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Subject-Verb AgreementSubject-Verb Agreement
AgreementAgreement Present tense verbs in English should agree with
the subject of the sentence Singular subjects use singular verbs
Jack robs liquor stores (s on the verb) Plural subjects use plural verbs
Bonnie and Clyde rob banks (no s on the verb) Most native speaker do this instinctively More complex problems require you to learn a few
rules
Identify the SubjectIdentify the Subject Ignore words that come between the subject and
the verb Reduce sentences to their simplest form
A good set of skis costs / cost hundreds of dollarsA good set of skis costs / cost hundreds of dollarsA good set of skis costs hundreds of dollarsMy boss, as well as her staff, leave / leaves early every FridayMy boss, as well as her staff, leave / leaves early every FridayMy boss, as well as her staff, leaves early every Friday
Compound Subjects using “And”Compound Subjects using “And” Most compound subjects joined by “and” are plural
Bert and Ernie is / are special friendsBert and Ernie is / are special friends (plural verb)
Exception: If the words joined by “and” refer to a single thing, the subject is also singular
War and Peace is a very thick book (singular)My friend and co-worker is waiting to see you (singular)
Compound Subjects using “Or”Compound Subjects using “Or” When the subject is joined with “or” or “nor” the verb
agrees with the words closest to the verbNeither the instructor nor the students has / have any control over the number of 8 o’clock classes Neither the instructor nor the students has / have any control over the number of 8 o’clock classes (plural verb)Either two credit cards or a membership is / are needed before you can rent movies Either two credit cards or a membership is / are needed before you can rent movies (singular verb)
– Note: While the above example is correct, it is usually better to place the plural word closer to the verb
Either a membership or two credit cards are needed before you can rent movies (plural verb)
Indefinite PronounsIndefinite Pronouns Indefinite pronouns are singular
every, everyone, everybody, each, neither, either, none, one, no one
– Every student has / have a unique student number– Every student has / have a unique student number– None of us admit / admits to sending the e-mail message– None of us admit / admits to sending the e-mail message
Ignore prepositional phrases coming between the subject and the verb
– Each of the five departments is / are hiring new instructors– Each of the five departments is / are hiring new instructors
Collective NounsCollective Nouns Words such as jury, committee, or herd will be
singular when everyone in the group is acting together
The jury is / are deciding the fate of the accusedThe jury is / are deciding the fate of the accused
Collective nouns will be plural when the members of the group are not acting together
The jury is / are undecided on the guilt of the accusedThe jury is / are undecided on the guilt of the accused
Here, There, and ItHere, There, and It When the sentence begins with Here or There, the
subject follows the verb and controls whether the verb is plural
Here are my reasons for quitting (plural)There is no need to pay me next week (singular)
It is always singularIt was the long hours that bothered me (singular)
Words Ending in SWords Ending in S Words such as economics, AIDS, physics and
news are singularEconomics is fun and excitingThe news is usually broadcast live
Words such as scissors, eyeglasses and pants that name things with two parts are plural
My glasses were broken when I did a face plant
Money and MeasurementMoney and Measurement Units of time, money, distance, and weight use
singular verbsTwenty kilometres is a long distance to skate to work each dayEight dollars an hour is a poor rate
The expression the number is singular The number of failures is decreasing
The expression a number is plural A number of people are leaving
TitlesTitles The title of a movie, book or magazine requires a
singular verb Lost Horizons is a book about a utopiaThe Simpsons is my favourite TV show
Interactive ExercisesInteractive Exercises Click on the button below to get to the interactive
exercises No disk is required