ENGLISH LANGUAGE

FORM 4

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

Ricky walks to school

Ricky = Subjectwalks = Verb

1. The subject of a sentence must agree in person and number with the verb.

NumberSingular Plural

I, you, she, he, it, Ali…etc We, They, You, My family, my parents, my friends..etc

2. Use singular verb with a singular subject:

VerbSingular Plural

am, is, was, has, does, walks, eats, closes, watches, blows, goes,

cries..etc

Are, were, have, do, blow, go, cry, walk, close, watch, eat,..

etc

3. Use plural verb when two or more subjects are joined by and.

Lina and Linda are twinsAaron, Tan and Ismail love fishing

4. Use singular verb when two subjects joined by and are considered as one item.

Bread and butter is my favourite.Fish and chips is the only food tasty here.

5. Use singular verb with every, each, one of, either and neither,, some, any, every, and no.

Every pupil is given a free T-shirt each.

No one respects her because she is very selfish.

Either of the movie is fine with me.

Everyone has to be here by seven.

6. When two subjects are linked with either..or and neither…nor, the verb usually agrees with the subject closer to it.

Either my sisters or brother is coming with me to your house.Neither the pupils nor the teacher is in the classroom.

7. Use a singular verb with these phrases: as well as, together with, along with.

The girl, as well as her mother, was shopping here yesterday.My chain, together with its locket, brings me good luck.The tiger, along with three of its cubs, is the main attraction at the zoo.

NOTES

Answer all the questions.

1. Hang Tuah a

legendary Malay warrior.

A. is

B. am

C. are

D. been

2. the director

___ his deputies are

available at the moment because

they are currently have a

management meeting.

A. Either, or

B. As well, as

C. Neither, nor

D. Not only, but also

3. No one our secret

hideout.

A. know

B. knows

C. known

D. knowing

4. ________ has to help the old folks.

A. Nobody

B. Everything

C. Something

D. Somebody

4. My friends _______ not in when I

went to visit them last night.

A. is

B. are

C. was

D. were

6. Every member of the class ______

English very well.

A. speak

B. spoke

C. speaks

D. speaking

7. Maznah ______ minding the baby

while her mother is cooking.

A. is

B. are

C. was

D. were

QUESTION 2

Underline the correct VERB for each of the following sentences.

1. Neither the man nor his wife (are / is) at home.

2. Everyone (are / is) happy to hear the good news.

3. There (is / are) three main ethnic groups in Malaysia.

4. Mathematics (is / are) a challenging and difficult subject.

5. Eighty per cent of the wheat crop (is / are) ready for harvest.

6. Contestants usually (submits / submit) three 4R-sized photographs.

7. Both the successful architects (is / are) in the same architecture firm.

8. All the arguments put forward by the speaker (is / are) weak and faulty.

9. Unlike most parrots, this one (is / are) unusually quiet and does not ‘talk’

much.

10. These ethnic communities (respects / respect) each other’s religions and

customs.

11. Her son and daughter (excels / excel) in the first round of Spell-It-Right

competition.

12. Some of the workers (are / is) angry over the delay in getting their pay

cheques this month.

13. Nowadays, most parents (sends / send) their children to tuition classes to

improve their grades in examination.

14. The company (has / have) to follow the standard procedure for terminating

the services of any of its employees.

15. The Malaysia Tourism Agency and Lensa Film Distributors (organise /

organises) the Cuti-cuti 1 Malaysia Photo Contest every year.

Complete the following sentences with suitable verbs that agree with the

subject.

1. Hanee, along with her sisters (go/goes)for extra English lessons at a

center nearby.

2. Mr. Lai, with his grandfather, (visit/visits)………… to the Buddhist temple

at least once a week.

3. The class monitor, as well as his assistant, (is/are) a very responsible

leader.

4. My mother, as well as my seventy-year-old dad (like/ likes) eating out.

5. The village headman, along with the other villagers, (is/are) planning to

launch a cleanliness campaign.

Identify the subject that determines the form of the verb.

1. Either Salleh or Rozina (is/are) not telling the truth.

2. Neither my uncle not my aunt (is/are) the way to the new airport.

3. There is no need to call the fire brigade. The firemen are already there.

Either one of the onlookers or my neighbour (has/have) already phoned

the fire brigade.

4. The boss is really angry with us. He says that either you or I (am/is/are) to

blame for his gross error.

5. Neither the boy nor his sisters (is/are) in the city.

THE END