Subject/Verb Agreement

1. Subject/Verb Agreement Verbs should agree in number with its subject: • ‘S’ Rule: • Singular subjects= verbs that end in ‘s’ • Plural subjects= verbs do not end in ‘s’ Ex: Singular: He washes the dishes Rachel plays basketball for Cape Fear Academy.

2. Subject/Verb Agreement -Plural: They wash the dishes. Rachel and Maddieplay basketball for CFA. Note: The ‘S’ Rule applies to linking verbs as well. Singular: Ann is backpacking in Nevada. Plural: All of my friends were late.

3. Subject/Verb Agreement • These pictures (show, shows) how noodles are prepared. • First, the noodle maker (roll, rolls) out the dough as thin as possible. • Then, the cook (slice, slices) the folded layers. • Next, the strands of noodles (is, are) separated and dusted with flour to prevent sticking.

4. Subject/Verb Agreement • After the noodles have dried a little, they (go, goes) into boiling water or broth to cook. • The Japanese (enjoy, enjoys) noodles made from either wheat flour or buckwheat flour. • A dish of cooked noodles mixed with sauce, broth, fish, or vegetables (makes, make) a popular lunch.

5. Subject/Verb Agreement • Noodle shops all over Japan (serves, serve) a variety of noodle dishes. • These shops often (resemble, resembles) fast-food restaurants in the United States. • For lunch or a snack, customers at a noodle shop (order, orders) noodles with their favorite toppings.

6. S/V Agreement and Prepositional Phrases Finding a subject and verb in a simple sentence is relatively easy; it may become more difficult in more complex sentences. Therefore, remember the following: Subjects and verbs are never found in PP’s. If you encounter confusion, the easiest way to uncover the subject and verb in a sentence is to eliminate the prepositional phrases.

7. S/V Agreement and Prepositional Phrases E1: Most of the women voted. Most of the women voted. The subject? Most, not women. Women cannot be the subject of this sentence because it is in a PP. E2: One of the parakeets in the pet shop looks like ours. One of the parakeets in the pet shop looks like ours.

8. S/V Agreement and Prepositional Phrases E3: Are two of the books missing? Are two of the books missing? E4: Around the corner from our house is a store. Around the corner from our house is a store.

9. S/V Agreement and Indefinite Pronouns Singular Indefinite Pronouns E1: Each of the athletes runs effortlessly. E2: Neither of the women is ready to start. Plural Indefinite Pronouns E1: Were both of the games postponed? E2: Few that I know of have qualified.

10. S/V Agreement and Indefinite Pronouns Depends upon meaning E1: Someof the test is hard. [Some refers to the singular noun test.] E2: Someof the questions are easy. [Some refers to the plural noun questions.]

11. S/V Agreement and Indefinite Pronouns Singular: E1: All of the exhibit is open to the public. Plural: E1: All of the paintings are on display.

12. S/V Agreement and Indefinite Pronouns • Each of the comedians (tries, try) to outdo the other. • Somebody on the bus (was, were) whistling. • (Is, Are) all of the apples spoiled? • Neither of these books (has, have) an index • (Do, Does) everybody in the class have a pencil?

13. S/V Agreement and Indefinite Pronouns • Few of these jobs (sound, sounds) challenging. • (Is, Are) more of the vendors in the market? • She said that no one in the office (leaves, leave) early. • Both of her parents (has, have) offered us a ride. • (Do, Does) most of the CDs belong to her?

14. S/V Agreement and the Compound Subject • Subjects joined by and generally take a plural verb. E1: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg make movies. • Compound subjects that name only one thing take a singular verb. E1: My pen pal and best friend is my cousin. E2: Macaroni and cheese makes a tasty dish.

15. S/V Agreement and the Compound Subject • Singular subjects joined by OR or NOR= singular verb E1: Neither the coach nor the principal is happy with the team’s performance. E2: After dinner, either Anne or Tony loads the dishwasher.

16. S/V Agreement and the Compound Subject • Plural subjects joined by OR or NOR = plural verb. E1: Either the boys or the girls take the garbage out. E2: Neither the dogs nor the cats come when we call them.

17. S/V Agreement and the Compound Subject When a singular subject and a plural subject are joined by OR or NOR, the verb agrees with the subject nearer the verb. E1: Neither the children nor their mother was ready for the trip. E2: Neither the mother nor her children were ready for the trip.

18. Final Issues in S/V Agreement Don’t Doesn’t Use with: All singular subjects All singular pronouns except for ‘I’ and ‘you’ Use with: • All plural subjects • I • You

19. Final Issues in S/V Agreement • Collective nouns may either be singular or plural, depending on its usage in the sentence. E1: The jury is ready. [The jury is seen as one collective unit.] E2: The jury are still arguing among themselves. [The jury is split apart into separate members.]

20. Final Issues in S/V Agreement Amounts of things (measurement, percentage, fractions) are singular or plural, depending on usage. • Thinking of things as units: E1: Two hours is a long time to wait. E2: Two hours- one before school and one after- are all I have for practice.

21. Final Issues in S/V Agreement Thinking of things as individual portions: E1: Three fourths of the pizza is gone. E2: Of these songs, three fourths are new.

22. Final Issues in S/V Agreement • Some nouns that are plural in form take singular verbs. E1: Politics is a controversial topic. E2: The news of the nominee was a surprise. E3: Rickets is a serious health problem in some countries.

23. Final Issues in S/V Agreement Even when plural in form, the title of a creative work, the name of an organization, or the name of a country or city generally takes a singular verb. E1: The United Nations was founded in 1945. E2: White Plains is home to several colleges. E3: “Greensleeves” is an old English folk song.