Explanatory Notes 1.

Certain nouns that are singular in form are used as plurals. For eg – cattle, peasantry, police, poultry, clergy, gentry; it is correct to say therefore, that the ‘gentry are’. The correct sentence is – While the gentry are not wholly responsible for the prosperity of a nation, they are none the less, the backbone of its economy.

2.

Youth represents a stage of life and hence is an uncountable abstract noun. Hence it takes the singular verb. Hence youth is wasted is the correction. (Refer to V02; Section–II; Unit-I; Rule 4)

3.

Nouns like series, corps, species, fish have the same form in the plural as well as in the singular. The phrase ‘at various levels’ shows that the word ‘series’ is in the plural and hence here it is correct to say ‘often go’. There are nouns like advice, air, respect which have one meaning in the singular and another in the plural. ‘Advice’ in the singular means counsel and ‘advices’ in the plural form means information. The reference in the sentence is to ‘advice’ and hence ‘advices’ is incorrect here. ‘Youth’ can refer to the youngsters and so the verb ‘receive’ is correct. The correct sentence is__ The series of advice that the youth receive often go unheeded and thus is unproductive.

4.

Aircraft is a noun that has the same form for the plural as it has for the singular. Hence aircrafts is incorrect. Hence the correction is twenty fighter aircraft ……. . (Refer to V02; Section–II; Unit-I; Rule 6)

5.

The noun cattle is always used in the plural. Hence the correction is cattle have gathered …… . (Refer to V02; Section–II; Unit-I; Rule 10)

6.

Some nouns like pains, means can be used either as singular or as a plural (but the construction must be consistent). ‘Pains’ in the sentence is modified by the word ‘much’ and so the verb ‘are’ should be ‘is’. So is the noun ‘committee’. Here the reference is not to the group as a whole but to its members individually. Hence, the verb ‘buries’ should be ‘bury’. The sentence should read – Much pains is taken by the committee which bury their differences to come to a consensus.

7.

Machinery is a noun that is always used in the singular. Hence the correction is There is no machinery for…… . (Refer to V02; Section–II; Unit-I; Rule 7)

8.

Scissor is incorrect. It is used only in the plural. Hence the correction is scissors he has …… are not very sharp….. . (Refer to V02; Section–II; Unit-I; Rule 8)

9.

Measles is in the plural but is always singular in use. Hence, the phrase ‘measles’ is correct. The relative pronoun ‘that’ refers to ‘ailments’ which is in the plural. Hence the verb ‘weaken’ is correct. Hence it should be ‘weaken’. The correct sentence should be – Measles is one of those ailments that weaken the person’s immunity.

10. ‘Twenty million degrees’ is considered as one unit and hence used in the singular form. Hence the correction is – ‘Twenty million degrees…. is….’.

11. Uncountable nouns like advice are used with expressions like a piece of in the singular and with much and a lot of, plenty of in the plural. Therefore, the correction is a piece of advice. (Refer Q 6) 12. When two or more nouns are connected with ‘as well as’, ‘not only… but also…,’ the subject is the first noun; and so, ‘the star’ is the noun and not ‘thousands of fans’. Hence, it is correct to say the ‘star… campaigns…’ The correct sentence is__During the elections, the much adulated star, with thousands of his fans campaigns for the ruling party. 13. The correction is was felicitated because the poet who is also a politician was felicitated. If the given sentence reads the poet and the politician, then, it takes the plural because it shows that the reference is to two different people. 14. The relative pronoun who refers to the noun boys which is plural, hence ‘have’ (i.e., when the relative pronoun becomes the subject of the sentence, then the verb agrees in number and person with the antecedent of the relative pronoun). The correction is …. boys who have .... . 15. The sentence talks about one workshop that belongs to both Raju and Ravi. Hence the possession should be indicated by adding an ‘’s’ (apostrophe and s) to Ravi. Hence the correction is Raju and Ravi’s workshop………. (Refer to V02; Section–II; Unit-I; Rule 14) 16. The error in the sentence is because of the apostrophe (‘s) to the word Robert’s. The intended idea is Robert, the author’s view. It is because, when two nouns are written one beside the other, the possessive sign is put to the latter. (Refer to V02; Unit-I; Section–II; Rule 15) 17. The noun ‘detail’ in the singular refers to the small features of something which are often not noticed. The noun ‘details’ in the plural refers to individual features or elements, which is not what the sentence talks about. The error is ‘details’ which should be ‘detail’. The correct sentence is___Her penchant for detail enabled her to bring to light what was overlooked in her colleague’s news. 18. The correction is sisters-in-law. It is a compound noun. Hence, the plural is formed by adding ‘s’ to the first word of it. Father-in-law’s is correct because the possessive of a compound noun is formed by adding apostrophe (’s) to the last word of the compound noun. (Refer to V02; Unit-I; Section–II; Rule 16) 19. The correction is the Prime Minister of Isreal’s plan. When a noun or a title consists of several words, the apostrophe and s (’s) is attached only to the last word. 20. When a proper noun ends in s we use ‘s. When it ends with es, we omit s. The error is Democles’s and its correction is Damocles’. It is better to avoid double possessives. Hence the second error ‘Pakistan’s Prime Minister’s stance’ should be ‘the Prime Minister of

