Subject and Verb Agreement Rules

Compilation of Subject and Verb Agreement Rules Page 1
Self Teaching Unit:

Subject - Verb Agreement
2000, 1978 Margaret L. Benner All rights reserved.

Although you are probably already familiar with basic subject-verb agreement,
this chapter begins with a quick review of basic agreement rules.
Subjects and verbs must AGREE with one another in number (singular or
plural). Thus, if a subject is singular, its verb must also be singular; if a
subject is plural, its verb must also be plural.
In the present tense, nouns and verbs form plurals in opposite
ways: nouns ADD an s to the singular form; verbs REMOVE the s from the
singular form.

These agreement rules do not apply to verbs used in the simple past tense
without any helping verbs.


The agreement rules do, however, apply to the following helping verbs when
they are used with a main verb: is-are, was-were, has-have, does-do.

The agreement rules do not apply to has-have when used as the SECOND
helping verb in a pair.


They do NOT apply to any other helping verbs, such as can, could, shall,
should, may, might, will, would, must.

The subject-verb agreement rules apply to all personal pronouns
except I and you, which, although SINGULAR, require PLURAL forms of
verbs.


Now click on the link below to do exercise 1.
Link to Exercise 1
The remainder of this teaching unit deals with some more advanced subject-
verb agreement rules and with exceptions to the original subject-verb
agreement rule
Compound Subject
The word compound means made up of two or more parts. Two or more
words can be compounded or linked by joining them with any of three words:
and, or, and nor
Here are some examples of compounding:


Compound nouns can function as a compound subject. In some instances,
a compound subject poses special problems for the subject-verb agreement
rule (+s, -s).

However, instead of using two sentences (as above), we may choose to give
the above information in one sentence.

This sentence makes use of a compound subject (two subject nouns joined
by and), illustrating a new rule about subject-verb agreement.
Although each part of the compound subject is singular (ranger and camper),
taken together (joined by and), each one becomes a part of a plural structure
and, therefore, must take a plural verb (see) to agree in the sentence.
SUBJECT-VERB RULE #1 Two or more singular (or plural) subjects joined
by and act as a plural compound subject and take a plural verb (singular +
singular = plural).


You can check the verb by substituting the pronoun they for the compound
subject.

Or and nor as joiners work somewhat differently from and. While the
word and seems to ADD things together, or and nor do not. They suggest a
CHOICE.

Look at this sentence.

This sentence makes use of a compound subject (two subject nouns joined
together by or). Each part of the compound subject (ranger, camper) is
singular. Even though both words function together as subject (joined by or),
the subject still remains SINGULAR (ranger or camper) since a CHOICE is
implied.
This compound subject, therefore, requires a singular verb to agree with it.


SUBJECT-VERB RULE #2 Two or more SINGULAR subjects joined
by or (or nor) act as a singular compound subject and, therefore, take
a singular verb to agree.
Note: Two or more plural subjects joined by or (or nor) would naturally take
a plural verb to agree.

However, or and nor can pose a more difficult problem.
Thus far we have been working with compound subjects whose individual
parts are both either singular or plural

What if one part of the compound subject is singular and the other part
is plural?


What form of a verb should be used in this case? Should the verb be singular
to agree with one word? Or should the verb be plural to agree with the other?
Solution:
1. If the individual parts of the compound subject are joined by and, always
use a plural verb.

2. If the individual parts of the compound subject are joined by or or nor, use
the verb form (singular or plural) which will agree with the subjectcloser to
the verb.


Link to Exercise 2
Group Nouns
Some nouns which name groups can be either singular or plural depending
upon their meaning in individual sentences.

Because they can describe either the individuals in the group (more than one
plural), or the group as a single entity (one only singular), these nouns
pose special problems.
However, there are some guidelines for deciding which verb form (singular or
plural) to use with one of these nouns as the subject in a sentence.


If we refer to the group as a whole and, therefore, as a single unit, we
consider the noun singular. In this case, we use a singular verb.

If, on the other hand, we are actually referring to the individuals within the
group, then we consider the noun plural. In this case, we use a plural verb.

Of course group nouns, like other nouns, can also appear in plural forms (with
an s).

When used in the plural form, group nouns mean MORE THAN ONE
GROUP. Thus, it uses a plural verb.


Thus, there are three important subject verb agreement rules to remember
when a group noun is used as the subject:
1. Group nouns can be considered as a single unit, and, thus, take
a singular verb.
2. Group nouns can be considered as individual members within a single
unit and, thus, take a plural verb.
3. Group nouns can be given plural forms to mean two or more units and,
thus, take a plural verb.
Link to Exercise 3

Plural Form / Singular Meaning Nouns
Some nouns are regularly plural in form, but singular in meaning.

