Subject Verb Agreement

1. Subject Verb Agreement

2. Nouns name people, places and things. Pronouns replace nouns. Agreement: Singular nouns should have singular pronouns and singular subjects should have singular verbs. Likewise, plural nouns need plural pronouns and plural subjects need plural verbs.

3. The Acme Chemical Corp. announced that it lost more than $2 million last year. or • Acme Chemical Corp. officials announced that their company lost more than $2 million last year. (Make the noun plural to agree with plural pronoun)

4. Two or more nouns can be the subject of a sentence. In those cases, we use plural verbs to agree with the subject. • –The five Republicans and Johnson have objected.

5. BUT …. When the parts of a compound subject are joined by or, but, either ... or, neither ... nor, not only ... but, also the verb must agree with the subject nearest to the verb. • Neither the Oregon players nor the coach was overconfident. • Neither the Oregon coach nor the players were intimidated by Arizona.

6. Collective nouns, such as jury, group, committee, team, are singular even though they represent lots of people. • The jury announced its verdict.

7. Each is singular, in most cases. • None usually means no single one. When used in this sense, it always takes singular verbs and pronouns. • When used as subject or adjective, one is always singular.

8. BUT …. When each comes after a plural subject, it doesn’t govern the verb. Jim, Bob and Frank each want a new house.

9. BUT …. Only one vs. one There is a difference: • *He is the only one of the teachers who cares. • *He is one of the teachers who care. • It’s all about who the “who” refers to

10. Words between subjects and verbs (non essential phrases or modifying phrases) usually make no difference, with a few exceptions. • Johnson, along with five Republicans, has objected. • The discovery of three more victims has stunned police

11. BUT!!!! …. The exceptions: Whether percentages and fractions are singular or plural depends on the words that follow them. If the word after of is plural, the verb is plural, and vice versa. • Eight percent of the students have the flu. • A quarter of the faculty favors a strike.

12. More exceptions Number is singular when used with “the,” but plural with the article “a.” • A number of people have been killed by the storm. • The number of deaths has been difficult to determine.

13. Still more … Majority, plural and minority can be singular or plural. When used alone they are singular. • The majority has decided not to announce its decision

14. Most of the time, these words are plural when they are followed by a prepositional phrase. • The majority of houses were destroyed by the storm.

15. Logical agreement What’s wrong here? • Larry Bird gave the children an autographed picture of himself. • The deputy admitted to the sheriff that he had crashed his car.

16. Finally, Where Where refers to a place • He wants to live in Boulder, where he can go skiing regularly. • The company has a rule in place where employees can’t wear jeans to work.