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Subject Verb Agreement

The document provides rules for subject-verb agreement in English. It discusses how the verb must agree with the subject in person and number. It outlines several cases where the subject may not be immediately clear, such as with collective nouns, compound subjects, indefinite pronouns, and intervening words. Examples are given for each case to illustrate the general rules of subject-verb agreement.

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Gee Romano
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94 views15 pages

Subject Verb Agreement

The document provides rules for subject-verb agreement in English. It discusses how the verb must agree with the subject in person and number. It outlines several cases where the subject may not be immediately clear, such as with collective nouns, compound subjects, indefinite pronouns, and intervening words. Examples are given for each case to illustrate the general rules of subject-verb agreement.

Uploaded by

Gee Romano
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Analyze:

The students is busy in the


classroom.
The teacher facilitate the
discussion well.
Subject-Verb
Agreement
General Rule
 A verb must agree with its subject in person and in
number.

Jack robs liquor stores .


Bonnie and Clyde rob banks .
Identify the Subject

The verb must agree with the true


subject of the sentence

One of the men has / have an


eye patch

The tray that has the eggs has /


have disappeared.
Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns like every, everyone,


everybody, each, somebody, nobody, one, no one
take singular verb

 Every student has / have a unique student number.


 Nobody wants / want to be lonely.

Indefinite pronouns like both, several, few, many and


others take plural verb
- Several of my friends is / are married.
- Many is / are called but only few is / are chosen.
Indefinite Pronoun
 Indefinite pronouns all, any, most, some may
either take singular or plural verb depending on
how they are used in the sentence

 All of the teachers attend / attends the meeting.


 None of them is / are idle.
 Most children like / likes sweet.
Compound Subjects using
“And”
 Most compound subjects joined by “and”are plural
› Bert and Ernie is / are special friends.

 Exception: If the words joined by “and” refer to a single thing, the


subject is also singular

› My friend and co-worker is / are waiting to see you.


Compound Subjects using “Either -Or” “
Neither - Nor

 When the subject is joined with “either - or” or


“neither -nor” the verb agrees with the words closest
to the verb

 Neither the instructor nor the students has / have any


control over the number of 8 o’clock classes
 Neither the instructors nor the student has / have any
control over the number of 8 o` clock classes.

 Either two credit cards or a membership is / are


needed before you can rent movies
 Either two credit cards or a memberships is / are
needed before you can rent movies
Collective Nouns
 Collective nouns used to describe a unit acting
together is taken as singular.

› The jury is / are deciding the fate of the accused.

 Collective nouns will be plural when the members


of the group are not acting together

› The jury is / are undecided on the guilt of the accused


Special Nouns
 Nouns plural in form but singular in meaning
such use singular verb.

Economics is /are fun and exciting.


The news is / are usually broadcast
live.
Statistics is / are her favourite
subject back in college.
Intervening Words
 Verb agrees with the real subject regardless of
intervening words
› My boss, together with his staff , leaves / leave for New
York this Sunday.
› The mayor, along with his men, tour / tours the city.

 Nouns ending in s and as describe as being in pairs


take plural verb
› My glasses was/ were broken when I did a face plant .
› His socks is /are smelly.
Money and Measurement
 Units of time, money, distance, and weight use
singular verbs

› Twenty kilometres is /are a long distance to skate to


work each day
› Eight dollars an hour is /are a poor rate

 The expression the number is singular


› The number of failures is /are decreasing.

 The expression a number is plural


› A number of people is /are leaving.
Money and Measurement

 For fractions, verb agrees with the noun


in the of- phrase

 Two – thirds of the pies was / were


eaten already.
 One – fourth of the cake is / are served.
Titles
 The title of a movie, book or magazine
requires a singular verb

 Lost Horizons is /are a book about a utopia.


 The Simpsons is /are my favourite TV show.
Here, There
 When the sentence begins with Here or There, the
subject follows after the verb and controls whether
the verb is plural

 Here is/are my reasons for quitting.


 There is/are still oranges in the basket. .

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