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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