Subject and verb agreement Subject and verb agreement Definition The subject of a sentence must agree with the verb of the sentence in number A singular subject takes a singular verb A plural subject[.]
Subject and verb agreement Definition The subject of a sentence must agree with the verb of the sentence in number A singular subject takes a singular verb A plural subject takes a plural vers This is the simple principle behind subject and verb agreement Examples: John lives in the next door The subject: John (singular ) The verb : lives (singular ) They want to finish the class early The subject : They (plural) The verb : want (plural) However, the problems in subject and verb agreement are not simple like that The followings are some rules to help us avoid subject and verb agreement problems in our writing Indefinite pronouns as Subject a Singular indefinite pronouns, such as someone/body/thing, anyone/body/thing, everyone/body/thing, each, one, either, neither take singular verbs Examples: Each does his own cooking Everyone enjoys the summertime Someone has to be responsible Each of the boys gets good marks Neither of the book is mine b Plural indefinite pronouns, such as both, few, many, several take plural verbs Examples: Several of the students were invited to the party Both of the teams play very well Many were impressed by the guess speaker Few of the committee attend meetings c All, any, most, some, and none can go with either singular or plural verbs depending on the grammatical number of the noun they refer to Examples: Some of the show was interesting (Some is singular because it refers to show (performance), which is singular) Some of the actors were humourous (Some is plural because it refers to actors, which is plural) None of the representatives has indecated how he or she will vote None of the representatives have indecated how they will vote Compound subjects a When the subjects are joined by and, the verb will be plural in most situations Tom and Mary are good friends England, Scotland and Wales form Great Britain Exceptions: -When the noun phrases are preceded by each, every,or no, they use a singular verb Example: Each boy and each girl has a book -When the noun phrases denote the same things or persons, they use a singular verb Example: My best friend and my adviser, Tom, is coming tonight b When the subjects are joined by nor, or, or not only …but also, the verb agrees with the closer subject Examples: Neither Anna’s neighbours nor her husband agrees with her decision Either he or his friends were at school yesterday Not only a dog but also two cats at at home in his garage Collective nouns as Subject Normally, these are the nouns that are singular in form but plural in meaning, so they use a plural verb : Audience, team, family, minority, majority, band, class, club, group, committee, crew, etc Examples: The audience were entering the theatre John has just arrived and now the team are all here ( Audience and team here refer to individuals or members) Notes: When the nouns act as a whole single unit, they use a singular verb Examples: The audience was one of the best The team has won the semifinal Nouns with a plural form as Subject The following nouns, plural in form but singular in meaning, are always followed by a singular verb: -The noun news: The news on T.Vis always depressing -games, such as billiads, bowls, dominoes, darts Billiards is becoming more and more popular -Names of the cities, countries, such as Athens, Brussels, Naples, wales,etc Athens has grown rapidly in the past decade Diseases/ illnesses, such as mealse, mumps -Subjects, such as mathematics, linguistics, physics, economics, etc Statistics is a subject at university Acoustics is a branch of physics Mathematics is a compulsory suject at school Exception: Some words ending in _ics, such as acoustics, politics, economics, ethics, phonetics, statistics, take a plural verb when the reference is specific For example: The statistics show that out of 20,000 accidental deaths, 7000 occurred in the home (Statistics ~ collected numbers) The acoustics in the Festival Hall are extremely good (Acoustics ~ sound quality) When the subject in a sentence is a gerund, an infinitive verb, or a That- clause, the verb must be singular Examples: Swimming is a good sport To learn a foreign language is very necessary That she told me yesterday was just a joke Expressions of fractions and percentages as Subject With words that indicate fractions and percentages in of phrase (object of the preposition), the verb will be determined by the object of the preposition: 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: Two-thirds of the money is mine One half of the workers have arrived Fifty percent of the pie has disappeared When measurements of money, time, and distance are the subject of a sentence, they usually require a singular verb Examples: One hundred dollars is a lot of money for a bottle of wine Five kilometres is too much to run in one day Twenty minutes is not enough to solve this problem Two hours is a long time to wait to see a doctor When the subjects are joined by the following phrases, the verb agrees with the first subject: Together with, along with, as well as, in addition to, accompanied by Examples: The singer, as well as the musicians, was pleased with the recording S1 S2 Mr John, accompanied by his wife and childen, is arriving tonight S1 S2 Sometimes, the pronouns who/that /which are the Subject of a verb in the middle of a sentence, the pronouns who/that /which become singular or plural depending on the noun directly in front of them Thus, if that noun is singular, use asingular verb; if that noun is plural, use a plural verb Examples: Salma is the scientist who writes the reports He is one of the men who the work It is the boys who have broken the window 10 In sentences beginning with here or there, the subject follows the verb Here comes the teacher There are many books to read 11 When the titles of books, plays, poems,etc are used as the Subject in a sentence, they take a singular verb “Sleepless Nights” is a detective novel ... how they will vote Compound subjects a When the subjects are joined by and, the verb will be plural in most situations Tom and Mary are good friends England, Scotland and Wales form Great Britain... they use a singular verb Example: Each boy and each girl has a book -When the noun phrases denote the same things or persons, they use a singular verb Example: My best friend and my adviser, Tom,... coming tonight b When the subjects are joined by nor, or, or not only …but also, the verb agrees with the closer subject Examples: Neither Anna’s neighbours nor her husband agrees with her decision