Question 1

She is one of the students who has excelled in mathematics this year.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. The relative pronoun 'who' refers to 'students' (plural), so the verb should be 'have' (plural), not 'has' (singular). The correct form is 'who have excelled'.

Question 2

Neither the manager nor the employees was satisfied with the new office arrangement.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. When 'neither...nor' connects two subjects, the verb should agree with the subject closest to it. Here, 'employees' (plural) is closest, so the verb should be 'were' (plural), not 'was' (singular). The correct form is 'were satisfied'.

Question 3

The manager asked the team to submit their reports by Friday, and they have completed it on time.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. The subject 'reports' is plural, but the pronoun 'it' is singular. The correct form should be 'they have completed them on time' to maintain agreement between the plural subject and its pronoun.

Question 4

The committee have decided to postpone the meeting until next month.

Accepted Answer

The sentence uses a plural verb 'have' with 'committee', but in Indian and British English, collective nouns like 'committee' are typically treated as singular when referring to the group as a unit. The correct form is 'The committee has decided'.

Question 5

The report states that the number of accidents have increased significantly over the past year.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. The subject is 'number' (singular), not 'accidents' (plural). When 'number of' is used, the verb must agree with 'number', which is singular. The correct form is 'has increased'.

Question 6

The committee have decided to postpone the meeting because of the unexpected circumstances that has arisen.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. 'Committee' is a collective noun that takes a singular verb in British English when treated as a single unit. Additionally, 'circumstances' is plural and requires 'have' not 'has'.

Question 7

Identify the sentence that is grammatically correct and most appropriate.

The committee have decided to postpone the meeting because of the unexpected circumstances that has arisen.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains two agreement errors. 'Committee' is a collective noun that takes a singular verb in Indian English ('has decided'), and 'circumstances' is plural, so it requires 'have arisen' not 'has arisen'.

Question 8

The report, along with the supporting documents, were submitted to the board yesterday, and the members have already begun reviewing it.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. The subject is 'The report' (singular); 'along with the supporting documents' is a prepositional phrase that does not affect the verb agreement. The singular subject requires the singular verb 'was,' not 'were.' The correct sentence should read: 'The report, along with the supporting documents, was submitted to the board yesterday, and the members have already begun reviewing it.'

Question 9

The committee have decided to postpone the meeting, and they is planning to reschedule it for next month.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. 'Committee' is a collective noun that takes a plural verb in British English when the members are acting individually. The first clause correctly uses 'have,' but the second clause incorrectly uses 'is' instead of 'are.' The correct sentence should read: 'The committee have decided to postpone the meeting, and they are planning to reschedule it for next month.'

Question 10

Despite of the heavy rainfall, the construction work continued unabated, and the workers was determined to meet the deadline.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains two errors: (1) 'Despite of' is incorrect; the correct preposition is 'Despite' (without 'of'). (2) 'workers was' is a subject-verb agreement error; 'workers' is plural and requires 'were.' The correct sentence should read: 'Despite the heavy rainfall, the construction work continued unabated, and the workers were determined to meet the deadline.'

Question 11

The data shows that neither the manager nor the employees is aware of the new policy, and it requires immediate attention.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error. When 'neither...nor' connects two subjects, the verb agrees with the nearest subject. Here, 'employees' (plural) is nearest to the verb, so 'are' is required instead of 'is.' The correct sentence should read: 'The data shows that neither the manager nor the employees are aware of the new policy, and it requires immediate attention.'

Question 12

The principal requested that every student should submit their assignment by Friday, but many of them has not completed it yet.

Accepted Answer

The sentence contains two errors: (1) In formal English, after 'requested that,' the subjunctive mood requires 'submit' (not 'should submit'). (2) 'many of them has' is incorrect; 'many' is a plural pronoun requiring 'have.' The correct sentence should read: 'The principal requested that every student submit their assignment by Friday, but many of them have not completed it yet.'

SBI PO Sentence Improvement

Sentence Improvement— Rules & Concept

Key Points to Remember

Exam-Specific Tips

Sentence Improvement — Practice Questions

60-Second Revision — Sentence Improvement