Even though these nouns APPEAR to be plural because they end in s, they
actually refer to only one thing made up of smaller, uncounted
parts. Therefore, they are considered singular.


You can see that substituting that pronoun it instead of they makes more
sense here.
Another group of plural form nouns end in ics.

Similarly, it is a more suitable substitute for any of these words than is they.
These nouns appear to be plural (end in s), but generally refer to
only one thing and are, therefore, generally considered singular.


NOTE: Occasionally, however, the ics nouns can have
a plural meaning: We can speak about individual parts of these wholes. In
this case, we apply the same rule as applies to group nouns when we
consider the individual members within the group (see Section 3.3): We use
a plural verb.
Note the difference in meaning and, therefore, in the verb chosen (singular or
plural) between the two uses of the ics noun, statistics.

Link to Exercise 4
Indefinite pronouns can pose special problems in subject verb agreement.
The difficulty is that some indefinite pronouns sound plural when they are
really singular.
As subjects, the following indefinite pronouns ALWAYS take singular
verbs. Look at them closely.

These should be easy to remember.


However, the following indefinite pronouns ALWAYS take plural verbs.


EXCEPTIONS:
A third group of indefinite pronouns takes either a singular or plural verb
depending on the pronouns meaning in the sentence. Look at them closely.
(SANAM)



Link to Exercise 5
So far we have considered subjects that can cause subject-verb agreement
confusion: compound subjects, group noun subjects, plural form
singular meaning subjects, and indefinite subjects.
The remainder of this teaching unit examines subject verb agreement
problems that can result from word placement in sentences. There are four
main problems: prepositional phrases, clauses beginning with who, that,
or which, sentences beginning with here or there, andquestions.


Here is a list of frequently used prepositions:

A prepositional phrase may be placed between the subject and verb.


In the above example, the singular verb is agrees with the singular
subject boy.
Sometimes, however, a prepositional phrase inserted between the subject
and verb makes agreement more difficult.

Car is the singular subject. Was is the singular helping verb which agrees
with car. If we arent careful, however, we may mistakenly labelriders as the
subject since it is nearer to the verb than car is. If we choose the plural
noun, riders, we will incorrectly select the plural verb were.

Solution to the Prepositional Phrase Problem
1. Learn the major prepositions (see page 28).
2. Be alert for prepositional phrases placed between the subject and verb,
and identify the noun in the phrase immediately as the object of a


preposition: An object of a preposition can NEVER be a sentence
subject.
3. Locate the true sentence subject and choose a verb which agrees with it.

4. Remember the indefinite pronoun EXCEPTIONS considered in Section
3.5, p.18: Some, Any, None, All, and Most. The number of thesesubject
words IS affected by a prepositional phrase between the subject and verb.
Link to Exercise 6
A clause beginning with who, that, or which and coming BETWEEN the
subject and verb can cause agreement problems.
Like the prepositional phrase, the who / that / which clause never contains
the subject.


TO AVOID SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT ERRORS . . .
1. Identify who / that / which clauses immediately.

2. Locate the true sentence subject and choose a verb that agrees with it.


Link to Exercise 7
When a sentence begins with there is there are / here is here are, the
subject and verb are inverted. After all that you have learned already, you will
undoubtedly find this topic a relatively easy one!

The verb in such constructions is obviously is or are. The subject, however,
does not come BEFORE the verb.
Instead, the subject in this kind of sentence comes AFTER the verb, so you
must look for it AFTER the verb.

In this example, because the subject, book, is singular, the verb must also be
singular.
If the subject is plural, however, then the verb must be plural.


In this example, because the subject, books, is plural, the verb is also plural.
Remember: In here is here are / there is there are constructions, look
for the subject AFTER the verb and choose a singular (is) or a plural (are)
verb to agree with the subject.
And finally, sometimes creating a question will cause the subject to follow the
verb as well. Here, identify the subject and then choose the verb that agrees
with it (singular or plural).


SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

The subject and the verb must agree in number: both must be
singular or both must be plural. Students have problems with
subject verb agreement when the verb is a form of be or have, or
when the verb is in present tense.

Rules for subject verb agreement
1. When words like the following are used as subjects, they take singular
verb.

Everybody Anybody Somebody Nobody Each
Everyone Anyone Someone No one Either
Everything Anything Something Nothing Neither

Everybody knows the answer.
Nobody speaks German here.
Somebody was in the room.

2. When every and each come before a singular subject joined
by and, the verb is singular.


Every man and woman has the right to vote.
Each student and teacher was aware of the difficulty.

