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10 Basic Ru les for Subject-Verb Agreement

Singular subjects take singular verbs and plural subjects take plural verbs:

True friends stabyou in the front. Oscar Wilde

An educated person isone who has learnedthat information almost always turns ou

be at best incomplete and very often false, misleading, fictitious, mendacious - just dea

wrong. Russell Baker

If the subject has more than one noun/pronoun, you must be clear which one the verb refers to

The head noun and the verbmust agree.

This boxof cookies belongsto my sister.

One(student) of the students isthe representative.

Nouns joined by "an d" usually require a plural verb:

Perseverance and determinationkeepus on the path that will get us to our goals.

Passing the exams and participating fully in class aretwo basic requirements of the

course.

*Exceptio n #1: If the two subjects refer to the same person or thing, the subject is

singular.

Spaghetti and meatballs ismy favourite food.

Fish and chipsisa popular take-away food that originated in the United Kingdom.

*Exceptio n #2: If every comes before a compound subject, that subject will be

singular.

Every bowl and plate hasbeen washed.

The verb in the main clause is not affected by a subordinate clause:

The faculty, as well as many of the tutors and students, does not understandthe new

university policy.

The woman, accompanying her children, l ikesgoing to the Disney Resort very much.

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Some of the movies on TV Pearlwerefunny.

Most of my friends ar ehelpful.

All of the books in the libraryareuseful.

The quantity pronoun "none" usually takes a singular verb in formal English.

None of the paintings isinteresting to me (meaning "not one"). None of the equipment (an uncountable noun) wasdamaged.

*Exception: In more casual spoken English, a plural verb is used when a plural noun follows

none.

None of the students havefinished their homework (meaning "not any"; the word "their

precludes the use of the singular verb).

"A number o f" or "the number of":

As a subject, "a number of + a plural noun/noun phrase" usually requires a plural verb:

A number of students werepresent yesterday.

As a subject, "the number of + a plural noun/noun phrase" always takes a singular verbas it

refers to the number:

The number of students who were presentwassmall.

Collective nouns (e.g. board,choir, comm ittee, family, faculty, jury, team, etcare singularwhen considered as a group and usually take a singular verb:

Over the centuries, the choirhasworked with many famous composers.

The team wasthree players short and crushingly defeated.

The herd (of elephants) clustersaround the biggest male for protection.

*Exception:If individual members or parts of a group are considered separate, a

plural verb is needed.

The Board of Directors argueover the new budget.

The dance team buytheir own ballet shoes.