Transcript Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-Verb Agreement
Agreement
• Verbs must always agree in number with the subjects
with which they are paired. Singular nouns pair with
singular verbs. Plural nouns pair with plural verbs.
• Incorrect: The reports released by the state
department makes the economic situation look
bleaker than it really is.
• Correct: The reports released by the state
department make the economic situation look
bleaker than it really is.
Note on Regular Verbs
• Often, singular regular verbs end in s.
– He makes…
– She plays…
– She studies…
• Often, plural regular verbs do not end in s.
– They make…
– They play…
– They study…
Words Between Subject and Verb
• A verb agrees only with its subject.
• Even though a words or groups of words with
a different number may come between a
subject and verb, the verb must still agree in
number with its subject.
• Incorrect: The sale of cassette tapes have
risen this year.
• Correct: The sale of cassette tapes has risen
this year.
Practice
• The flock of sheep that grazes on the hillside
(crop/crops) the grass very thin.
• Assistance for the homeless (is/are) a long
time coming.
• Houses on that hillside (look/looks) very
unstable.
• Twenty members of the marching band
(has/have) arrived for practice.
Compound Subjects
• Most subjects joined by and are plural:
– Green eggs and ham are
– Peas and carrots are
• Use a singular verb with a compound subject
joined by and that is habitually used to refer
to a single thing:
– Cheese and crackers is a favorite snack food in our
family.
Compound Subjects
• Use a singular verb with a compound subject that
is preceded by each, every, or many a:
– Every book and magazine has to be checked out
at the main desk of the library.
• Subjects joined by or/nor can be singular or
plural. If the last noun given is singular, it takes
the singular verb. If the last noun given is plural, it
takes the plural verb.
– Neither green eggs nor ham is
– Peas or carrots are
Practice
• The sergeant and the captain (agree/agrees).
• Neither the music nor the words
(sound/sounds) right.
• Many a problem and pain (vanish/vanishes)
with a good night’s sleep.
• Bacon and eggs (is/are) a high cholesterol
breakfast.
• Each student (has/have) the option of taking
an art class.
Collective Nouns
• Groups of people, places, or things.
• A singular verb is used when the group is acting
together; a plural verb is used when members or
parts of the group are acting individually.
Family
Herd
Crew
Jury
Class
Audience
Company
Government
Group
Army
Board
Cabinet
Committee
Corporation
Council
Department
Faculty
Firm
Majority
Minority
Navy
Public
Senate
School
Society
Team
Troupe
Collective Nouns
• The jury agrees that the state prosecutors did not
provide enough evidence, so its verdict is not
guilty.
• The jury disagree about the guilt of the accused
and have told the judge that they are hopelessly
deadlocked.
• Today, Mr. Smith’s class takes its first 100-item
exam.
• After the long exam, the class start their research
papers on famous mathematicians.
Practice
• My family (is/are) planning to spend its
vacation in Canada.
• A flock of seagulls (was/were) following a ship.
• My parents (rent/rents) that apartment house
on Babcock Street.
• The cast (was/were) discussing their roles in
their upcoming plays.
• The crew of the airliner (is/are) departing for
various destinations at noon.
Singular Nouns with Plural Form
• Some singular nouns end in s but take a singular
verb: news, mumps
– The news is good.
– Mumps (was/were) more common in our
grandparents’ time than today.
• Other nouns ending in s take a plural verb even
though they refer to one thing: scissors, pliers,
trousers, congratulations
– The scissors are on the counter.
– Congratulations (is/are) in order after your
successful piano recital.
Singular Nouns with Plural Form
• Some nouns ending in s may be either singular
or plural depending on their meaning in the
sentence: ethics, economics, civics
• When plural, these words are often preceded
by a possessive form or a modifier:
– Ethics (is, are) a branch of philosophy.
– His business ethics (seem, seems) sharply different
from mine.
Countries and Organizations
• The name of a country or organization is
singular even though it may be plural in form
(ending in s): Philippines, United Nations.
– The West Indies (is/are) a group of islands.
– The Student Activities Committee (report/reports)
to the principal.
Indefinite Pronouns as Subjects
• An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any
specific person, thing or amount. It is vague
and "not definite".
• Anyone, each, every, everyone, nobody, no
one, nothing, and someone are always
singular and take a singular verb.
– Everyone was invited to the reception for the
retiring teacher.
Indefinite Pronouns as Subjects
• Both, few, many, and several are always plural
and take a plural verb.
– Several in the class plan to become engineers.
• All, any, enough, most, none, plenty and some
may be either singular or plural. They take a
singular verb when they refer to one thing and
plural verb when they refer to more than one
thing.
– Most of the snow has now disappeared.
– Most of the books in the limited edition were
autographed by the author.
Practice
• Many of the seniors (works/work) in order to
pay their car insurance.
• Nothing (alters/alter) the result of our last
exam.
• Enough of the sandwiches (was/were) left to
provide another meal.
• None of Al’s coin collection (was/were) lost in
the fire.
• On a hot day, nothing (tastes/taste) so good as
a cold fruit salad.