3. Prepositional phrases that come between the subject and the verb do
not change the number of the subject.

The teacher as well as the students was working on the
problem.
The mother together with her children is waiting.

Some examples of prepositional phrases that function like that
are:
As well as
In addition to
Together with
Along with
Except

4. When the verb comes before the subject as in there or here sentences,
it agrees with the subject that immediately follows the verb.

There is a tree in the garden.
There are many trees in the garden.
There is a pine tree and some oaks in the garden.

There goes the cat.
There seems to be a relationship.
There arise problems.
There arises a problem.

5. Introductory it is always singular.

It is my sister who works in the hospital.
It is my cats which cause the trouble.

6. Subjects joined by and take a plural verb (except for number 2).

My sister and brother live in Berlin.
Both the teacher and the student were surprised.


7. Several, many, both, few are plural words and take a plural verb.

Both are happy with the grades they got.
Many were lost on the way.
Few have done their homework.

8. Some nouns are always plural and always take a plural verb.

Trousers, pants, slacks, shorts, briefs, jeans
Glasses, sunglasses
Scissors, pliers, tweezers

My jeans are old.
This year shorts are in fashion.
Where are my scissors?

9. Some words such as none, any, all, more, most, some, majority,
half may take either singular or plural verbs depending on the
meaning.

All the money has been spent.
All of the students know the answer.

10. When subjects are joined by words such as neither, either, not
only the verb must agree with the closer subject.

Either the man or his wife knows the answer.
Either the man or his friends know the answer.
Either the children or the man knows the answer.

11. Collective nouns are usually singular when regarded as a unit.

My family lives in Ankara.
Our team has won every game this year.

Sometimes when the members are seen as functioning
independently, these collective nouns may be plural.

My family have a lot of money. (members of my family)


Our team are working hard to win every game they play.
(team members)

Some collective nouns in this group are:
Family, team, crew, class, government, committee

12. Some nouns have the same singular and plural form. They take
singular or plural verb depending on the meaning.

This species of monkeys lives only in India.
There are many species of monkeys.

Some nouns in this group are:
Species, series, deer, fish, sheep

13. Expressions stating amount of time, money, weight, volume are plural
in form but take a singular verb as in:

Three weeks is a long time.
Two hundred dollars is a lot of money.

14. Some nouns look plural with s but they take a singular verb.

Sciences Abstract nouns Diseases
Physics
Mathematics
Statistics
Economics

News
Politics
Ethics

Measles
Mumps

Maths is found difficult by many students.
Statistics requires complicated methods.

15. Generic references with the require plural verb.

The rich are not always happy.
The young like to listen to loud music.
The old hate loud music.
The English are distant and the French are humorous.


16. Note the use of foreign plurals.

Singular Plural
Analysis
Thesis
Crisis
Basis
Parenthesis
Analyses
Theses
Crises
Bases
Parentheses

Curriculum
Memorandum
Datum
Bacterium
Medium

Curricula
Memoranda
Data
Bacteria
Media

Criterion
Phenomenon

Criteria
Phenomena

Stimulus
Radius
Syllabus

Stimuli
Radii
Syllabi

17. Dont forget that some common English words have irregular plurals.

Plural Singular
Child
Person
Children
People

18. A relative pronoun takes a singular or plural verb depending on which
noun it modifies.

Lisa is one of the students who have passed with an A. (Many
students passed with an A, Lisa is one of them.)
Lisa is the only one of my students who has passed with an
A. (Only Lisa passed with an A.)


Some of the rules for subject verb agreement in this paper
have been adapted from Building Skills for the TOEFL by C.
King and N. Stanley, Nelson, 1989

Written by Zeliha Gulcat, July 2004

Subject-Verb Agreement

NOTE
We will use the standard of underlining subjects once and verbs twice.
Being able to find the right subject and verb will help you correct errors of subject-verb agreement.
Basic Rule. A singular subject (she, Bill, car) takes a singular verb (is, goes, shines), whereas a plural subject takes
a plural verb.
Example: The list of items is/are on the desk.
If you know that list is the subject, then you will choose is for the verb.
Rule 1. A subject will come before a phrase beginning with of. This is a key rule for understanding subjects. The
word of is the culprit in many, perhaps most, subject-verb mistakes.

