— - Section 4 SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT ction 2 of this book, we learned about th in Section 2 of tl Panes Out the parts of the sentence—the subj the Predicate. The subject is the one being talked about, and can be either aa are sronoun, The predicate on the other hand, contains the verb or the acti Pomething about the subject. action word, and tells Certain rules govern the agreement of su bject and verb in a sentence A ~- the most basic of which is that the subject and the verb must agree in number. ° The following table shows the difference between nouns and verbs in terms of number. Singular Plural "| without s with s Noun student, worker, country students, workers, countries with s or es without s or es Verb reads, submits, experiences read, submit, experience A student reads. Aworker submits his report. This country experiences economic trouble. The child plays inside the house. Students read. Workers submit their report. These countries experience economic trouble. The children play inside the house. Shown in the succeeding pag well as various complications a rising from these rules. es are agreement rules on different subjects and verbs asREQUIRE SV-AGREEME Ny VERBS SUBJECTS THAT PLURAL Annumber of students a ate taking the test now, ANU A sUBIE! Mi umber of these, PLURAL BER do not have proper ena The birds tweet. Many people travel by bus Eyeglasses gfcOND pel Scissors THIRD Trousers Teanaagl we run, Pliers My trousers need sewing. His eyeglasses are broken, ED, RELar| UBIECT! IVE ¢| ; BY oF (OnE og aye" “ause © PHRase) (One of the workers who have joined the protests my cousin. Neither the boys nor girls were allowed to play. COM! (osc ED A. SN uN The doctor and the nurse enter the patient's room. ‘The faithful are commended. ‘The patients and their parents The strong overcome hardshiPs wait for the doctor. PLURAL INDEFINITE 12) PRONOUNS na rai - plans tog ing, ean thet Others decide to stay home, FIGURENO. 26 Few, both, many, several, othersE SUBJECTS THAT REQUIRE PLURAL VERBS are shown in the follo in the followin subjects that require plural verbs (or the base form of the verb) list. s 4, Plural Subjects examples: Young girls sing. Boys play. Mothers pray. It is easy to identify subjects (or nouns) whose plural form ends with s friends, babies). However, there are nouns whose plural forms do not end are spelled differently than their singular forms. (Examples are man-men, goose-geese, mouse-mice, among others.) In addition, there are also special nouns that have the same singular and o! Examples of which are aircraft, ammunition, attire, baggage, be correspondence, equipment, furniture, feedback, information and jewelry. 2. Pronouns in the First, Second and Third Person Plural (/, we, you, and they) Examples: | meditate every morning. (First person, singular) We study together. (First person, plural) You participate in the workshop. (Second person singular or plural) They attend seminars. (Third person, plural) 3. Plural Subjects joined by or or nor Examples: congressmen or the senators are spearheading the celebration. Either the delegates nor the guests are happy with the results of the Neither the games. Either the children or the parents attend the class orientation.4, Compound Subjects joined by and Examples: The groom and the bride walk side by side. The learners and their adviser tour the botanical garden. Melchor and his parents attend the theater gala. 5. Plural Indefinite Pronouns (few, both, many, several, others) Examples: Few receive rewards for their efforts. Both agree to withdraw from the council. Many are joining the movement. Several players attend our Bible studies. Others have gone home to reunite with their families. 6. Subjects using the phrase “A number...” Examples: A number of Filipino authors gather to conduct writing workshops: A number of robbery incidents have been reported to the police. A number of language centers are operated by foreigners. 7. Single items associated with two parts Examples: The pliers are inside the tool box. The scissors lie beneath the chair. My trousers have unsightly slits,g, Relative clause in sentences starting with “One of the...” Examples: One of the gadgets that enjoy immense Popularity is the smart phone. (The relative clause—that enjoy immense popularity—takes on a plural verb because it describes the gadgets, which is plural.) One of the businessmen who support the new policy is my uncle. (The relative clause—who support the new policy—describes the businessmen. Since the word businessmen is plural, the verb in the relative clause should also be plural.) 9. Adjectives used as Nouns Examples: The poor blame the government for their woes. The faithful are commended. