SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

 with singular noun – s-form of the verb / singular verb (ends in -s or -es)
 with plural noun - simple form of the verb / plural verb
 has - singular noun
 have - plural noun

Rules for Subject-Verb Agreement:

1. Verb agrees with its subject in person and in number.

Tina (singular noun) sweeps (s-form of the verb) They (plural noun) sweep (simple form of
verb)
A willing hand makes light work. Many hands make light work.

 Make sure you identify your subject so that you will know if it is plural or singular. Knowing
this will help you determine what form of the verb to use.

 Some subjects are surrounded by a lot of modifiers it is sometimes difficult to find.

Examples:
1. The central theme of all of God’s teachings is God’s blissful sovereignty over a harmonious,
sinless world.
2. The parable of the Good Samaritan, as told by Jesus and recorded in Luke’s gospel, calls up
old memories.
3. A priest, as well as a Levite, sees the bleeding victim but passes him by.

 Sometimes the subject comes after the verb:

1. There is a strong healing power in forgiveness.
2. Beneath the cloak of the wrongdoing of someone who hurts you lives a fallible human being.

The Number of Nouns

A. The following nouns are not pluralized by educated users of English:

baggage – piece of baggage, several pieces of baggage
blood – a drop of blood, several drops of blood, a bag of blood
bread – a slice / loaf of bread, slices / loaves of bread
chalk – pieces of chalk
dirt – particles of dirt, heap of dirt, pile of dirt
dust – a lot of dust settled on the furniture
furniture – a piece of furniture, pieces of furniture, a set of furniture
gravel – a piece of gravel, cans of gravel, trucks of gravel, a pile of gravel
jewelry – pieces of jewelry, jewels
information – a lot of information, pieces of information, types of information
music – pieces of music
poetry – pieces of poetry, kinds of poetry, little poetry
prose – kinds of prose, much prose
machinery – The machinery are left unused in the warehouse.
Scenery – The Philippines offers many beautiful scenery.

B. Nouns generally used in their singular forms by educated users of English:

Fish (the form “fishes” is used to refer to different species).
Fruit (the form “fruits” is used to refer to different kinds)
Land (the form “lands” is used to refer to countries)

2. a. When two or more singular subjects are joined by “and” the plural form of the verb (simple form)
is used.
a. Junior and Lito are identical twins.
b. A fool and his money are soon parted.
c. Cancer and transplant rejection are two sides of the same coin.

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 d. Grammar and matters relating to the structure of the sentences have something to do with words.
e. Nowadays boys and girls enjoy playing with the family computer more than reading books.
b. Sometimes there are two or more singular subjects. At other times, the two subjects refer to one and
the same thing.
1. The founder and the moving spirit of the congregation are saintly woman.
- the founder, the moving spirit means they are two separate entities
2. The founder and moving spirit of the congregation is a saintly woman.

c. If there are relative pronouns (who, which, that) determine what they are standing for, to know what
verb form you should use:
1. In the parables, we meet the characters that typify the plain, rustic world of farms and
villages.
- “that” stands for characters (plural); verb “typify” (simple form of the verb)
2. The wrongs, which remain unforgiven, have the power to hurt us still.
- “which” stands for wrongs (plural); verb “have” (simple form of the verb)
3. A person who shares what he has finds happiness.
- “who” stands for person (singular); verb “finds” (s-form of the verb)

d. Mathematical computation may take either a singular or a plural verb.

a. Ten and ten is twenty. / Ten and ten are twenty.
b. Five times five is twenty-five. / Five times five are twenty-five.

3. When two or more singular subjects are joined by “or”, “nor” “but”, a singular form of the verb is
required (s-form of the verb); in questions, the plural is common (simple form of the verb).
a. Leo or Marco is to be the class representative.
b. Neither Francis nor Joseph plays the piano.
c. Not Alex but Kevin is recommended for the job.
d. In question: Are Marco and Leo in? Is Marco or Leo in?

4. When one of two subjects joined by “or”, “nor”, “but”, is singular and the other is plural, the verb
agrees in number with the nearer subject.
a. Neither Lawrence nor his parents were present.
b. Not only the girls but also their mother believes in superstition.