Hasty writers, speakers, readers, and listeners might miss the all-too-common mistake in the following sentence:
Incorrect: A bouquet of yellow roses lend color and fragrance to the room.
Correct: A bouquet of yellow roses lends . . . (bouquet lends, not roses lend)
Rule 2. Two singular subjects connected by or, either/or, or neither/nor require a singular verb.
Examples:
My aunt or my uncle is arriving by train today.
Neither Juan nor Carmen is available.
Either Kiana or Casey is helping today with stage decorations.
Rule 3. The verb in an or, either/or, or neither/nor sentence agrees with the noun or pronoun closest to it.
Examples:
Neither the plates nor the serving bowl goes on that shelf.
Neither the serving bowl nor the plates go on that shelf.
This rule can lead to bumps in the road. For example, if I is one of two (or more) subjects, it could lead to this odd
sentence:
Awkward: Neither she, my friends, nor I am going to the festival.
If possible, it's best to reword such grammatically correct but awkward sentences.
Better:
Neither she, I, nor my friends are going to the festival.
OR
She, my friends, and I are not going to the festival.
Rule 4. As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected by and.
Example: A car and a bike are my means of transportation.
But note these exceptions:
Exceptions:
Breaking and entering is against the law.
The bed and breakfast was charming.
In those sentences, breaking and entering and bed and breakfast are compound nouns.


Rule 5. Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by such words as along with, as well as, besides, not, etc.
These words and phrases are not part of the subject. Ignore them and use a singular verb when the subject is
singular.
Examples:
The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly.
Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking.
Rule 6. With words that indicate portionspercent, fraction, majority, some, all, etc.Rule 1 given earlier is
reversed, and we are guided by the noun after of. If the noun after of is singular, use a singular verb. If it is plural, use
a plural verb.
Example:
Fifty percent of the pie has disappeared.
Fifty percent of the pies have disappeared.
A third of the city is unemployed.
A third of the people are unemployed.
All of the pie is gone.
All of the pies are gone.
Some of the pie is missing.
Some of the pies are missing.
NOTE
In recent years, the SAT testing service has considered none to be strictly singular. However, according to Merriam-
Webster's Dictionary of English Usage: "Clearly none has been both singular and plural since Old English and still is.
The notion that it is singular only is a myth of unknown origin that appears to have arisen in the 19th century. If in
context it seems like a singular to you, use a singular verb; if it seems like a plural, use a plural verb. Both are
acceptable beyond serious criticism." When none is clearly intended to mean "not one," it is followed by a singular
verb.
Rule 7. In sentences beginning with here or there, the true subject follows the verb.
Examples:
There are four hurdles to jump.
There is a high hurdle to jump.
Here are the keys.
NOTE:
The word there's, a contraction of there is, leads to bad habits in informal sentences likeThere's a lot of people here
today, because it's easier to say "there's" than "there are." Take care never to use there's with a plural subject.
Rule 8. Use a singular verb with distances, periods of time, sums of money, etc., when considered as a unit.
Examples:
Three miles is too far to walk.
Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense.
Ten dollars is a high price to pay.
BUT
Ten dollars (i.e., dollar bills) were scattered on the floor.
Rule 9. Some collective nouns, such as family, couple, staff, audience, etc., may take either a singular or a plural
verb, depending on their use in the sentence.
Examples:
The staff is in a meeting.
Staff is acting as a unit.
The couple disagree about disciplining their child.
The couple refers to two people who are acting as individuals.
NOTE


Anyone who uses a plural verb with a collective noun must take care to be accurateand also consistent. It must not
be done carelessly. The following is the sort of flawed sentence one sees and hears a lot these days:
The staff is deciding how they want to vote.
Careful speakers and writers would avoid assigning the singular is and the plural they to staffin the same sentence.
Consistent: The staff are deciding how they want to vote.
Rewriting such sentences is recommended whenever possible. The preceding sentence would read even better as:
The staff members are deciding how they want to vote.
Rule 10. The word were replaces was in sentences that express a wish or are contrary to fact:
Example: If Joe were here, you'd be sorry.
Shouldn't Joe be followed by was, not were, given that Joe is singular? But Joe isn't actually here, so we say were,
not was. The sentence demonstrates the subjunctive mood, which is used to express things that are hypothetical,
wishful, imaginary, or factually contradictory. The subjunctive mood pairs singular subjects with what we usually think
of as plural verbs.
Examples:
I wish it were Friday.
She requested that he raise his hand.
In the first example, a wishful statement, not a fact, is being expressed; therefore, were, which we usually think of as
a plural verb, is used with the singular subject I.

Normally, he raise would sound terrible to us. However, in the second example, where a request is being expressed,
the subjunctive mood is correct.

Note: The subjunctive mood is losing ground in spoken English but should still be used in formal speech and writing.

Subject and Verb Agreement Rules

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Compilation of Subject and Verb Agreement Rules Page 1

Self Teaching Unit:

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