Subject Verb Agreement

1. The subject and the verb must agree in number.

a.If the subject is singular, use s-form of the verb.

a.1. The boy catches the ball.

b.If the subject is plural, use base form of the verb.

2. Compound subjects joined by and take a base form of the verb, unless thesubject's
intended is singular.

a.She and I run everyday .

b.Depression and pessimism are two states of mind that look alike.

c.My brother and my friend are with me.

d.Peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich.

e.A bow and arrow makes a primitive weapon.

f Cereal and milk provides a light breakfast.

3. Collective nouns (team,couple,staff,etc.) take either an s-form or base form of

the verb, depending on whether the emphasis is on the individual units or on group as whole.

a. The basketball team is practicing night and day for the Olympics game.

b. The jury has reached a verdict.

c. Every morning, the family attend to their own particular task.

4. Collecting noun phrases (a bunch of, a group of, a set of,etc.) Take either the s-form or the
base form of the verb, depending on whether the emphasis is on the individual units or on the
group as whole.

a. A set of 12 dishes is all your need for the dinner party

b. A bunch of the flowers are needed for different booths

5. Invervening word, phrase, clauses, or expression do not affect the subject and verb
rule.

A. The dog always barks when there is a stranger.

B. The teacher, together with the students, enjoys the outing.

C. Important papers, as well as his last will and testament, were found in his desk.

6. The pronouns either,neither, each, everyone, every one, everybody, anyone, anybody,
someone, and somebody

A. Everybody is bringing extra shirt for the practice

B. Each of the girls sings well.

7. Indefinite pronuons like both, few, many and several take a base of the verb.

A. Few were left after the flood.

B. Many are not following instruction.

8. When singular and plural subjects are connected by either/or and neither/nor, the verb
agrees to the nearest subject.

A. Neither Jason nor I am going to the party.

B. Either Mark or his friends are available for a company.

9. If one of the works each, every, or no comes before the subject, take the s-form of the verb.

A. No students is allowed to enter the office.

B. Each man and woman is given equal opportunity to say something.

10.The phares more than one, many a/an and not one Take the s-form of the verb.

A.Many an individual fells happy about the misery of others

B.Not one of the suspects admits the crime.

11.With words theat indicate portions: percent, fraction, part, majority, some all, none ,
remainder, and so forth-- look at the noun in your of phrase (object of the preposition)to
determine whether to use an s-form or base form of the verb. If the the subject of the
preposition is singular, use s-form of the verb. If the object of the perposition is plural, use a
base for of the verb.

A.Fifty percent of the pie has disappeared.

B.One-third of the people are unemployed.

C.All of the pie is gone .

D.None of the sentences we're punctuated correctly.

Note: Hyphenate all spelled-out fractions.

12.Use s-form of the verb with sums of money or periods of time, distance, unit of measurements,
volume, height, weight and mathematical expressions.With money, if the amount is specific, use s-form

A.Ten million is a high price to pay.

B.Millions was spent in building a new factory.

13. The expression the number is followed by s-form of the verb while the expression a number is
followed by a base form of the verb.

A. The number of teachers we need to hire is ten.

B. A number of students have written a compliant about the teacher.

14. The words here and there have generally been labelled as adverbs even though they indicate a
place. In sentences beginning with here and there , the subject follows the verb.

A. Here are the students who bullied Jessa.

B. There is something we should do to make our teacher happy.

15. Sometimes the pronoun who, that or which is the subject of the verb in the middle of the sentence.
These pronouns become singular or plural according the noun directly in front of them. So, if that noun
is singular, use s-form of the verb; if plural, use base form of the verb.

A. I am someone who wants to go beyond my limitations.

B. He is one of the men who do the work.

16. Some noun end in-s but are singular in meaning:

physics,politics,civics,,mathematics,economics,mumps,measles,news,aeronautics and molasses.

a. Mathematics is my best subject area

b. News has reported that lottery is illegal

17. Some nouns are plural in form and meaning:

scissors,tongs,shears,pliers,pants,tweezers,spectacles,proceeds,thanks,trousers,ashes,clothes,shorts,go
ods and pincers.

a. His scissors were used.

b. A pair of scissors is on the table.

18. With the nouns singular in form but either plural or singular in meaning: deer,salmon,cattle,sheep
and swine, the verb agrees with the intended meaning.

a. The deer, the largest, was saved.

b. The salmon are packed and sealed in respective cans.

19. The following nouns are always used in the singular: baggage, blood, bread, chalk, dirt, dust,

furniture, gravel, information, jewelry, machinery, music, poetry, prose, scenery, advice, slang,
money, soap, help, paper, mail, clothing, and graft. The use of the expressions pieces of, kinds of
collections of, bits of etc. Makes them plural.

a. Advice is appreciated by someone who needs it.

b. Pieces of advice were given to Ben.

20. The name of the firm is often regarded as singular. If the entire name carries a plural idea, use base
form of the verb.

a. Goldilocks bakesba satisfying taste of cakes.

b. DuEkSam branches are having a sale on motorcycles.

21. Titles of books and films take s- form of the verb

a. Myths and legends interests common folks.

b. Romeo and Juliet is written by William Shakespeare.

22. Adjectives that are used as subject take a base form of the verb.

a. The old need respect.

b. The rich become richer

23. If one of the subject is affirmative and the other is negative, the verb agrees with the affirmative
subject.

a. Not the teacher but the students are absent.

b. The teacher not the students is reporting early.

24. A clause which is used as a subject takes an s-form of the verb.

a. Where the books are is yet to be discovered.

b. What you do reflects your personality.