Subject-Verb Agreement PDF

# **Subject-Verb Agreement** The basic principle of subject-verb agreement is that if the subject is singular, the verb should be singular, and if the subject is plural, the verb should be plural. There are ten major guidelines. In the examples under the following guidelines, the simple subjects an...

# **Subject-Verb Agreement** The basic principle of subject-verb agreement is that if the subject is singular, the verb should be singular, and if the subject is plural, the verb should be plural. There are ten major guidelines. In the examples under the following guidelines, the simple subjects and verbs are italicized. ## **Guidelines** 1. **Do not let words that come between the subject and verb affect agreement.** - Modifying phrases and clauses frequently come between the subject and verb: - The various types of drama *were* not discussed. - Angela, who is hitting third, *is* the best player. - The price of those shoes *is* too high. - Certain prepositions can cause trouble. The following words are prepositions, not conjunctions: _along with_, _as well as_, _besides_, _in addition to_, _including_, _together with_. The words that function as objects of prepositions cannot also be subjects of the sentence. - The _coach_, along with the players, *protests* the decision. - When a negative phrase follows a positive subject, the verb agrees with the positive subject. - Philip, not the other boys, *was* the culprit. 2. **Do not let inversions (verb before subject, not the normal order) affect the agreement of subject and verb.** - Verbs and other words may come before the subject. Do not let them affect the agreement. To understand subject-verb relationships, recast the sentence in normal word order. - Are Juan and his sister at home? - Juan and his sister *are* at home. 3. **A singular verb agrees with a singular indefinite pronoun.** - Most indefinite pronouns are singular. - *Everyone* *is* ready at this time. - *Each* of the women *is* ready at this time. - *Neither* of the women *is* ready at this time. - *One* of the children *is* not paying attention. - Certain indefinite pronouns do not clearly express either a singular or plural number. Agreement, therefore, depends on the meaning of the sentence. - These pronouns are _all_, _any_, _none_, and _some_. - *All* of the *melon* *was* good. - *All* of the *melons* *were* good. - *None* of the *pie* *is* acceptable. - *None* of the *pies* *are* acceptable. 4. **Two or more subjects joined by _and_ usually take a plural verb.** - The _captain_ and the _sailors_ *were* happy to be ashore. - The _trees_ and _shrubs_ *need* more care. - If the parts of a compound subject mean one and the same person or thing, the verb is singular; if the parts mean more than one, the verb is plural. - The _secretary_ and _treasurer_ *is* not present. [one] - The _secretary_ and the _treasurer_ *are* not present. [more than one] 5. **Alternative subjects--that is, subjects joined by _or_, _nor_, _either/or_, _neither/nor_, _not only/but also_--should be handled in the following manner:** - If the subjects are both singular, the verb is singular. - Rosa or Alicia *is* responsible. - If the subjects are plural, the verb is plural. - Neither the _students_ nor the _teachers_ *were* impressed by his comments. - If one of the subjects is singular and the other subject is plural, the verb agrees with the nearer subject. - Either the Garcia _boys_ or their _father_ *goes* to the hospital each day. - Either their _father_ or the Garcia _boys_ *go* to the hospital each day. 6. **Collective nouns--_team_, _family_, _group_, _crew_, _gang_, _class_, _faculty_, and the like--take a singular verb if the verb is considered a unit, but they take a plural verb if the group is considered as a number of individuals.** - The _team_ *is* playing well tonight. ["unit"] - The _team_ *are* getting dressed. ["individuals"] - In the second sentence the individuals are acting not as a unit but separately. 7. **Titles of books, essays, short stories, and plays, a word spoken of as a word, and the names of businesses take a singular verb.** - The Canterbury Tales *was* written by Geoffrey Chaucer. - Ives *is* my favorite name for a pet. - Markel Brothers *has* a sale this week. 8. **Sums of money, distances, and measurements are followed by a singular verb when a unit is meant. They are followed by a plural verb when the individual elements are considered separately.** - Three *dollars* *was* the price. [unit] - Three *dollars* *were* lying there. [individual] - Five *years* *is* a long time. [unit] - The first five *years* *were* difficult ones. [individual] 9. **Be careful of agreement with nouns ending in -s. Several nouns ending in -s take a singular verb--for example, _aeronautics_, _civics_, _economics_, _ethics_, _measles_, _mumps_.** - *Mumps* *is* an unpleasant disease. - *Economics* *is* my major field of study. 10. **Some nouns have only a plural form take only a plural verb--for example, _clothes_, _fireworks_, _scissors_, _pants_.** - His *pants* *are* badly wrinkled. - Marv's *clothes* *were* stylish and expensive. ## **Exercise** **Underline the correct verb form.** 1. There (is, **are**) very little remote wilderness left in the world. 2. Neither the jungles, nor the oceans, nor the desert (has, **have**) gone unexplored. 3. Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain, (is, **are**) no exception. 4. Before 1953, though, many a thrill-seeker (was, **were**) hoping to be the first to stand on its summit. 5. Everyone (know, **knows**) that George Mallory died trying in 1924. 6. Although we can never be sure, some of us (believe, **believes**) Mallory was the first to make it to the top. 7. According to the record books, Sir Edmund Hillary, along with his partner Tenzing Norgay, (was, **were**) the first to reach the highest place on Earth on May 29, 1953. 8. There (is, **are**) many reasons why someone would want to climb Mount Everest. 9. (Is, **Are**) personal satisfaction or prestige more important to today's climbers? 10. (Is, **Are**) mountaineers driven by passion or by sport? 11. Now, $65,000 (is, **are**) the price anyone can pay for a guided hike to the summit. 12. Trips to the top of Mount Everest (is, **are**) now routine. 13. A 64-year-old man, a legally blind person, and an amputee (has, **have**) successfully climbed the mountain. 14. A solo climber or a group (take, **takes**) about eleven hours to ascend.