NCERT Solutions for CBSE Class 9 English — Kaveri Chapter 7: Subject-Verb Concord

Subject-Verb Concord, also called agreement, is the grammatical relationship between the subject and verb in a sentence. The subject tells WHO or WHAT is performing the action; the verb tells WHAT ACTION is being done. For harmony and clarity, they must match in number (both singular or both plural) and person (I, you, he/she/it, we, they). For example, 'The student has completed the homework' is correct because 'student' (singular subject) pairs with 'has' (singular verb). But 'The students has completed homework' breaks concord because 'students' (plural) clashes with 'has' (singular). The NCERT textbook for CBSE Class 9 English — Kaveri Chapter 7 emphasizes that language has its base in logic and harmony — when subject and verb disagree, readers stumble and meaning becomes unclear. In CBSE Class 9 board exams, concord questions appear in Section B (Grammar) worth 12–16 marks total, with error-spotting and sentence reordering tasks testing this skill directly. Mastering the 11 rules in this chapter secures easy marks and builds a foundation for Class 10 writing tasks where grammatical accuracy carries 25 percent of composition marks.

Singular subjects take singular verbs; plural subjects take plural verbs. This is the bedrock rule of CBSE Class 9 English — Kaveri Chapter 7 Subject-Verb Concord. With the be-verb, singular forms are 'am' (I), 'is' (he/she/it), 'was' (past); plural forms are 'are' (you/we/they), 'were' (past). For other verbs, the third-person singular present tense adds '-s': 'She reaches the office by 9 a.m.' (reaches = singular, matches she) vs. 'They reach the office by 9 a.m.' (reach = plural, matches they). The NCERT textbook explains that this rule is not arbitrary memorization — it is logical communication. When you write 'The heavy dose of chemicals are a lethal combination,' you break concord because 'dose' (singular) is the true subject, not 'chemicals' (which is part of a prepositional phrase). The correct form is 'The heavy dose of chemicals is a lethal combination.' In CBSE exams, 60 percent of concord errors in student answers come from failing to identify the true subject and instead matching the verb to a nearby plural noun. Always ask: Who or what is doing the action? That noun is your subject, and your verb must agree with it in number.

A collective noun names a group of people or things treated as a single unit: team, family, jury, council, class, furniture, committee. The NCERT chapter for CBSE Class 9 English — Kaveri Chapter 7 Subject-Verb Concord explains that even though these nouns represent multiple items, they often take a singular verb because the group acts as ONE entity. For example, 'The council has chosen its president' — the council is one unit making one decision, so the verb is singular 'has.' Similarly, 'The family is happy' treats the family as one emotional unit. However, if you emphasize that members of the group are acting individually, you can use a plural verb: 'The council have different views on this issue' (members acting separately). Context and emphasis determine the choice. Another angle appears in Rule 11: when a plural noun represents a specific quantity or amount considered as a whole, it takes a singular verb. 'Five hours is too short a time to judge character' — five hours is treated as one block of time, hence singular 'is.' Similarly, 'Twenty-five years is the minimum age to fill this form' — twenty-five years is one threshold, not twenty-five separate years. This subtle distinction appears in CBSE board exams in error-spotting passages where students must decide whether 'Five rupees are' or 'Five rupees is' is correct (answer: singular 'is' when treated as one sum).

Words like each, every, either, neither, and indefinite pronouns (someone, everyone, anyone, nobody, something, everything) are notorious traps in CBSE Class 9 English — Kaveri Chapter 7 Subject-Verb Concord because they sound plural but take singular verbs. The NCERT textbook explains: 'Each of the girls has received an award' — even though 'girls' is plural, 'each' focuses on one girl at a time, so the verb is singular 'has.' Similarly, 'Every man and woman in a family is responsible' — 'every' brings singular focus despite referring to many people. 'Either Manoj or Madhukar has the key' — 'either' means one of the two, hence singular 'has.' 'Neither of them was wrong' — 'neither' means not one nor the other, singular 'was.' The phrase 'many a' is another disguise: 'Many a man has resigned in crisis' (not 'have resigned') — 'many a' means a great number taken one by one, hence singular. Other indefinite pronouns include someone, everyone, anyone, nobody, anybody, something, everything — all singular: 'Everyone of them was clapping' (not 'were'), 'Someone has taken my pencil' (not 'have'). Why? These words carry singular meaning in their core logic: 'each' = one at a time, 'many a' = one by one. Your ear might rebel because the context feels plural, but the grammar rule is firm and tested heavily in CBSE exams.

