Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-Verb Agreement

Agreement • Present tense verbs in English should agree with the subject of the sentence • Singular subjects use singular verbs • Jack robs liquor stores (s on the verb) • Plural subjects use plural verbs • Bonnie and Clyde rob banks (no s on the verb) • Most native speaker do this instinctively • More complex problems require you to learn a few rules

Identify the Subject • Ignore words that come between the subject and the verb • Reduce sentences to their simplest form • A good set of skis costs / cost hundreds of dollars • A good set of skis costs / cost hundreds of dollars • A good set of skis costs hundreds of dollars • My boss, as well as her staff, leave / leaves early every Friday • My boss, as well as her staff, leave / leaves early every Friday • My boss, as well as her staff, leaves early every Friday

Compound Subjects using “And” • Most compound subjects joined by “and” are plural • Bert and Ernie is / are special friends • Bert and Ernie is / are special friends (plural verb) • Exception: If the words joined by “and” refer to a single thing, the subject is also singular • War and Peaceis a very thick book (singular) • My friend and co-worker is waiting to see you (singular)

Compound Subjects using “Or” • When the subject is joined with “or” or “nor” the verb agrees with the words closest to the verb • Neither the instructor nor the studentshas / have any control over the number of 8 o’clock classes • Neither the instructor nor the studentshas / have any control over the number of 8 o’clock classes (plural verb) • Either two credit cards or a membership is / are needed before you can rent movies • Either two credit cards or a membership is / are needed before you can rent movies (singular verb) • Note: While the above example is correct, it is usually better to place the plural word closer to the verb • Either a membership or two credit cardsare needed before you can rent movies (plural verb)

Indefinite Pronouns • Indefinite pronouns are singular • every, everyone, everybody, each, neither, either, none, one, no one • Every student has / have a unique student number • Every student has / have a unique student number • None of us admit / admits to sending the e-mail message • None of us admit / admits to sending the e-mail message • Ignore prepositional phrases coming between the subject and the verb • Each of the five departments is / are hiring new instructors • Each of the five departments is / are hiring new instructors

Collective Nouns • Words such as jury,committee, or herd will be singularwhen everyone in the group is acting together • The juryis / are deciding the fate of the accused • The juryis / are deciding the fate of the accused • Collective nouns will beplural when the members of the group are not acting together • The juryis / are undecided on the guilt of the accused • The juryis / are undecided on the guilt of the accused

Here, There, and It • When the sentence begins with Here or There, the subject follows the verb and controls whether the verb is plural • Here are my reasons for quitting (plural) • There is no need to pay me next week (singular) • It is always singular • It was the long hours that bothered me (singular)

Words Ending in S • Words such as economics, AIDS,physics and news are singular • Economicsis fun and exciting • The newsis usually broadcast live • Words such as scissors, eyeglasses and pants that name things with two parts are plural • My glasseswere broken when I did a face plant

Money and Measurement • Units of time, money, distance, and weight use singular verbs • Twenty kilometresis a long distance to skate to work each day • Eight dollars an houris a poor rate • The expression thenumber is singular • The number of failures is decreasing • The expression anumber is plural • A number of people are leaving

Titles • The title of a movie, book or magazine requires a singular verb • Lost Horizonsis a book about a utopia • The Simpsonsis my favourite TV show

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Subject-Verb Agreement