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Pakistan’s stance’. The sentence is corrected as ___ Pakistan’s new democratic government faces a Damocles’ sword as is evident from the Prime Minister of Pakistan’s stance.

30. Some uncountable nouns like whereabouts can be used with a plural verb as well as a singular verb. Hence whereabouts ………. is is correct. The sentence requires no correction.

21. We use the article ‘the’ with a proper noun that is used as a common noun. Hence the correction is ‘the Judas’.

31. The correction is for goodness’ sake. It is because the last syllable of the word ends with ‘s’ and is followed by sake. Hence, the apostrophe is used but ‘s’ is omitted. Hence the correction. (Refer to V02; Section-II; Unit-II; Rule 17)

22. The sentence has two errors. The first error is the mismatch. The correction is a mismatch. The second error is an information. The correction is ‘the information’ i.e., the idea expressed is there is a mismatch in the information sent, hence the correction. 23. The words heroine of the novel define the name Isabella. Hence, the heroine of the novel is the correction. Using the definite article indicates that the reference is being made to someone in particular. 24. Since the poets are from two different countries, it is correct to use the possessive for both the countries. We use ‘the’ with the mountain ranges but not with individual mountain peaks. It is correct to say ‘the glory of Mount Everest’. The correct sentence is – Both China’s and India’s poets eulogise the glory of Mount Everest. 25. The word team is a collective noun but the words split into two groups indicate that the members of the team are being talked about separately, hence the correction is they were split ...... . (Refer to V02; Unit-I; Section-II; Rule 2) 26. Public can be used as singular or plural. In the given sentence, ‘public’ is referred to as a single unit. Hence the singular ‘has’ should be used. The sentence given in the handout requires no correction. 27. The correction in the sentence is a band of robbers has because band is a collective noun and it should take the singular form of the verb. (Refer Q 1) 28. six scores boxes is incorrect. The correction is six score boxes. Nouns used in counting (score), when preceded by numerals, are unaltered in the plural. (Refer Q 10). 29. The correction is two loaves of bread or two slices of bread because it is an uncountable noun and is referred to in parts.

32. The apostrophe in ‘The right’s activist’ is incorrect and distorts the meaning. It is intended to mean the activist of the Rights. When two nouns indicate the same person, ‘s is added to the latter. Hence the words ‘client’s, John’s is erroneous. The noun ‘loss’ should be preceded by the article ‘the’. The sentence should be – The Rights activist lawyer filed a case saying his client, John’s compensation was inadequate not just for the trauma but also for the loss of livelihood. 33. The expression ten year’s experience is incorrect. It is a plural noun; hence the correction is ten years’ experience. 34. The correction is a Gandhian revolution because the reference is to a type of revolution. 35. The word economics in the context does not refer to a subject but to the economic details of the situation, hence should be preceded by the. 36. The article ‘the’ is omitted before names of places and institutes like the school, college, university, church, hospital, prison, when these places are visited or used for their primary purpose. The correct sentence is – Devotees who visit St. Xavier’s Cathedral cannot but be in awe of the place. 37. The error in the sentence is goes to the church. The sentence should read goes to church because when a place is visited or used for its primary purpose, it does not take the. In the second part of the sentence the church is correct because it refers to the particular church which has been referred to in the first part of the sentence. 38. The correction in the sentence is the Nilgiris because, the names of mountains, rivers, oceans, hills etc take the definite article. (Refer to V02; Unit-VIII; Section-II; Rule 37)

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