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. The wicked are like chaff that the wind blows away. le sharing das nouns take on plural verbs because ee refer ey le Coe je who art s eee aera or trait. (The poor means all peop!Many a man and woman SV-AGREEMENT : f mind. dropouts has declined. desires peace o ; " The number of borrowers, Every boy and girl is, That person travels by bus, The bird tweets, continues to increase. ager to learn. finues t Ko pk SUBJECTS Surprisingly, the number of school “each” © “every” “many a” One of the male OR"'no” t He runs, contestants has lost his wallet. runs. OUNS She cooks, One ofthe students RON ES ingutagy eset ©. there is my sister. — ¢ ™ — 9 Ve OF THE... Five dollars is enough for a tasty burger. Two hours is the limit Vv SUBJECTS THAT for the recording session. ay) REQUIRE Only six inches of thread is. A - Either this house or the farm what I need for this scrap € \ ‘has to be sold. of fabric. we ] AMount Of Time, & unit OF MeasuREMENT Physics sa es challenging subject. ey 5 SINGULAR we My friend and adviser works In vom, ENDING consulting firm, aymnastics, economics, Physics, My bread and butter js singing: measles, news, Mathematics isa tasty dish. snes me Watching musicals excite a eK Ny OR & a iting stories is mental CMPANY’ tenes ~s / Gosia aya ga SYBOMY very ay, ONS Somebody is going home a winner. classic fairy tale ‘obody eear¥ONe, everyone Hanvbedy home? piguRENO-27 each, either, neither, no one ‘SUBJECTS THAT REQUIRE SINGULAR VERBS subjects that require singular verbs (or the s-form of the verb) are shown in the following list 4, Singular Subjects Examples: The young girl sings. The boy talks. His mother prays. 2. Pronouns in the Third Person Singular (he, she, it) Examples He obeys his parents. She dances gracefully. It spins like a top. Singular Subjects Joined by or or nor Exarnples: Either Marco or Bob drives the truck. Neither height nor weight matters in this event. Either your mother or your father is allowed inside the booth. 4. Compound Subjects Taken as a Single Unit Examples: Macaroni and Cheese tastes delicious, (Macaroni and Cheese refers to one type of dish) His bread and butter /s selling street food. My friend and confidante /s coming tomorrow. (Friend and confidante refer to a single person)5. Gerund and Gerund Phrase Examples: Swimming strengthens the heart. Swimming in a river is exciting. Wearing of slippers and sleeveless shirts is prohibited. The gerund (swimming) and gerund phrases (swimming in a river, wearing of slippers and sleeveless shirts) refer to a single activity, hence the use of a singular verb. When another gerund or gerund phrase is added, the verb that follows should be plural, Example: Wearing of slippers and bringing of food are prohibited. 6. Singular Indefinite Pronouns (anybody, everybody, somebody, anyone, everyone, nobody, each, either, no one) Examples: Everybody believes that the earth is round. . Each of us has received a bag of groceries. Everyone deserves a second chance. No one insults a royalty and gets away with it. 7. Compound Subjects Joined by and if the Subject is a Title of a Book, Publication or Name of a Company Examples: Hansel and Gretel is a fairy tale. Goldilocks and the Three Bears is one of my favorite children’s stories. Procter and Gamble is a multinational company. 8. Singular Nouns Ending in s (e.g. mumps, Mathematics, Physics, measles, gymnastics, news, acoustics) Examples: Physics is a challenging subject. Gymnastics is my daughter’s favorite sport. The news about the kidnapping has caught our attention.g, Amount of Money and Unit of Time and Measurements Examples: Five hundred pesos is my contribution for the field trip. A thousand dollars is a huge amount for me. Only thirty minutes is the time needed to finish the test. (Here, thirty minutes is used as a unit of time. If we substitute the subject with a pronoun, the sentence will read, “It is the time needed to finish the test.”) Ten meters of rope is needed to rescue a drowning person. 10. “One of the...” Phrase Used as a Subject The verb that follows this phrase is always in the singular or s-form much the same way that the verb in the relative clause (after the relative pronouns who, that or which) is always in the plural or base form. Study the following examples taken from item No. 8 of the lesson on Subjects that Require Plural Verbs. Examples: One of the gadgets that enjoy immense popularity is the smart phone. (The subject of the sentence is one, hence it agrees with the singular verb is.) One of the businessmen who support the new policy is my uncle. One of the candidates in the beauty pageant speaks five languages. 11. Subjects Beginning with “The number...” Examples: The number of job applicants continues to decline. The number of competing products in the food industry increases every year. The number of drug cases reported in this village is alarming. 2. Compound subjects Preceded by “Each,” “Every,” “Many a” or “No” Examples; Each boy and girl has to receive a bag of goodies. Each town and village was destroyed by the hurricane. Many a man and woman loves adventure. No wealth and no power makes a man truly happy.a JECT CLOSEST TO THE SUBJECTS OF MIXED NUMBER ene ETERMINES AGREEMENT JOINED BY EITHER OR mpm ht a Either his friends or my cousin joins the race. The band sounds so melodious. Behind the tall bushes hides the fugitive man. Le oe eee (The fugitive man hides behind the tall bushes.) Over the fence jumps a horse. RULE: IF ACTING AS A SINGLE UNIT, THE SUBJECT (A horse jumps over the fence.) TAKES A SINGULAR VERB. WHEN ASSUMED TO BE ACTING SEPARATELY, IT ICATIONS} IN SV \ REEMENT SUBJECT FRACTIONS & COMPLEMENT WTI : { OF MIXED NUMBERS RULE: THE NUMBER OF THE VERB _ | RULE: LINKING VERBS AGREE WITH AGREES WITH THE NOUN OR Z SUBJECT, NOT WITH PREDICATE PRONOUN PRECEDING THE VERB \ \ Z Yj Nominanve ‘Two gun shots are the signal to start the competition. (One fourth of the voters are female. ‘Two thirds of the pizza is gone. ‘The signal to start the competition it two gun shots. INDEFINITE PRONOUNS (EITHER SINGULAR OR PLURAL) z RULE: THE NUMBER OF THE VERB DEPENDS WITH INTERVENING WORDS OR PHRASES