Fill in the blanks. (4x2=8 p)
Use: am / is / are responsible for - e.g. She is responsible for…
A) I1… watering the plants.
B) The nurse1… helping sick students.
C) We1… keeping our classroom clean.
D) The caretakers1… fixing broken things.
Subject-Verb Agreement with “Be Responsible For”
KEY FORMULA / RULE: The phrase be responsible for expresses a duty or obligation and takes the present form of the verb to be (am, is, are) depending on the subject, followed by a gerund (verb + -ing):
- I \rightarrow am responsible for
- He / She / It / Singular Noun \rightarrow is responsible for
- We / You / They / Plural Noun \rightarrow are responsible for
SOLUTION STEPS
-
a) I: The first-person singular pronoun I pairs with the auxiliary verb am.
\text{I } \mathbf{am\ responsible\ for} \text{ watering the plants.} -
b) The nurse: “The nurse” is a third-person singular subject (he or she), which pairs with the singular auxiliary verb is.
\text{The nurse } \mathbf{is\ responsible\ for} \text{ helping sick students.} -
c) We: The first-person plural pronoun We requires the plural auxiliary verb are.
\text{We } \mathbf{are\ responsible\ for} \text{ keeping our classroom clean.} -
d) The caretakers: “The caretakers” is a plural noun (they), which requires the plural auxiliary verb are.
\text{The caretakers } \mathbf{are\ responsible\ for} \text{ fixing broken things.}
FINAL ANSWER:
- a) am responsible for
- b) is responsible for
- c) are responsible for
- d) are responsible for
EXAM INSIGHT / PITFALL: Always check whether the subject noun has a plural -s ending (like the caretakers \rightarrow are) or is singular (like the nurse \rightarrow is), and remember that the preposition for must always be followed by the -ing form of the verb (watering, helping, keeping, fixing).