subject verb agreement

Subject Verb Agreement

The subject and verb must agree in number.

Dennis drives carefully along the highway.

Many men today drive their own cars.

Compound subjects take plural verb

Joseph and Gerald are best friends in school.

The doctors and nurses are distributing free medicines.

A compound subject referring to a single person takes a

singular verb. My confidant and adviser is my

mother.

The secretary and treasurer of our class is a trustworthy classmates.

Compound subjects modified by each and every are

singular Every father and mother carries

out the assigned role.

Each male and female student wears I.D. inside the school.

The verb agrees with its subject, not with the predicate nominative

Books and magazines are the only material for his report.

Plain shirt and denim pants are his attire for the party.

When compound subjects are joined by or, nor, either-or,

neither-nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearer it.

Neither the singers nor the composer is benefited by the concert.

Either Jim or his friends are volunteering to clean the mess.

When regarded as a unit, a collective noun is singular. The committee stands firm to impose

its decision.

The jury holds its verdict in abeyance.

When regarded as individuals, a collective

noun is plural. The audience are clapping their hands

after each other.

The crowd are agitating over a dispute among themselves.

When preceded by the article a, the subject

number is plural. A number of poor children are afflicted

by the epidemic.

A number of people have passed through the acid tests of life.

When preceded by the article the, the subject

number is singular. The number of absentees from the

English class is reduced.

The number of enrollees generally decreases during the second semester.

The verb agrees with the affirmative, not with the

negative subject. The father, nor the mother, decides on

the welfare of the family.

You, not I, are accountable for the loss of the book.

Singular indefinite pronouns like someone, anyone, each, neither, either, take singular

verbs. Someone is by your side to support

you at the confrontation.

Anyone is welcome to give his suggestions.

The plural indefinite pronouns such as all, both, several, few, many, take

singular verbs. Many have been invited to my party.

Few have come and attended.

Nouns plural in form but singular in meaning takes

singular verbs. Statistics provides the numerical data

in question.

Politics is always associated with the ‘pulling of the string’.

Scissors, refreshments, clothes, pliers, etc. are

always plural.

Refreshments are now served at the canteen.

Impersonal pronoun it at the beginning of a sentence is

followed by a singular verb.

It is his suggestions that finally take precedence.

An amount of money, space of time or unit of

measurement even in plural form takes a singular verb.

Three meters of cloth makes a dress for my size.

Fractions are singular or plural depending upon the of

phrase One half of the class misses out the

first period.

Adjectives used as nouns are considered plural.

The old need some recognition to feel that they belong.

Singular verbs are used with mathematical abstractions.

Four times eight is thirty two.

The indefinite pronoun none is singular but may

occasionally require a plural verb.

None of the students have done their homework.

A relative pronoun used as a subject of the verb takes a verb that agrees with the

antecedent of the pronoun. He, who is your brother and friend,

understands your situation.

EXERCISES