Subject-Verb Agreement



Subject-Verb Agreement

|Subjects and verbs must agree with one another in number. In the present tense, a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural |

|subject takes a plural verb. Below is a list of common subject-verb agreement rules. |

|Rule #1: Singular verbs end in -s. |

|Unlike nouns, the plural form of a verb is not made by adding an –s (or –es) to the ending. It’s actually the opposite. For |

|present-tense verbs, adding the -s to the end of the verb makes it singular. And if the verb is plural, there is no –s ending used. |

|Examples: |

|Singular |

|Plural |

| |

|The pilot flies the airplane. |

| |

|The cloud drifts through the air. |

|The pilots fly the airplane. |

| |

|The clouds drift through the air. |

| |

|Rule #2: Compound subjects with and take a plural verb. |

|A subject that is made up of two or more nouns is a compound subject. When the parts are connected by and, the subject is plural, so it |

|takes a plural verb. |

|Examples: |

| |

|The boy and his companion walk along the pier. |

| |

|The athlete, the agent, and the owner agree to the terms. |

|Rule #3: Subjects with only singular nouns joined by or or nor take a singular verb. |

|When a subject of two or more singular nouns is connected by or or nor, the verb is singular. |

|Examples: |

| |

|Either the dog or the cat goes today. |

| |

|Neither the hiker nor the mountaineer needs a reason. |

|Rule #4: Subjects with a singular noun and a plural noun joined by or or nor take the verb that agrees with the closer noun. |

|When the subject contains a singular noun and a plural noun joined by or or nor, the verb will agree with the closer noun. |

|Examples: |

| |

|The girl or the parents take the lessons home. |

| |

|Neither the sailors nor their captain decides. |

|Rule #5: Subjects are not in modifying phrases. |

|When the subject and the verb are separated by other words or phrases, make sure the verb agrees with the subject, not with a noun |

|within the phrase. |

|Examples: |

| |

|One of the packets contains a surprise. |

| |

|The people along the boardwalk watch the tourists. |

| |

|The man with all the dogs walks about dizzily. |

|Rule #6: Don't let those phrases fool you. |

|Phrases using with, together with, including, accompanied by, in addition to, or as well do not change whether a subject is singular or |

|plural. If the subject is singular, the verb should be as well. |

|Examples: |

| |

|The young cadet, accompanied by his leader, runs to the rescue. |

| |

|The sea captain, as well as his sailors, is hungry for adventure. |

|Rule #7: Nouns such as United States, civics, mathematics, measles, and news take singular verbs. |

|Nouns with a plural form but with a singular meaning take singular verbs: civics, mathematics, measles, news, and United States. |

|Examples: |

| |

|The United States contains many people. |

| |

|The evening news is my favorite program. |

|Rule #8: Nouns such as scissors, tweezers, trousers, jeans, and shears take plural verbs. |

|Other nouns with a plural form, such as scissors, tweezers, trousers, jeans, and shears, require plural verbs. They may appear to have a|

|singular meaning, but each of these things is made up of two parts. |

|Examples: |

| |

|Trousers make the man. |

| |

|Tweezers are nifty tools. |

|Rule #9: Collective nouns usually take singular verbs. |

|A collective noun has a singular form even though it refers to a group of individuals or things. Examples include army, audience, crowd,|

|group, team, committee, class, and family. When used as a subject, these nouns take a singular verb when the group acts as one unit. |

|Examples: |

| |

|The team runs around the track after practice. |

| |

|The committee elects new members. |

| |

|The family goes to the park. |

|In some cases, a plural verb is used when the group’s individuals are referred to as things that act separately. |

|Examples: |

| |

|The retired group have gone their separate ways. |

| |

|The class disagree on which method is best. |

|Rule #10: Sometimes the subject follows the verb. |

|When the normal subject-verb word order is inverted, or changed, in a sentence, the verb still agrees with the subject. For example, in |

|sentences beginning with there or here, the subject follows the verb. Since neither there nor here is ever the subject of a sentence, |

|the verb agrees with the noun that follows the verb. |

|Examples: |

| |

|There are many questions. |

| |

|Here is one answer. |

|Rule #11: With words that indicate portions, look to the object of the preposition. |

|With words that indicate portions—percent, fraction, part, majority, some, all, none, remainder, etc.—you must look at the object of the|

|preposition (the noun following the of phrase) to determine whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the object of the preposition |

|is singular, use a singular verb. If the object of the preposition is plural, use a plural verb. |

|Examples: |

| |

|Three-fourths of the pizza has been eaten. |

| |

|One-half of the pizzas were topped with pepperoni. |

|Indefinite pronouns are words that replace nouns without specifying which noun they replace. It is important to know which indefinite |

|pronouns are singular, plural, or both. This will help you know which verb to use. |

|List of Indefinite Pronouns |

|Singular: |another, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, little, much, |

| |neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, other, somebody, someone, something |

|Plural: |both, few, many, others, several |

|Singular or Plural: |all, any, more, most, none, some |

|Singular |Plural |

|Indefinite Pronouns |Indefinite Pronouns |

|Singular indefinite pronouns take singular verbs. |Plural indefinite pronouns take plural verbs. |

|Examples: |Examples: |

| | |

|Each of these tests gets easier and easier. |Both know what to expect. |

| | |

|Everybody knows who will win tonight. |Few ever fall the second time. |

| | |

|Either is okay with me. |Many imagine only the best. |

|Singular or Plural Indefinite Pronouns |

|The pronouns all, any, more, most, none, and some take a singular or a plural verb depending on whether what they refer to is singular |

|or plural. |

|Examples: |

|Singular |

| |

|All of the newspaper is wet. |

|Most of the sky is clear of clouds. |

|Plural |

| |

|All of the members do as they please. |

|Most of the shirts are ruined. |

| |

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