AGREEMENT

Subject-Verb

The basic concept of subject-verb agreement is that verbs must agree in person and in
number with their subjects. This unit discusses subject-verb agreement in number since
this is a very common problem in the TOEFL®.

Agreement in number means that singular subjects must be followed by singular verbs,
and plural subjects by plural verbs.

Examples
The solution to the problems is quite simple.
S V

Some of the ink was spilled.

S V

The girls have breakfast at 6 a.m.

S V

Some of the students are Indians.

S V

Strategies

1. Be careful of verbs after collective nouns.

Collective nouns
family army jury
committee navy class
government flock band
team colony majority
group audience board
public council enemy

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a. Collective nouns referring to the unit as a whole are followed by singular verbs.

Check your understanding.

Directions: Circle the nouns and underline the verbs. Decide which ones are wrong.
Correct the mistakes.
1. The jury has finally come to a decision.
2. The class are doing an exam.
3. The board has agreed on the proposal.
4. The majority are opposing the new government policy on income tax.
5. The badminton team were one of the best in the world.

Sample item
In other words, the ant colony consist of the queen and her children — the workers.
A B C D

You should choose option C because the verb following the subject the ant colony, a
collective noun that refers to a unit as a whole, should be in singular form. It should
be consists.

b. Collective nouns referring to the different members comprising the unit are
followed by plural verbs.

Check your understanding.

Directions: Circle the nouns and underline the verbs. Decide which ones are wrong.
Correct the mistakes.
1. The family has been arriving from different towns.
2. The band is now tuning their musical instruments.
3. A second group are now rehearsing their parts in the play.
4. The committee has been blaming each other for the fatal decision.
5. The government have worked on various projects.

Sample item
The audience was asking many questions on the controversial issue.
A B C D

You should choose option B because the verb following the subject The audience, a
collective noun that refers to the individual members of the audience, should be in
plural form. It should be were.

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2. Subjects starting with the following phrases can be singular or plural depending
on the nouns that follow them.
some of the all of the
any of the none of the
most of the

Check your understanding.

Directions: Circle the subjects and underline the verbs. Decide which ones are
wrong. Correct the mistakes.
1. Most of the students knows that there is going to be a test.
2. None of the workers wants to quit their jobs.
3. All of the water have been used for the plants.
4. Hardly any of the magazines contains good articles.
5. Some of the journey was done by night.

Sample item
Because much of the state of Nevada is barren desert, some of the government’s
A B
nuclear bomb tests has been set off underground in this state.
C D

You should choose option C because the verb of the subject some of the government’s
nuclear bomb tests, a plural noun, should be in plural form. It should be have been.

3. The words on the list below are grammatically singular, and should always take
singular verbs.
anybody anyone anything each (+ singular noun)
everybody everyone everything every (+ singular noun)
nobody no one nothing
somebody someone something

Check your understanding.

Directions: Circle the subjects and underline the verbs. Decide which ones are
wrong. Correct the mistakes.

1. Somebody is knocking at the door.

2. Nobody wants to be treated unfairly.
3. Everything seem to be working as planned.
4. Nothing in this world are certain.
5. Each student in all of the classes are to write at least two papers in one semester.

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 Sample item
There is a basic tenet of law that says everyone are innocent until proven guilty.
A B C D
You should choose option B because the subject everyone is singular and it needs a
singular verb. It should be is.

4. Be careful of prepositional phrases that come between subjects and verbs. The
verb must agree with the subject of the sentence, NOT with the noun in the
prepositional phrase.

Check your understanding.

Directions: Find the subjects and underline the verbs. Decide which ones are wrong.
Correct the mistakes.
1. The buildings behind our school is old.
2. The participants of the seminar are all teachers.
3. The students in the next classroom are all present.
4. The population of many towns are growing too fast.
5. The data of the poll shows that many people still believe in the current
government.

Sample item
Governments in times of need often switches to flat money, which is not backed by
A B
reserves of another commodity.
C D

You should choose option A because the verb must agree with the plural subject
Governments. It should be switch.

5. Be careful of the nonreferential there. The verb agrees with the subject that
comes after the verb.

Check your understanding.

Directions: Circle the verbs and underline the subjects. Decide which ones are
wrong. Correct the mistakes.
1. There is no cars in the parking lot.
2. There remains no doubt of his integrity.
3. There were a lot of campers on the site.
4. There was long lines of people when we arrived to buy the concert tickets.
5. You could see that there was grief in his face.

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 Sample item
There appear to be great confusion among the residents in the areas stricken by the
A B C D
hurricane.

You should choose option A because the subject great confusion is a singular noun
and it requires a singular verb, not the plural verb appear. It should be appears.