RULE: INTERVENING WORDS DO NOT ‘AFFECT THE S-V AGREEMENT (Mentally cross out words or phrases after the subject) with, together with, plus, besides, in additfon to, ON THE ANTECEDENT aside from, and prepositional phrases Most of the apple ple has been eaten. The laughter of pupils is music to her ears. Most of the cars have been painted. The lioness, togetherwith-her-oubs, lies quletly Inside the cave, FIGURE NO. 28COMPLICATIONS IN SUBJECT-VE Sorta a A 5 RBA E . (Either Singular or Plural Verna) Te MENT vnces have complicated subject verb apree me sentence ABFEOMONL Hales, The “ncltions to determine the right verb to be used, whether it i: ay Hequire: contain following list shows these complications WMlar or plural, The 1, Subjects of Mixed Number Joined by Either or, or Neither nor When subjects joined by either or or neither nor are of mixed number (meaning, one is singular and the other is plural), the subject that is closer to the verb determines the agreement. Examples: Neither the players nor the coach is aware of the new rules. Neither the coach nor the players are aware of the new rules. Either the man or the ladies have the script. Either the ladies or the man has the script. Neither the policemen nor the witness knows the suspect’s whereabouts. Neither the witness nor the policemen know the suspect’s whereabouts. 2. Inverted Sentences papel that start with here, where and there are inverted. So are sentences where u e verb comes first before the subject. To determine what verb to be used, revert the entence to its natural order where the subject comes first before the verb. Examples: Here are the brown envelopes. The brown envelopes are here. There is a man walking along the corridor. Aman walking along the corridor is there. Under the sea lie buried treasures. Buried treasures lie under the sea. Into the woods runs the wild bear. The wild bear runs into the woods.— B Ace Pai 4 3. Sub yect and Complement of Mixed Number | The com, . plement is t When the number Se found after the linking verb and renames the Known as the predicate puede conflicts with the number of the complement it fe nominative), the verb agrees with the subject. Itis the a er of the subject th: at di of the complemen’ letermines the linking verb to be used, regardless of the number Examples: His prize for winning the contest is three huge boxes of groceries Three huge boxes of groceries are his prize for winning the contest. His reward for completing the challenge is the hugs of his children. The hugs of his children are his reward for completing the challenge. 4. Indefinite Pronouns that take either Singular or Plural Verbs (All, any, more, most, none, some) For sentences using indefinite pronouns, the number of the verb depends on the antecedent or the noun referred to by the pronoun. Examples: None of the players are attending the practice. (The antecedent of none is players which is plural, hence the plural verb.) Most of the bread has been eaten (The antecedent of most is bread which is singular, hence the singular verb.) Some of the paintings were stolen. (The noun being referred to by the indefinite pronoun some is paintings which is plural.) some of the pizza tastes bland. (Pizza is singular, hence the singular verb.) 5. Subjects with Intervening Words or Phrases intervening words or phrases in the subject do not affect the subject-verb agreement. To determine the right verb, mentally cross out these intervening words or phrases: (Some examples are prepositional phrases and participial phrases.) Examples: The dedication of students needs to be recognized. Cross out the intervening prepositional phrase (of students). The dedication of students needs to be recognized. The train, speeding down the tracks, rams a passing vehicle. The train, speeding-downthetracks, rams a passing vehicle.ther intervé oimpadition to, as well OS, Examples: nea The guard, exhausted from his inspection duties, goes to bed. The guard, exhausted-fromhis-inspection duties, goes to bed. r phrases that do not affect the subject-verb agreement are ing words o1 ‘4 n eee plus, with, together with, besides, and aside from. A ream of bond paper, in addition to three boxes of crayons, is inside the cabinet. The police officer, plus five journalists, has been invited to the symposium. The voice coach, together with his talents, visits the recording studio. The use of colorful illustrations, aside from the simplified lessons, is the highlight of this book. 6. Fractions as Subjects For fractions as subjects, the verb agrees with the number of the noun referred to by the fraction. Examples: One half of our scholars are from public schools. (The noun referred to by the fraction is scholars, which is plural, hence the plural verb.) Three fourths of the pie crust is soaked. (Three fourths is a part of a whole, hence the singular verb.) 7. Collective Nouns as Subjects Ifa collective noun (such as family, choir, band, or team) is acting as a single unit, the subject takes a singular verb. When assumed to be acting separately—as individuals or separate units—it takes a plural verb. Examples: The choir sounds melodious. (The choir is taken as one unit.) The choir have attended the practice at the conservatory. (The choir here refers to the choir members.) The band plays at Mateo’s Café tonight. (The band is taken as a single unit.) The band have started packing their musical instruments, (The band is taken as individuals or separate units.)