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SUBJECT VERB

AGREEMENT

HJ.DERIS B. HJ.ABU BAKAR

LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT

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RULE 1:Singular Subject

Basic Principle:

- Singular subjects need

singular verbs

- Plural subjects need pluralverbs.

- My brother is a nutritionist.- My sisters are

mathematicians.

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RULE 2: The indefinite pronouns

Singular indefinite pronoun

subjects take singular verbs.

Everyone has done his or her

homework. Somebody has left her purse.

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RULE 2: Some indefinite pronouns such as all, some are singular

or plural depending on what

they're referring to. (Is the thing

referred to countable or not?)

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RULE 2: There is one indefinitepronoun, none, that can be

either singular or plural; itoften doesn't matter whether

you use a singular or a plural

verb unless something else

in the sentence determines itsnumber.

"None of the engines are

working," (Writers generally think ofnone as meaning not anyand will choose a

plural verb,

"None of the food is fresh.(When something else makes us regard

none as meaning not one, we want asingular verb)

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RULE 2: Some indefinite pronouns are

particularly troublesome:

Everyone and everybody. They are always singular, though.

Everyone has finished his or her

homework.

Each is often followed by aprepositional phrase ending in a plural

word (Each of the cars), thus confusing

the verb choice.

Each, too, is always singular and

requires a singular verb.

Each of the students is responsible for

doing his or her work in the library.

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RULE 2: The pronouns neitherand

eitherare singular and

require singular verbs eventhough they seem to be

referring, in a sense, to

two things. Neither of the two traffic

lights is working.

Which shirt do you want for

Christmas?

Either is fine with me.

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RULE 3: Phrases such as together with, as

well as, and along with are not the

same as and. The phrase introduced by as well

asor along withwill modify the

earlier word, but it does not

compound the subjects (as theword andwould do).

The mayor as well as his brothers isgoing to prison.

Her parents along with her aunt are

going on a cruise.

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RULE 4: The words there and here are

never subjects.

There are two reasons [plural

subject] for this.

There is no reason for this.

Here are two apples.

With these constructions

(called expletive

constructions), the subjectfollows the verb but still

determines the number of the

verb.

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RULE 5: Some words end in -sand appearto be plural but are really singular

and require singular verbs.

The news from the front is bad.

Measles is a dangerous disease for

pregnant women.

On the other hand, some words

ending in -s refer to a single thing

but are nonetheless plural and

require a plural verb.

My assets were wiped out in thedepression.

The average worker's earnings have

gone up dramatically.

Our thanks go to the workers who

supported the union.

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RULE 6:

Fractional expressions such as half of, a

part of, a percentage of, a majority of

are sometimes singular and sometimes

plural, depending on the meaning.(Thesame is true, of course, when all, any,

more, mostand some act as subjects.)

Some of the voters are still angry.

A large percentage of the olderpopulation is voting against her.

Two-fifths of the troops were lost in the

battle.

Two-fifths of the vineyard wasdestroyed by fire.

Forty percent of the students are in

favour of changing the policy.

Forty percent of the student body is in

favour of changing the policy.

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RULE 6: The expression "more than one"

(oddly enough) takes a singular verb:

"More than one student has triedthis."

Sums and products of mathematical

processes are expressed as singular

and require singular verbs.

Two and two is four.

Four times four divided by two iseight.

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RULE 7: Collective Nouns (group, jury,

crowd, team, etc.) may be singular

or plural, depending on meaning.

In this example, the jury is acting asone unit; therefore, the verb is

singular.

In this example, the jury members

are acting as twelve individuals;

therefore, the verb is plural.

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RULE 8: Titles of single entities (books,

organizations, countries, etc.) are

always singular.

The Burbs is a movie starring TomHanks.

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RULE 9: Plural form subjects

Plural form subjects with a singular meaning

take a singular verb.(e.g. news, measles,

mumps, physics, etc.)

Plural form subjects with singular or plural

meaning take a singular or plural verb,

depending on meaning. (e.g.politics,

economics, etc.)

In this example, politics is a single topic;

therefore, the sentence has a singular verb.

In this example, politics refers to the many

aspects of the situation; therefore, the

sentence has a plural verb.

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RULE 9: Plural form subjects Plural form subjects with a plural meaning take

a plural verb.(e.g. scissors, trousers)

Note: In this example, the subject of the

sentence ispair; therefore, the verb must agree

with it. (Because scissors is the object of the

preposition, scissors does not affect the number

of the verb.)

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RULE 10:

Sometimes modifiers (PP,DC) will

get between a subject and its verb,

but these modifiers must not

confuse the agreement between

the subject and its verb.

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RULE 11: The only time when the object of

the preposition factors into the

decision of plural or singular verbforms is when noun and pronoun

subjects like some, half, none,

more, all, etc. are followed by a

prepositional phrase.

In these sentences, the object of

the preposition determines the

form of the verb.

All of the chickenis gone.

All of the chickensare gone.

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RULE 12: Subjects don't always come

before verbs in questions.

Make sure you accurately

identify the subject before

deciding on the proper verb

form to use.

Does Leftyusually eatgrass?

Where are thepieces of thispuzzle.

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RULE 13: The verb is singular if the two

subjects separated by and

refer to the same person orthing.

Red beans and rice is my mom'sfavourite dish.

The Congress Lady and her aunt

is the same person.

Macaroni and cheese is my

expertise

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RULE 14:Compound Subject

When two or more subjects are

joined by the conjunction, theresult is a compound subject.

A compound subject joined by the

conjunction and is usually pluraland therefore requires a verb that

does not end in s.

The house and the barn belong to

Sams family. A slice of toast and a glass of juice

are on the table.

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RULE 15:Compound Subject

When two or more subjects are

joined by the conjunctionneithernor, the verb agrees with

the subject that is closer to it.

In the above example, the plural verb are

agrees with the nearer subject actors.

In this example, the singular verb is agrees with

the nearer subject director.

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RULE 15:

Compound Subject

When two or more subjects are

joined by the conjunction

eitheror, generally the verb is

singular if both subjects are

singular.

Either the Mayor or her deputy isbound to come.

When conjoins differ in number,

the number of the second conjoin

determines the verb. Either your brakes or your eyesight is

at fault.

Either your eyesight or your brakes

are at fault.

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RULE 15:

Compound Subject

When or is used for coordinative

apposition, the verb is to agree

with the first appositive.

Goobledygook, or the

circumlocutions of bureaucraticlanguage, is intentionally difficult to

understand.

The circumlocutions of bureaucraticlanguage or Goobledygook, are

intentionally difficult to understand.

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RULE 16: When the word every precedes a

compound subject, it makes that

the subject singular, and the verbshould end in s.

Every dog and cat has been

vaccinated.

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RULE 17: When many a comes before a

subject, the verb should have an s

ending.

Many a woman chooses motherhood

over a career.

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RULE 18: The singular verb form is usually

used for units of measurement.

Four quarts of oilwas required toget the car running.

If two infinitives are separated by

andthey take the plural form ofthe verb.

To walk and to chew gum require

great skill.

RULE 19:

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RULE 20: If your sentence compounds a

positive and a negative subject

and one is plural, the othersingular, the verb should agree

with the positive subject.

The department members but notthe chair have decided not to teach

on Valentine's Day.

It is not the faculty members but the

president who decides this issue. It was the speaker, not his ideas, that

has provoked the students to riot.

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LETS DO SOME EXERCISES