6. Be careful of adverb phrases at the beginning of sentences. The verb that comes
before the subject should agree with the subject, NOT with the noun in the
adverbial phrase.

Check your understanding.

Directions: Circle the subjects and underline the verbs. Decide which ones are
wrong. Correct the mistakes.
1. From the ceiling dangle a mass of spider webs.
2. In the box are the things needed by the students.
3. At the end of this street lie the church that is centuries old.
4. After winning the beauty contest comes endless activities for Miss Indonesia.
5. In between the rocks grows lichen.

Sample item
Among the children’s books published in the U.S. in 1944 were Esther Forbes’s
A B C D
Johnny Tremaine.

You should choose option D because the subject is Esther Forbes’s Johnny Tremaine, a
singular noun that needs a singular verb. It should be was.

7. Some nouns with –s endings are singular and take singular verbs.
aerobics physics genetics measles
athletics economics mechanics diabetes
billiards mathematics statistics mumps
cards linguistics politics rabies
bowls obstetrics electronics shingles

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 Check your understanding.
Directions: Circle the subjects and underline the verbs. Decide which ones are
wrong. Correct the mistakes.
1. Mumps are a viral disease.
2. Mathematics give me a headache.
3. Athletics is popular in my country.
4. Billiards are not so popular today.
5. Politics play an important part in modern life.

Sample item
Mechanics, a branch of physics, concern the motions of objects and their response to
A B C D
forces.

You should choose option B because the subject Mechanics is a singular noun that
needs a singular verb. It should be concerns.

Exercise 1
Directions: Questions 1-5 are incomplete sentences. Beneath each sentence you will see
four words or phrases, marked (A), (B), (C), and (D). Choose the word or
phrase that best completes the sentence.

1. Martian measles _______ green and purple spots to appear all over a person’s body.
(A) is caused
(B) causes
(C) are causing
(D) cause

2. _______ many misconceptions about gorillas; the most damaging is that these
primates are ferocious, crazed killers like King Kong.
(A) They are
(B) There are
(C) Of the
(D) That is

3. In Fredericton _______ the oldest university in Canada dating from the year1800.
(A) it stands
(B) as it stands
(C) stands
(D) stands there

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4. The waters around the province of Newfoundland-Labrador _______ rich in cod,
herring, and other fish.
(A) are
(B) they are
(C) there are
(D) is a

5. People of Hispanic background _______ lived in what is now the United States since
the 17th century.
(A) have
(B) which have
(C) has
(D) having

Exercise 2
Directions: In questions 1-15 each sentence has four underlined words or phrases
marked A, B, C, and D. Identify the underlined word or phrase that is
incorrect.

1. Plant genetics are now exploited to create new hybrids that enrich the plant species.
A B C D

2. New Mexico is known as the Land of Enchantment and some of its other nicknames
A
gives the same impression.
B C D

3. Since the prehistoric times, the family have been an important body in the society.
A B C D

4. Of the tribes of the Pueblo Indians is the Zuni and the Hopi who had an advanced
A B C
civilization.
D

5. The three largest cities in New Jersey, in order of size, is Newark, Jersey City, and
A B C D
Paterson.

6. There was thirteen British colonies that founded the United States of America in 1776.
A B C D

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7. Everybody believe in the law of gravity as it is evident.
A B C D

8. New York, the northernmost Mid-Atlantic state, are bordered by five other states.
A B C D

9. The reading public has various interests that are catered to by different kinds of
A B C D
books.

10. There are much more in a newspaper other than news reports, such as editorials
A B C D
or feature stories.

11. On the eastern part of Nicaragua on the Caribbean Sea lie the Mosquito Coast.
A B C D

12. Journals, one of the many types of publications, carries little or no advertising.
A B C D

13. In the northwest of the U.S. are located the home of the Nez Percé Indians, so called
A B
because they pierce their noses to wear ornaments.
C D

14. There is many fish such as swordfish and sharks, which normally live in salt water,
A B C D
in Lake Nicaragua.

15. The Russian peasants during Czar Nicholas’s rule was so poor that the Czar took
A B
some measures to improve their welfare.
C D

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 Review

Review 1
Directions: Questions 1-10 are incomplete sentences. Beneath each sentence you will
see four words or phrases, marked (A), (B), (C), and (D). Choose the word or
phrase that best completes the sentence.