5. When two subjects connected by “or”, “nor” differ in person, the verb agrees with the nearer.
a. Neither Francis nor I am to blame.
b. You or she is the most popular contestant.

6. If the subjects were affirmative and negative, the verb agrees in person with the affirmative subject.
a. She, not I, is the one to sign the receipt.

7. A singular subject followed immediately by “as well as”, “in addition to”, “including”, “no less
than”, “together with”, or something similar in construction, consider this singular and takes the simple
form of the verb.
a. The teacher as well as her students donates a gift.
b. The coach together with his players was praised.
c. A cash reward in addition to a job was offered to the honest cab driver.
d. Corina including her sister was invited to join the organization.

Other rules to remember:

 Indefinite Pronouns

8. Indefinite pronouns like everyone, anyone, someone, somebody, no one, everybody, all, neither,
either and each one is considered singular nouns therefore take the s-form of the verb.

a. Everybody needs to be consoled when he is unhappy.

b. Someone is always ready to help.
c. Each one has a duty towards his fellowmen.
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 d. The sick man and the dying need our compassion and help. Neither deserves to be turned
away.

9. Subjects modified by each, every, neither one, either one are considered singular and take the s-
form of the verb.
e. Each parable makes up a vital part of Jesus’ teaching.
f. Two men see the wounded victim, but neither one stops to help him.

10. Expressions like many a, more than one, not one, the number are considered singular and call for
the s-form of the verb.
g. Many a sick man has found a home in the mission set up by Mother Teresa’s nuns.
h. More than one doctor is needed.
i. The number of medical volunteers is growing each year.

11. Many, others, several, few, a few, a number, all (referring to people) are considered plural and take
the simple form of the verb.
j. To the clinic come the rich and the poor. All are welcome. (all referring to people)
k. Many are called but few are chosen.
l. Successful executives help in charitable projects. Several work in the most miserable of
slums.
m. A number have been working there for years.

 Quantity or Amount:

12. Expressions of quantity or amount that describe individual items rather than the whole unit require
are considered plural and take the simple form of the verb.
a. Three-fourths of the donors are affluent people.
- if there were 16 doors, three-fourths or 12 of those donors are affluent

b. Ten years have passed since the mission was founded.

- plural, ten individual years; verb “have”

13. Expressions of quantity or amount that refer to the whole unit are considered singular and take the
s-form of the verb.
c. Three-fourths of the time of the volunteers is spent in hospitals and slums.
d. Two years is the average time each volunteer serves.

14. With words that have “of phrase” or the object of the preposition and 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 a singular or plural verb. If the object of the
preposition is singular, use a singular verb. If the object of the preposition is plural, use a plural verb.
a. Fifty percent of the pie has disappeared. - Pie is the object of the preposition “of”.
b. Fifty percent of the pies have disappeared. - Pies is the object of the preposition.
c. One-third of the city is unemployed. – City is the OP
d. One-third of the people are unemployed. – people (plural) is the OP

15. With sums of money or periods of time --- use singular form of the verb.
a. Ten dollars is a high price to pay.
b. Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense.

 Collective Nouns: Collective nouns are neither singular or plural, depending on the context in
which they appear.

16. When the group is referred to as a unit it is considered as singular and the s-form of the verb is
used.
a. The crowd was jubilant at the sight of the long procession in honor of Mother Teresa.
b. The family of volunteers is large and enthusiastic.
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 c. The play's cast is rehearsing for today's show.
- The singular subject cast takes the singular verb is. The members of the cast are
functioning as a single unit.
d. The jury returns a unanimous verdict.
- The singular subject jury requires the singular verb returns; the members of the jury
are working together as one unit.

* Here is the key: Imagine a flock of pigeons pecking at birdseed on the ground. Suddenly, a cat races
out of the bushes. What do the pigeons do? They fly off as a unit in an attempt to escape the predator,
wheeling through the sky in the same direction.

