LESSON 2

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
- “Subjects and verb must AGREE with one another in number.”
- If a subject is singular, its verb must also be singular; if a subject is plural, its verb must also be
plural.
- In present tenses, nouns and verbs form plurals in opposite ways.

Ex. The cat chases the mouse.

The cats chase the mouse.

The Earth (a. revolve b. revolves) around the Sun.

Erick and Marco (a. sits b. sits) at the back.

RULES

1. A phrase or clause between subject and verb does not change the number of the subject.

Ex.

A glass of cold water sits on the shelf. The women who joined the event were happy.

The girl who is leading the parade (is, are) my best friend.

The boys who went to the mall (was, were) late.

2. Singular indefinite pronoun subjects take singular verbs.

SINGULAR- Someone, somebody, something, nobody, nothing, anyone, anybody, anything, everyone,
everybody, everything, each, either, neither, one, no one.

Ex. Each has to contribute for this discussion. Neither of the two is acceptable.

No one is willing to be corrected.

PLURAL- several, few, many, both

Ex. Both do a good deal of work around the office. Several people were affected by the collision.

3. “Some indefinite pronouns may be either singular or plural”

- Some, any, none, all, most

Uncountable Countable
Some of the sugar is on the floor. Some of the chickens are dying.

4. Compound subjects joined by “and” are always plural.

Ex. Tom and Jake made this event memorable. Both Apple and Samsung are highly innovative.

Cookies and cream (is, are) my favorite ice cream flavor.

Your name and address (is, are) all we need to proceed.

“A person’s name and their address are often thought of as one piece of info. and can take singular
instead of plural verb.”

Our Secretary and treasurer (is, are) Frances Eisenberg.

Wear and tear (is, are) expected in the rental business

Compound subjects joined by or/nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it.

Ex. Neither the director nor the actors are following the lines closely.

Neither the actors nor the director is following the lines closely.

Either Anna or the twins are acceptable.

Either you start fearing, or you are camping by yourself.

“Either is always paired with or, and neither is always paired with nor.”
 5. Inverted Subjects must agree with the verb.

Ex. Waiter, there is a fly in my soup. Waiter, there are four flies in my soup.

How are the friends coping with the situation?

Not only is he difficult to understand, but he is also funny.

6. “Collective Nouns” – group, jury, crowd, team, etc.

Ex.

The jury has awarded the full custody to the mother. The jury members have been arguing for days.

7. “Titles of single entities”- books, organizations, countries, etc.

“Philippines”- The Philippines is an archipelago.

“Grapes of Wrath”- The Grapes of Wrath takes a long time to read.

8. Plural form subjects with a singular meaning- news, measles, mumps, physics, etc.

“Mars”- Mars is the fourth planet of the sun.

“Mathematics”- Mathematics is one of the toughest subject.

“Politics”- Politics is an interesting subject.

9. Plural form subjects with a plural meaning take a plural verb.

The scissors are on the table.

A pair of scissors is on the table.

10. With subject and subjective complement of different number the verb always agrees with the
subject.

My favorite topic is poems by Longfellow. Poems by Longfellow are my favorite topic.