Transcript Subject/Verb Agreement

ENTC 3030
AGREEMENT
Agreement Worksheet
 Agreement
is essentially a
matching strategy:
• subjects and verbs express the
same number;
• pronouns and their antecedents
match in number and gender.

While this sounds simple enough,
English has, as usual, enough strange
forms to make the task challenging.

The key idea in all cases is to think
about your meaning rather than merely
following rules.
Subject/Verb Agreement
1.
Discount inverted sentence structure
and intervening phrases, prepositional
and otherwise.
• Most opposed to wolf reintroduction and
let-it-burn forest fire policy is the ranching
population.
• The skull structure of the salamanders is
intriguing.
• There are long-term problems with
radioactive waste disposal.
2.
"And" usually creates plural
subjects, but other additive
phrases don't:
•
•
•
•
as well as,
accompanied by,
in addition to,
etc.

The aspen as well as other common trees
doesn't grow well in cities.

The aspen and other common trees don't
grow well here.
 Note:
When "and" joins two
attributes of the same unit, the
subject remains singular:
 The
chief researcher and lab
technician is too busy to see you.
3.
"Every" and "each" usually are
singular.

Every student, teacher, and administrator has
an interest in the university.

Each workstation and each computer has its
own hook-up.
4.
Paired conjunctions--either/or, neither/nor-that join singular subjects usually leave the
subjects singular.
•
•
•
Either NSF or NIH is a good choice for
funding.
Neither rain nor mist permeates droughthardened ground.
Revision or destruction helps writing to
improve.

If one subject is singular and one is
plural, the one nearer the verb controls
its number.
• Neither the flasks nor the beaker was
clean.
• Neither the beaker nor the flasks
were clean.
5.
Words that focus on sorting
out individuals—
• each,
• either,
• neither,
• one
 or
denoting a general case—
•everyone,
•everybody,
•anyone

usually take singular verbs when they
are subjects.
• Each of them has sufficient training.
• Everyone wants to do field work.
• Neither likes to wash glassware.
6.
Collective nouns are singular when they
denote the group as a whole and plural when
they denote the individuals in the group.






A number were able to finish the experiment
in time.
A group of technicians is radioactively
contaminated.
A majority is needed for this vote.
A majority of people are going to go.
Statistics are inconclusive, so they can be
distorted.
Ironically, statistics is an imprecise subject.
Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement

Pronouns have the same number and
gender as their antecedents;
• the tricky part is determining the correct
antecedent.

Many of the ideas noted before apply to pronoun
relationships too:

Each of the laboratories is accountable for its
work.
Everybody has the right to wear protective masks
when they work with noxious chemicals.
Neither the rat nor the mice show signs of stress in
their brain-wave responses.
Neither the mice nor the rat shows signs of stress
in its brain-wave responses.




Relative pronouns too have the same
number as their antecedents.



Tigers which are becoming extinct in some
areas of India are endangered by vegetation
destruction rather than hunting.
It is the wildcats that are often blamed for
attacks perpetrated by other animals.
The one-and-only-one rule states that if all of
a group are acting, plural is used, but if only
one acts, the singular is used.



He is one of the scientists who are
radioactive.
He is the only one of the scientists who
is radioactive.
This procedure is the only one that is
repeatable.
Homework: Choose the right
answer and explain!
The equipment and the glassware
showed (its, their) age.
2. Either the crystals or the powder must
have lost (its, their) potency.
3. Neither the technicians nor the lab
assistant (was, were) willing to change
(his, their) attitude.
1.
4.
5.
6.
7.
The board of editors (make, makes)
(its, their) report.
My estimates of significance (differ,
differs) from yours.
The administrator and scientist (is,
are) developing a new plan.
Blue and red (is, are) useful in
staining specimens.
8.
9.
10.
She is the only one of all the scientists
who (lack, lacks) training.
Every one of the figures (was, were)
checked twice.
Good planning plus favorable funding
conditions (was, were) responsible for
the improvement.
11.
12.
13.
The inventory (was, were) flasks of
several sizes.
Each of these specimens had (its,
their) limbs dissected.
The group of researchers (does, do)
not agree on methods, but (it, they)
(unites, unite) on issues.