SUBJECT-VERB

AGREEMENT
NEC FACET Center
Remember this rule,
The subject and verb should always agree
Im Sally
Subject.
Im Vernon Verb.
We
ALWAY
S agree
And these 6 sub-rules!
1. If a subject ends in an s, the verb will not.
If a subject does not end in an s, the verb will.
2. Even when words come in between the subject and verb, they
should
both agree.
3. When joining two or more subjects with and, use a plural verb.
4. When joining two or more subjects with neither/nor, either/or,
or,
and nor, use a verb that agrees with the nearer or nearest
subject.
5. Collective nouns (a group of individuals or things) use either
singular
or plural verbs depending upon the context.
6. Even if a sentence is inverted, the subject should agree with the
verb.


Definitions
Subject-
The word/s that name the topic of the sentence
The word/s that the sentence is about
Verb-
The word that states the action or state of the
subject
Subject-Verb Agreement-
The appropriate pairing of subject and verb based
on whether the subject and verb are plural or
singular and whether the person is first, second,
or third.
How to check S-V agreement
1. Identify the verb (action or state of being
word)
2. Identify the subject (who or what the
sentence is about)
3. Check whether the subject is plural or
singular or special. Then check whether is it
first, second, or third person.
4. Based on your findings about the subject,
make sure the verb fits.

Identifying the Verb
Ask which word shows action or relationship to
the verb.
The dog jumps over the fence.
Stephanie and Bethany have names that rhyme.
Everybody came to JoAnns party.
Did you see the shirt she wore?
That house is so dilapidated.
Conjugating a verb
For present tense, generally add an s or es
for third person singular. Otherwise, add
nothing to the verb.

Singular Plural
First Person I eat. We eat.
Second Person You eat. You eat.
Third person S/he eats. They eat.
Singular Plural
First Person I talk. We talk
Second Person You talk. You talk.
Third person S/he talks. They talk.
Special verbs

BE Singular Plural
First person I am We are
Second Person You are You are
Third Person S/he is They are
HAVE Singular Plural
First person I have We have
Second Person You have You have
Third Person S/he has They have
DO Singular Plural
First person I do They do
Second Person You do You do
Third Person S/he does They do
Identifying the Subject
Ask who or what the sentence is about.
The dog jumps over the fence.
Stephanie and Bethany have names that rhyme.
Everybody came to JoAnns party.
Did you see the shirt she wore?
That house is so dilapidated.

Rule # 1
1. If a subject ends in an s, the verb will not.
If a subject does not end in an s, the verb
will.

Im Sally
Subject, and Im
single.
If Im single,
Vernon Verb
better be too.
Hi Sally. Im
Vernon Verb,
and I am
single.
Rule #1:
Agreement
Singular subjects need singular verbs.
Singular subjects include the following:
I, you, he, she, it, dog, house, etc.
I eat. You eat. She eats.
You have ears. She has ears. The dog has ears.
Plural subjects need plural verbs.
Plural subjects include the following:
We, they, dogs, houses, etc.
We eat. They eat. The dogs eat.
We have ears. They have ears. The houses do not
have ears.
Rule #1
Practice: Singular and Plural
Subjects
1. My hair suffer/suffers from the terrible humidity.

2. Their hairstyles look/looks the same.

3. Jodi is/are my closest confidant.

4. The FACET Center is/are my favorite place to
be.

5. Fast food employees smile/smiles when they see
me coming.
Rule #1(some exceptions)
Special Subjects: words that end in
-s
Some words that end in s are singular.
The news sometimes makes my head hurt.
Mathematics is my favorite subject.
Some words that end in s are plural because
they have more than one part.
The scissors cut through paper easily.
The pants are brand-spanking-new.
Rule #1 (some exceptions)
Special Subjects: indefinite
pronouns
Indefinite pronouns do not refer to a specific
person or item.
Ex. Everyone, anyone, each, either, everybody,
someone, nothing, one, nobody, neither, anything
Always singular
Anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody,
everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, none,
nothing, one, somebody, someone, something
Always plural
Both, few, many, several
Sometimes singular, sometimes plural
Some, any, all, most
Rule #2
2. Even when words come in between the
subject and verb, they should both agree.

