Subject verb agreement

ENGLISH
COMPREHENSION AND
COMPOSITON
Verb-tense
Subject-verb agreement
Articles/ determiners
Word Order
Preposition
Course Supervisor:
Ayyaz Qadeer
February 18, 2014

Subject-Verb
Agreement
 Basic Principle:
Singular subjects need singular
verbs; plural subjects need plural
verbs.
 My brother is a nutritionist.
 My sisters are mathematicians.
February 18, 2014

 1
 The indefinite pronouns anyone, everyone, someone, no
one, nobody are always singular and, therefore, require
singular verbs.

 Everyone has done his or her homework.
 Somebody has left her purse.
 Some of the beads are missing.
 Tricky
 Some of the water is gone.
 None of you claims responsibility for this incident?
 None of you claim responsibility for this incident?
 None of the students have done their homework. (In this
last example, the word their precludes the use of the
singular verb.
February 18, 2014


2
 Everyone and everybody Each is always singular and
require a singular verb.

 Everyone has finished his or her homework.
 Each of the students is responsible for doing his or her
work in the library.

February 18, 2014

3

Phrases such as together with, as well as, and
along with are not the same as and. The phrase
introduced by as well as or along with will
modify the earlier word (mayor in this case),
but it does not compound the subjects (as the
word and would do).
 The mayor as well as his brothers is going to
prison.
 The mayor and his brothers are going to jail.
February 18, 2014

4

The pronouns neither and either are
singular and require singular verbs even
though they seem to be referring, in a
sense, to two things.

 Neither of the two traffic lights is working.
 Which shirt do you want for Christmas?
Either is fine with me.
February 18, 2014

5
The conjunction or does not conjoin (as and does):
when nor or or is used the subject closer to the verb
determines the number of the verb. Whether the
subject comes before or after the verb doesn't matter;
the proximity determines the number.
 Either my father or my brothers are going to sell the
house.
 Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the
house.
 Are either my brothers or my father responsible?
 Is either my father or my brothers responsible?
February 18, 2014

6

The words there and here are never
subjects.

 There are two reasons [plural subject] for
this.
 There is no reason for this.
 Here are two apples.

February 18, 2014

7

Verbs in the present tense for thirdperson, singular subjects (he, she, it and
anything those words can stand for)
have s-endings. Other verbs do not add
s-endings.

He loves and she loves and they love_ and . .
..

February 18, 2014

8

Sometimes modifiers will get between a
subject and its verb, but these modifiers
must not confuse the agreement between
the subject and its verb.
The mayor, who has been convicted along
with his four brothers on four counts of
various crimes but who also seems, like a
cat, to have several political lives, is finally
going to jail.
February 18, 2014

9



Sometimes nouns take weird forms and can
fool us into thinking they're plural when
they're really singular and vice-versa. Words
such as glasses, pants, pliers, and scissors are
regarded as plural (and require plural verbs)
unless they're preceded the phrase pair of (in
which case the word pair becomes the subject).

 My glasses were on the bed.
 My pants were torn.
 A pair of plaid trousers is in the closet.
February 18, 2014

10

Some words end in -s and appear to be
plural but are really singular and require
singular verbs.

 The news from the front is bad.
 Measles is a dangerous disease for
pregnant women.

February 18, 2014

10

On the other hand, some words ending in
-s refer to a single thing but are
nonetheless plural and require a plural
verb.
 My assets were wiped out in the depression.
 The average worker's earnings have gone
up dramatically.
 Our thanks go to the workers who supported
the union.
February 18, 2014

11
Fractional expressions such as half of, a part of, a percentage of,
a majority of are sometimes singular and sometimes plural,
depending on the meaning.







Some of the voters are still angry.
A large percentage of the older population is voting against her.
Two-fifths of the troops were lost in the battle.
Two-fifths of the vineyard was destroyed by fire.
Forty percent of the students are in favor of changing the policy.
Forty percent of the student body is in favor of changing the
policy.
 Two and two is four.
 Four times four divided by two is eight.
February 18, 2014

12
If your sentence compounds a positive and a
negative subject and one is plural, the other
singular, the verb should agree with the
positive subject.
 The department members but not the chair have
decided not to teach on Valentine's Day.
 It is not the faculty members but the president who
decides this issue.
 It was the speaker, not his ideas, that has
provoked the students to riot.

February 18, 2014

Quiz Subject-Verb Agreement
 The price of these jeans ____ reasonable. (to be)
 The books borrowed from the library ____ on my desk.
(to be)

 The boy who won the two medals ___ a friend of mine.
(to be)
 Bread and butter ____ our daily food. (to be)
 The famous singer and composer ____ arrived. (to have)
February 18, 2014

 Collecting match-boxes ___ one of his favourite
pastimes. (to be)
 The quality of the candies ___ poor. (to be)

 Neither his father nor his mother ____ mahjong. (to
play)
 Neither parent ____ fond of playing mahjong. (to be)
 None of my friends ___ there. (to be)
February 18, 2014

 Many a student ____ made the same mistake. (to have)
 Gold, as well as platinum, ____ recently risen in price.
(to have)

 The boss, as well as his colleagues, ___ been robbed by
the robber. (to have)
 Ten tons ___ a heavy load. (to be)
 Fifty miles ____ a long distance. (to be)
February 18, 2014

 Thirty years ___ a long time. (to be)
 One of the books ___ been missing. (to have)
 The poor ___ suffering. (to be)
You should decide which one of the three choices
 A, B, or C best _____ the question. (to answer)
 One of the most intelligent students who ____ score full
marks ____ John. (to score, to be)
February 18, 2014

 One of the most intelligent students who ____ score full
marks ____ John. (to score, to be)
 The only one of these most intelligent students who ___
under 18 ___ Peter. (to be, to be)

 The only one of these most intelligent students who ___
under 18 ___ Peter. (to be, to be)
 One of these most intelligent students whose example ___
followed ___ John. (to be, to be)
 One of these most intelligent students whose example ___
followed ___ John. (to be, to be)
February 18, 2014

Subject verb agreement

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Subject verb agreement