1. In many countries, politics _______ a dirty business.

(A) often is
(B) is often
(C) often
(D) is often being

2. Antibiotics _______ relatively harmless to the host and can be used to treat infections.
(A) they are
(B) it is
(C) are
(D) is

3. Not so long ago, _______ people resisted separating glass, cans, and paper from
other substances in their garbage.
(A) much
(B) a little of
(C) many
(D) an amount of

4. Scientists have proved that vitamins are _______ to good health.

(A) importance
(B) of important
(C) importantly
(D) important

5. Inside the burr, the prickly outer covering of a chestnut, _______.

(A) is the brown chestnut shell
(B) the chestnut shell is brown
(C) the brown chestnut shell is
(D) the brown chestnut shell

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6. Not everybody _______ that eating a chocolate muffin is a good way to provide the
body with vitamin C.
(A) knows
(B) know
(C) knowing
(D) to know

7. Paraguay is one of the least _______ countries in South America.

(A) industrialized
(B) industrializing
(C) industrialization
(D) industrially

8. Vegetables _______ when eaten raw, although some should never be eaten raw.
(A) have the most nutrition
(B) they are most nutritious
(C) most nutritious
(D) their most nutrients

9. _______ in the world face malnutrition because they cannot produce enough food to
feed all the people.
(A) Many are countries
(B) That countries
(C) A country
(D) Many countries

10. In 1885 Annie Oakley gave shooting exhibitions in many places in the U.S., events
_______ her a star.
(A) to make
(B) made
(C) was made
(D) that made

Review 2
Directions: In questions 1-10 each sentence has four underlined words or phrases
marked A, B, C, and D. Identify the underlined word or phrase that is
incorrect.

1. Football—as it is called by the rest of the world outside the United States—is surely
A B
a most popular sport in the world.
C D

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2. Everyone need two servings of protein found in meat, fish, eggs or nuts every day.
A B C D

3. Some of the most commonly abused drugs is alcohol, cocaine, and amphetamines.
A B C D

4. With the right training, every puppies eventually learns not to dirty its owner’s floor.
A B C D

5. Spanish is the main language of Panama, but English is also wide spoken.
A B C D

6. The Titanic sank in April 1912 and sent about 1,500 passengers of the ocean liner to
A B C
its deaths.
D

7. Water in the Earth’s oceans differ in temperature and salinity.

A B C D

8. Chlorophyll is the green coloring matter that makes it possible for most plants to
A B C
make its own food.
D

9. Paris is often called the City of Light because so many greatly ideas begin from this
A B C D
city.

10. The ancient Egyptians had to pay hugely sums of money to be entombed in a
A B C D
sarcophagus.

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 SUPPLEMENTARY EXERCISES

Supplementary Exercise 1
Directions: Questions 1-5 are incomplete sentences. Beneath each sentence you will see
four words or phrases, marked (A), (B), (C), and (D). Choose the word or
phrase that best completes the sentence.

1. For grasses and catkins to reproduce, _______ from the male to the female flowers.
(A) the wind they must blow pollen
(B) that the wind must blow pollen
(C) must be blowing pollen the wind
(D) the wind must blow pollen

2. Waste water from factories _______ rivers and lakes creating pollution.
(A) pours into
(B) pouring into
(C) to pour into
(D) pour into

3. _______ to the Antarctic regions during the southern summer.

(A) The migration of the Arctic tern
(B) The Arctic tern migrating
(C) The Arctic tern to migrate
(D) The Arctic tern migrates

4. _______ in extremely hot and dry desert areas.

(A) Cacti growing
(B) Cacti grow
(C) that Cacti growing
(D) that Cacti grow

5. Modern plant breeding is based on the laws of heredity _______ by Gregor Mendel.
(A) which discovered
(B) to discover
(C) discovered
(D) it discovers

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Supplementary Exercise 2
Directions: In questions 1-15 each sentence has four underlined words or phrases
marked (A), (B), (C), and (D). Identify the underlined word or phrase that is
incorrect.

1. Venus is often mistaken for a star in an night sky.

A B C D

2. Deciduous trees are those that have leaves that fall off once a year, typical before the
A B C D
advent of winter.

3. Lapland, the home of the Lapps, are a bleak, barren region of Europe, north of the
A B C
Arctic Circle.
B

4. In very ancient times, people began to build their houses over waters.
A B C D

5. Almost everybody in Europe and America use Latin in his or her speech every day.
A B C D

6. A lens are a transparent object that has one or more curved surfaces.
A B C D

7. Located between San Francisco and Marin County are the Golden Gate Bridge.
A B C D

8. A kind of dry cleaning were used several thousand years ago in Greece and Rome.
A B C D

9. In Laos, people can sometimes see elephants walking along streets city.
A B C D

10. The human body needs a steady supply of water to remain healthily.
A B C D

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11. John Hancock’s signature on the Declaration of Independence is known for its large
A B C
sizes.
D

12. The United Nations uses simultaneous translators to make speech understandable to
A B C
all its members.
D

13. Charles Lamb’s amused essays brought him his greatest fame.
A B C D

14. Koalas are very shy and hard ever leave their trees.
A B C D

15. The piano is probably the best known of all Western music instruments.
A B C D

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