothesis.
Correct:
Membership in the various branches, groups and subgroups of Indo-European is also genealogical.
Correct:
Membership in the various branches, groups, and subgroups of Indo-European is also genealogical.
Correct:
Yet, a close partnership between Tom James and the renowned mills of Huddersfield permits us to control costs and make CEO Super 180's readily available to you.
Correct:
The average maturity of loans made by domestic financial institutions to businesses in Germany is 4.28 years.
Correct:
The sloth bear of Asia is the most nocturnal of the bears.
Correct:
They are responsible for making the payments on these contracts since ENA has defaulted.
Correct:
During March, Limassol has average temperatures of during the day and at night, in other coastal locations in Cyprus is generally during the day and at night.

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