Consider the following sentences: i. Arun and Aparna are here. ii. Arun and Aparna is here. iii. Arun's families is here. iv. Arun's family is here. Which of the above sentences are grammatically CORRECT? A. (i) and (ii) B. (i) and (iv) C. (ii) and (iii) D. (iii) and (iv)

GATE 2021 · General Aptitude · Grammatical Error · easy

Answer: Option B — sentences (i) and (iv) — are grammatically correct.

1. Analyse sentences (i) and (ii) — compound subject: Sentence (i): 'Arun and Aparna are here.' — 'Arun and Aparna' is a compound subject (two individuals), requiring plural verb 'are'. Correct. Sentence (ii): 'Arun and Aparna is here.' — same compound subject but with singular 'is'. Incorrect.
2. Analyse sentences (iii) and (iv) — possessive + noun: Sentence (iii): 'Arun's families is here.' — 'families' is plural (more than one family), so it requires 'are', not 'is'. Incorrect. Sentence (iv): 'Arun's family is here.' — 'family' is a singular collective noun, correctly matched with singular verb 'is'. Correct.
3. Identify the correct pair: Grammatically correct sentences: (i) and (iv). This corresponds to Option B: (i) and (iv).