John, accompanied by several members of the committee, (have/has) proposed some changes of the rules. 10) The levels of intoxication (varies/vary) from subject to subject. 13) Either[r]
(1)SUBJECT AND VERB AGREEMENT
Remember that the subject and verb in a sentence must agree in person and number
EX: The elevator works very well The elevators work very well singular singular plural plural
The study of languages is very interesting singular subject singular verb
Several theories on this subject have been proposed plural subject plural verb
Some typical patterns of subject and verb agreement
o S1 + and + S2 + V (plural)
EX: The actress and her manager are going to a party tonight
o S1 + or + S2
Either + S1 + or + S2 + Verb (S2)
Neither + S1 + nor + S2
Not only + S1 + but also + S2
EX: Neither the boy’s parents nor I am pleased with his progress
o S1 + as well as + S2
along with/with
together with + Verb (S1)
accompanied by/with addition to
besides/except
EX: A woman with her children is in the store
o Here/There + Be + Noun/Pronoun
Adverb Phrase of Place
EX: There aresome problems to be solved
There isa book, a pen, and two pencils on the table Here ismy mother
At the end of the room arethree young students (Adverb Phrase of Place)
o It + is/was + Noun/Pronoun + that-Clause
EX: There was a knock at the door I opened it It was Tom and his wife It was the children that stole your watch
o Each/Every + Noun (singular) + V (singular)
EX: Every student has to finish the test on time
o Each
Every + of + Noun (plural) + V (singular) Either
(2)EX: Neither of the boys needs to this sort of work
o Each/Every + Noun (singular) + and + Noun (singular) + Verb (singular)
EX: Each boy and girl has to work independently
o Many a + Noun (singular) + Verb (singular)
EX: Many a book is put on the top shelves
o All
Most
Many + of + Noun (plural) + Verb (plural) (A) few
Some
EX: Some of the books are very old
o All
Most Much
(A) little + of + Uncountable Noun (singular) + Verb (singular) Some
Plenty Part
EX: Most of water on earth is salty
o The number of + Noun (plural) + Verb (singular)
A number of (=many)+ Noun (plural) + Verb (plural) EX: The number of days in a week is seven
A number of students are going to the class picnic
o No + Noun (singular/uncountable) + Verb (singular)
No + Noun (plural) + Verb (plural) EX: No example is relevant to this case No examples are relevant to this case
o None of the + Noun (uncountable) + Verb (singular)
None of the + Noun (plural) + Verb (plural) EX: None of the counterfeit has been found
None of the students have finished the exam yet
o Indefinite pronouns + V (singular)
Indefinite pronouns include “someone, anyone, everyone, no one, somebody, anybody, everybody, nobody, something, anything, everything, nothing”
EX: Something was under the house
o Collective nouns indicating money, time, and measurements are followed by
singular verbs
(3)o Collective nouns are usually known as a group and hence used with singular
verbs However, if they indicate the individual members in the group, the plural verbs are used Some of the collective nouns are “family, team, group, committee, class, crowd, government, organization, club, jury, public, …”
EX: The crowd was wild with excitement
Majority can be singular or plural If it is alone, it is usually singular; if it is followed by a plural noun, it is usually plural
EX: The majority believes that we are in no danger
The majority of the students believe him to be innocent
The following nouns are used to indicate groups of certain animals and thus considered singular
flock of birds/sheep school of fish herd of cattle
pride of lions pack of dogs
EX: The flock of birds is circling overhead
o If the sentence begins with a gerund, an infinite, or a clause functioning as
subjects, the verb must be singular EX: Dieting is very popular today (gerund) To see is to believe (to-infinitive)
What you have done is very meaningful to me (clause)
o The + adjective indicating a group of people usually goes with plural verbs
EX: The poor in this town need much more care
o Such nouns as “scissors, trousers, shorts, glasses, pants, pliers, tweezers, tongs, jeans ”
are always plural However, they are used with a singular verb when used with “a pair of”
EX: The pants are in the drawer
But: A pair of pants is in the drawer
o Such nouns ending in “s” as “news, measles, rickets, mathematics, phonetics,
physics, mumps, economics, politics, athletics, statistics, …” are used with a singular verb
EX: Physics is a kind of subject
o These follow-up nouns (plural without “s”) are used with plural verbs
people police clergy men/women children
sheep deer fish mice cattle
oxen lice geese poultry teeth
feet
(4)EXERCISE FOR PRACTICE Choose the correct form of the verb in brackets in the following sentences
1) John, along with twenty friends, (is/are) planning a party 2) The picture of the soldiers (bring/brings) back many memories 3) The quality of these recordings (is/are) not very good
4) If the duties of these officers (isn’t/aren’t) reduced, there will not be enough time to finish the project
5) The effects of cigarette smoking (have/has) been proven to be extremely harmful
6) The use of credit cards in place of cash (have/has) increased rapidly in recent years
7) Advertisements on television (is/are) becoming more competitive than ever before
8) Living expenses in this country, as well as in many others, (is/are) at an all-time high
9) Mr John, accompanied by several members of the committee, (have/has) proposed some changes of the rules
10) The levels of intoxication (varies/vary) from subject to subject 11) No problem (is/are) harder to solve than this one
12) Nobody (work/works) harder than John does
13) Either John or his friends (is/are) going to the beach today 14) Neither the director nor the secretary (want/wants) to leave yet 15) Two miles (is/are) too much to run in a day
16) The number of residents who have been questioned on this matter (is/are) quite small
17) These scissors (is/are) very dull
18) Being cordial (is/are) one of his greatest assets 19) The family (was/were) elated by the news
20) A school of fish (is/are) being attacked by sharks
21) The effects of that crime (is/are) likely to be devastating 22) The Smiths (are/is) getting accustomed to stay up late 23) All (is/are) satisfied with the exam result
24) Tell me, who (is/are/am) your close friend
25) You are the person who (am/is/are) wanted by the police
26) There (has/have) been an increase in the importation of foreign cars 27) There (was/were) water on the floor where he fell
28) The boys in the room (is/are) studying