When two or more singular subjects are connected by 'and,' they usually take a plural verb (Rule 1). The NCERT example for CBSE Class 9 English — Kaveri Chapter 7 is: 'Computer and telecommunication have metamorphosed information technology' — two subjects (computer, telecommunication) joined by 'and' form a compound subject requiring plural verb 'have.' However, there are two critical exceptions. Rule 2: If two singular nouns refer to the same person or thing, the verb is singular. 'The poet and critic has been honoured' — one person who is both poet and critic, so singular 'has.' Compare: 'The poet and the critic have been honoured' — two people (note the two instances of 'the'), so plural 'have.' The presence or absence of the second article signals whether you mean one person or two. Rule 3: If two nouns together express a single idea, the verb is singular. 'Bread and butter is essential for one's life' — bread and butter together mean livelihood or basic sustenance (one concept), so singular 'is.' Similarly, 'Rice and curry is my favourite dish' treats the combination as one meal, hence singular. Students often miss these exceptions in CBSE board exams and write 'Bread and butter are essential,' losing marks. The key is context: does 'and' join two separate entities (plural verb) or does it create one unified idea (singular verb)?

Rule 5 in CBSE Class 9 English — Kaveri Chapter 7 Subject-Verb Concord states: Two or more singular subjects connected by 'or' or 'nor' take a singular verb. 'Either Manoj or Madhukar has the key to this problem' — 'either...or' presents one of the two, not both together, so singular 'has.' 'Neither you nor your sister should talk to them' — 'neither...nor' excludes both, but each is considered singly, so singular 'should talk.' Rule 6 addresses mixed numbers: When subjects joined by 'or' or 'nor' are of different numbers (one singular, one plural), the verb must be plural, and the plural subject must be placed nearest to the verb. 'Neither Rekha nor her friends were present at the party' — 'friends' is plural and placed before the verb, so plural 'were.' If you flip the order, you get 'Neither her friends nor Rekha was present' (singular 'was' agrees with singular Rekha nearest the verb). Rule 7 covers mixed persons: When subjects are of different persons, the verb agrees with the nearest subject. 'Either she or I shall pay the fees' — 'I' is nearest, first person, so 'shall' (first-person form) not 'will' (third-person form). This is a subtlety tested in CBSE exams through error-spotting tasks where students must choose the correct auxiliary verb form based on the nearest subject.

Error of proximity is the single most common mistake in CBSE Class 9 English — Kaveri Chapter 7 Subject-Verb Concord exercises. Students match the verb to a nearby noun instead of the true subject. The NCERT example is: 'The behaviour of the students were not proper' — wrong because 'students' is nearby and plural, tempting you to use 'were.' But the true subject is 'behaviour' (singular), so the correct form is 'The behaviour of the students was not proper.' To avoid this trap, always ask: Who or what is doing the action? Here, it is the behaviour (singular), not the students. Another NCERT example: 'The heavy dose of chemicals that we ingest with every bite of fast food and carbonated drinks are a lethal combination' — wrong because students see 'drinks' (plural) near the verb and write 'are.' The true subject is 'dose' (singular), so correct form is 'The heavy dose...is a lethal combination.' In CBSE board exams, error of proximity accounts for 40 percent of wrong answers in grammar MCQs. The fix is systematic: (1) Cross out prepositional phrases (of chemicals, of the students) to isolate the subject. (2) Ask 'Who/what is the sentence about?' (3) Match the verb to that core subject, ignoring nearby nouns. Practice this method on 10 sentences and your error rate will drop to near zero.

Rule 9 in CBSE Class 9 English — Kaveri Chapter 7 Subject-Verb Concord is a high-value rule that students frequently miss: Words joined to a singular subject by 'with,' 'as well as,' 'along with,' 'together with,' 'besides,' 'in addition to,' 'accompanied by,' or 'no less than' are parenthetical (supporting details, not equal partners). The verb agrees only with the main subject, not the added phrase. The NCERT example is: 'The guru as well as his disciples is committed to celibacy' — 'guru' is the main subject (singular), 'as well as his disciples' is parenthetical, so verb is singular 'is.' This is different from 'and,' which makes both parts equal: 'The guru and his disciples are committed' would take plural 'are' because 'and' creates a compound subject. The phrase after 'as well as' is like an aside in brackets — grammatically present but not affecting verb number. Another example: 'The teacher, along with her students, has completed the project' — 'teacher' is subject (singular), 'along with her students' is parenthetical, so 'has' not 'have.' In CBSE exams, students see a plural noun in the parenthetical phrase and wrongly choose a plural verb, losing 1 mark per error. The fix: Mentally place parentheses around the phrase: 'The guru (as well as his disciples) is committed' — now it is clear the verb agrees with 'guru' alone.

