Page 43 - IELTS Preparation Grammar and Vocab

Nouns, agreement and articles 5

But if percent refers to a plural noun we use a plural verb:
... 60% of people there are malnourished.
We usually use a plural verb:
with nouns that normally have a plural form: congratulations, outskirts, clothes. But note that the following
nouns ending in -s take a singular verb — news, linguistics, mathematics, physics, politics, statistics and
economics when they refer to the academic subject
Statistics is included in the course. (not StratirstiCS-Oft ...)
after a/the majority of, a/the minority of, a number of, a lot of, plenty of, all (of), some of + a plural noun /
pronoun:
The majority of people there are farmers.
But note that we use a singular verb with the number of
The number of people suffering from malnutrition is increasing.
The following verb must agree with the main noun in a sentence with a complex subject:
Levels of income from the sale of handicrafts have increased.
When the subject follows the verb, the verb agrees with the subject
Among the projects invested in by the government is the use of low-energy fight bulbs.
Egli Countable and uncountable nouns

Many nouns in English are uncountable: they are not used with a Ian or in the plural. For example: advice,
equipment, information.

Some nouns are used uncountably when we are talking about the general idea, but countably when we are
talking about particular examples:
You'd be able to get by with a bask knowledge of some statistical techniques. but The desire for knowledge is a
fundamental human instinct.
The charity's project has been a success. (= a particular example of success)
Financial success isn't everything. (= success in general)
Other nouns like this indude business, education, sound. Some of these (e.g. education) are only used countably
in the singular.
Some nouns (e.g. accommodation, speech, work) have a different meaning when they are used countably and
uncountably. Compare
She gave a speech about global warming
Children usually develop speech in their second year
We can use a good/great deal of and amount of before uncountable nouns:
There's a great deal of interest in recycling in the country.
It's saving an enormous amount of waste.
Using these before a plural countable noun is incorrect and you should avoid it in exams. However, they are
sometimes used in this way in informal contexts.
We use a number of before plural countable nouns:
There's been a drought there for a number of months.
and plenty of and a quantity of before either uncountable or plural countable nouns:
There was plenty of opportunity for me to travel around the country.
saw a huge quantity of trees being cut down.