Please
dont
separate
us!
But if you do, well
still agree.
Rule #2
Separated subject and verb
The subject and verb should always agree, no
matter how many words are separating them!
Billy, the master carpenter, charges exorbitant
prices.
Billy is the subject. Charges agrees with Billy.
Billy, along with all of his co-workers, charges
exorbitant prices.
Billy is still the subject. Charges agrees with Billy.
Did you know that Billy, my best friend ever of all
of my carpenter friends, doesnt charge me at all?
Billy is still the subject. Doesnt agrees with Billy.

Rule #3
When joining two or more subjects with and,
use a plural verb.
Hey
Sally!
Meet my
sister,
Stephanie
Subject.
Rule #3
Compound Subjects
A compound subject occurs when two or more
subjects are grouped using a conjunction
(such as and, nor, or).
Usually compound subjects are plural.
Tom and Sally eat food.
Neither the horse nor the mule want to graze on
muggy days.
Rule #3
Compound Subjects Cont.
Compound subjects are singular when
they refer to the same idea/entity
My most stable friend and my only means to independence
is my car.
*Friend and means to independence are both referring to the
car.
NOT My most stable friend and my only means to
independence are my car.
they are considered one unit

they are preceded by each or every
Each house, trailer, and apartment serves as someones
home.
NOT Each house, trailer, and apartment serve as
someones home.

Rule #4
When joining two or more subjects with
neither/nor, either/or, or, and nor, use a verb
that agrees with the nearer or nearest subject.
Either Sally or Stephanie will
agree with Vernon, whoevers
closest.
But
Vernon

No, Stephanie.
Vernon and I agree.
Hes closer to me.
Rule #4
Examples: Neither, nor, either, or
Neither the counselor nor the parents know
what to do with Billy Bob.
know agrees with parents, not counselor
The receptionist or the tutors try to help you.
Try agrees with tutors, not receptionist
Either the dogs or the cat defend the house
when the humans are away.
Defend agrees with cat, not dog

Rule #5
Collective nouns (a group of individuals or
things) use either singular or plural verbs
depending upon the context.

Rule #5
Special Subjects: collective nouns
Collective nouns refer to a group.
Ex. team, audience, staff, herd, class, majority
Generally, collective nouns are singular.
Ex. The team wins.
Ex. The class cheers when the teacher announces
no homework.
Collective nouns may be plural when referring to
its members as individuals.
The staff were complaining about the influx of
paperwork.
*To clarify the sentence, you may add a modifier.

Rule #6
Even if a sentence is inverted, the subject
should agree with the verb.


Rule #6
Subjects after the verb
When the subject follows the verb, the two must
still agree.
There is an incredible amount of food under my bed.
is agrees with amount
There are many food items under my bed.
are agrees with food items
Waiting on the Dr. Phils desk to be graded was a
stack of papers ten feet high.
was agrees with stack
Waiting on Dr. Phils desk to be graded were papers
stacked ten feet high.
were agrees with papers

Practice!
The dogs howl/howls at night.
The desk stay/stays messy, despite how much
we hope it will clean itself.
The students who always wear sunglasses in
class smell/smells like sunscreen today.
Melissa and Joan love/loves watching Sabrina,
the Teenage Witch.
The blank worksheets and the teachers
edition remain/remains in my bag at all times.
More Practice!
Neither the math tutor nor the English tutors
want/wants to play in the puddle today.
Either the English tutors or the math tutor
play/plays hopscotch on the weekends.
The team win/wins every game.
The family speak/speaks in turn as each name is
called.
Open the door, say/says Timmy every time he
comes near an automatic door.
Off fly/flies the papers as the door swooshes
open.

Just remember, Sally and Vernon
always agree.

Bye, Vernon!
See you later, Sally!