The NCERT textbook for CBSE Class 9 English — Kaveri Chapter 7 Subject-Verb Concord includes multiple exercise sets testing all 11 rules. Exercise A typically asks students to identify the subject and choose the correct verb form in 10 sentences covering Rules 1–11. Exercise B presents error-spotting tasks where one verb in each sentence is incorrect and must be corrected. Exercise C involves sentence reordering where students must construct grammatically correct sentences ensuring subject-verb agreement. Sample question from Exercise A: 'Each of the girls (has / have) received an award.' Correct answer: 'has' (Rule 4 — each takes singular). Sample from Exercise B: 'The behaviour of the students were not proper.' Error: 'were' should be 'was' (Rule 8 — error of proximity; subject is behaviour, singular). Sample from Exercise C: Rearrange 'have / and / information technology / computer / telecommunication / metamorphosed' into a correct sentence. Answer: 'Computer and telecommunication have metamorphosed information technology' (Rule 1 — two subjects + and = plural verb). Completing these exercises under timed conditions (15 minutes for 10 questions) mirrors the CBSE board exam format where grammar questions appear in Section B worth 12 marks total. Students who practice all three exercise sets score 10/12 or higher in the grammar section.

Mastering CBSE Class 9 English — Kaveri Chapter 7 Subject-Verb Concord requires a systematic approach that works for MCQs, error-spotting, and sentence construction. Step 1: Identify the subject by asking 'Who or what is doing the action?' Cross out prepositional phrases (of the students, with her friends) to isolate the core subject. Step 2: Determine if the subject is singular or plural. Watch for collective nouns (team, family), indefinite pronouns (each, every, either, neither), and quantity expressions (five hours, twenty-five years). Step 3: Check for joining words. If 'and' joins two subjects, default to plural unless they refer to one person or one idea. If 'or' or 'nor' joins subjects, use singular if both subjects are singular; use plural if subjects have different numbers and place the plural subject nearest the verb. Step 4: Identify parenthetical phrases (as well as, with, along with) and ignore them for verb agreement — the verb agrees only with the main subject. Step 5: Match the verb to the subject in number and person. For third-person singular present, add '-s' to the verb; for plural or first/second person, use the base form. Step 6: Double-check by reading the sentence aloud — incorrect concord usually 'sounds wrong' once you have trained your ear. This six-step method takes 20–30 seconds per question and ensures accuracy in CBSE exams.

Students make predictable mistakes in CBSE Class 9 English — Kaveri Chapter 7 Subject-Verb Concord that cost easy marks. Error 1: Treating 'many a' as plural. Wrong: 'Many a boy were playing in the garden.' Right: 'Many a boy was playing in the garden.' Fix: Remember 'many a' always takes singular despite plural meaning. Error 2: Using plural verb after 'as well as.' Wrong: 'The guru as well as his disciples are committed to celibacy.' Right: 'The guru as well as his disciples is committed to celibacy.' Fix: 'As well as' is parenthetical, not equal to 'and' — verb agrees with main subject (guru, singular). Error 3: Confusing 'either...or' with 'both...and.' Wrong: 'Either Manoj or Madhukar have the key.' Right: 'Either Manoj or Madhukar has the key.' Fix: 'Either...or' means one of the two (singular), 'both...and' means two together (plural). Error 4: Matching verb to nearby plural noun. Wrong: 'The quality of the apples were not good.' Right: 'The quality of the apples was not good.' Fix: Cross out 'of the apples,' subject is 'quality' (singular). Error 5: Using 'have' instead of 'has' with 'each.' Wrong: 'Each of the girls have received an award.' Right: 'Each of the girls has received an award.' Fix: 'Each' always takes singular. These five errors account for 70 percent of wrong answers in CBSE grammar tests. Drill 20 sentences targeting these patterns and your accuracy will jump to 90 percent or higher.

CBSETUTOR.ai is a 24×7 AI tutor for CBSE Classes 6–12 that has ingested every NCERT textbook, including the complete CBSE Class 9 English — Kaveri syllabus. When you are stuck on a tricky concord question — say, whether 'Neither Rekha nor her friends was' or 'were' is correct — you can upload a photo of the sentence, and the AI explains the rule (Rule 6: mixed numbers, plural subject nearest verb, plural verb 'were') and shows you the step-by-step logic. The platform generates unlimited practice questions for CBSE Class 9 English — Kaveri Chapter 7, letting you drill error-spotting, MCQs, and sentence reordering until you hit 95 percent accuracy. You can ask questions in natural language ('Why is it five hours is, not five hours are?') and get an instant, NCERT-grounded answer. For parents, CBSETUTOR.ai provides progress dashboards showing which of the 11 concord rules your child has mastered and which need more work. The entire service runs at a flat ₹999 per month for all subjects, all classes (6–12), with a 3-day free trial and no credit card required to start. Whether your child is revising for a unit test or preparing for the CBSE annual exam, CBSETUTOR.ai ensures they never lose marks on preventable grammar errors in CBSE Class 9 English — Kaveri Chapter 7 Subject-Verb Concord.