People often behave in the same manner, doing one thing in unison with the other members of their
group. When these people are part of a collective noun, that noun becomes singular and requires singular
verbs and pronouns. As you read the following examples, notice that all members of the collective noun
are doing the same thing at the same time:

e. Every afternoon the baseball team follows its coach out to the hot field for practice.
- “team” = singular; “follows” = s-form of the verb; “its” = a singular pronoun.
- All members of the team arrive at the same place at the same time.
f. Today, Dr. Ribley's class takes its first 100-item exam.
- “class” = singular; “takes” = s-form of the verb; “its” = a singular pronoun.
- All members of the class are taking the test at the same time.

g. The jury agrees that the state prosecutors did not provide enough evidence, so its verdict is
not guilty.
- “Jury” = singular; “agrees” = s-form of the verb; “its” = a singular pronoun.
- All members of the jury are thinking the same way.

When the members of the group are considered as individuals who act separately, the simple form of the
verb is used.
- A collective noun is treated as plural when the group it names is considered to be
made up of individuals.
- Because members of the group can act on their own, the word is considered plural.

** Now imagine three house cats in the living room. Are the cats doing the same thing at the same time?
Not this group! One cat might be sleeping on top of the warm television. Another might be grooming on
the sofa. A third animal might be perched on the windowsill, watching the world outside. There is one
group of animals, but the members of that group are all doing their own thing.

17. When the members of the group are considered as individuals who act separately, the simple form
of the verb is used.

Members of collective nouns can behave in a similar fashion. When the members are acting as
individuals, the collective noun is plural and requires plural verbs and pronouns. As you read these
examples, notice that the members of the collective noun are not acting in unison:

a. After the three-hour practice under the brutal sun, the team shower, change into their street
clothes, and head to their air-conditioned homes.
- “Team” = plural; “shower”, “change”, “head” = plural or simple form of the verb;
“their” = a plural pronoun.
- The teammates are dressing into their individual outfits and leaving in different
directions for their individual homes.

b. After the long exam, the class start their research papers on famous mathematicians.
- “Class” = plural; “start” = a plural verb or simple form of the verb; “their” = a plural
pronoun.
- The students are beginning their own research papers—in different places, at different
times, on different mathematicians.

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 c. The jury disagree about the guilt of the accused and have told the judge that they are
hopelessly deadlocked.
- “Jury” = plural; “disagree”, “have told” = plural verbs or simple form of verb;
“they” = a plural pronoun.
- Not everyone on the jury is thinking the same way.

 Compound Subjects

18. Compound subjects joined by the correlatives either/or, neither/nor take the s-form of the verb if
both are singular and take the simple form of the verb if both are plural.
a. Neither Maria nor her sister knows about the Missionaries of Charity.
- “Maria”, “her sister” are both singular so we use the s-form of the verb.

b. Neither the teachers nor their pupils have heard about the Missionaries of Charity.
- “teachers”, “pupils” are both plural so we use the simple form of the verb.

c. Either civic organizations or religious institutions are called upon to help support charitable
projects.
- “civic organization”, “religious institutions” are both plural so we use the simple form
of the verb

19. If two singular subjects are connected by “or “ or “nor”, it is considered singular and require a
singular verb.
a. My aunt or uncle is arriving by train today.

20. When “I” is one of the two subjects connect by either/or or neither/nor, put it second and follow
it with the singular verb “am”.
a. Neither she nor I am going to the festival.

21. When a singular subject is connected by “or” or “nor” to a plural subject, put the plural
subject last and use a plural or the simple-form of the verb.
a. The serving bowl or the plates go on that shelf.

22. When a singular and plural subject are connected by either/or or neither/nor, put the plural subject
last and use a plural verb.
a. Neither Jenny nor the others are available.

 Nouns that end in “s” may either be plural or singular in meaning.

23. Some nouns may be plural in form but singular in meaning – they take the singular or s-form of
the verb. Examples of these are Mathematics, economics, politics, measles, mumps, athletics, news,
physics.
a. The news of the missionaries’ work has spread throughout the world.
b. Politics does not influence their work.

24. Some nouns are plural in form and plural in meaning, yet seem to be only one thing --- they take
the simple form of verbs. Examples of these are scissors, shears, pants, tongs.
a. Pants are worn by both men and women working in the slums.
b. The scissors have just been sterilized. They are ready for use.

25. Some nouns ending in “s” may take either s-form or the simple form of the verb. Examples are
statistics and acoustics.
a. Statistics is a very useful subject in demography.
- s-form of the verb (singular)

b. Statistics show that the population growth has not diminished.

- simple form of the verb (plural)