SUBJECT-VERB

AGREEMENT
Means that subjects and verbs must always agree in
number.

Subject
Subject

Plural
Singular

Singular Plural

Verb Verb
Subject and verbs

Singular Subjects Plural Subjects

I walk. We walk.

You walk. You all walk.

He walks. She walks. The boy They walk.

walks.

Plural verb: walk

Singular verb: walks (The verbs with s/es in the sentence are called singular verbs.)
1. Two or more subjects joined by “and” are considered plural
and require a verb form without an “s.”

Jan, John, and Bob walk to the store.

Bob and his brothers walk to the store.

Note: If two or more subjects are separated by “and” and mean a single
thing, then a singular verb is used.
Spaghetti and meatballs is my favourite one.
Cat and dog is the name of the game we play. And-plural
And(1)-singular
2. If a subject is modified by the words “each” or
“every” that subject is singular and will
take a verb form that ends in “s.”
Example: Each boy and girl walks to the store.

Every cookie he _____ was scrumptious.(have)

Each herd of elephants that crossed the road _____huge in number.(be)

Each, every-singular
3. If plural subjects are joined by “or,” “nor,” or “but,” the verb must
only agree with the subject that is closest to it.

Example: Either Bob or his brother walks to the store.

Neither Bob nor his brothers walk to the store.
Not Bob but his brothers walk to the store
Not Bob but his brother walks to the store

NOB- closest
4.Some nouns are always plural.
Scissors, shorts, eyeglasses, pants, thongs, jeans, trousers,
etc.
Example:
My pants are in the drawer.
Your eyeglasses are dirty.
These scissors are useless.
Note: If these words are preceded by the phrase a pair of, they will be regarded as
singular subjects.

Example:
Plural(subject)- plural
A pair of pants is needed. A pair of - singular
This pair of trousers is ugly.
5. The subject of a verb is never in a prepositional or verbal
phrase. Therefore, you must isolate the phrase and find the
proper subject.
If the conjunction ‘and’ is replaced by together with/ along with/
accompanied by/ as well as, the verb will have no effect for the
later part of these expressions.

a. Example: The mother duck (with all of her little ducklings) walks to
the store.
The mother duck (including all her ducklings) walks to the store

And replaced by with, along with ,as well as, including- no effect
Rules at Glance
6. Some indefinite pronouns and nouns will be singular or plural
depending on the object of
the prepositional phrase. These words are always about number or
amount such as: all,
half, some, none, most, part, few, little,etc.
a. Example: Some (of the students) are gone.
Some (of the cake) is gone.
The mother duck and all (of her ducklings) walk to the store.

Pronoun+of+the+singular subject : singular verb

Pronoun+of+the+plural subject : plural verb

Pronoun+of+the+singular subject : singular verb

Pronoun+of+the+plural subject : plural verb
 7. When a collective noun, such as family, group,
committee, or class, is the subject, the
verb will end in “s.”
a. Example: My family with all my crazy cousins always walks to the
store.

Collective noun- singular

8. A few nouns, such as economics, mumps, measles, or news
end in “s” but are considered singular. You can tell these “s”
words are singular because if you take the “s” away, you don’t
have a noun. For example, economic and new are adjectives that
describe a noun. Mump and measle just don’t make any sense.

Example: Economics is her favorite subject.

Noun+s(singular)- singular
9. When the subject is a unit of measurement of time,
distance, money, weight, etc. The unit is considered
singular, and the verb will end in “s.”

a. Example: Ten pounds of chocolate is too much to eat at once.

b. Thirteen feet of kite string tangles very easily.

Unit of measurement- singular

RULES AT GLANCE
10.If a gerund or an infinitive comes as a subject, the verb
will always be singular.
Gerund or infinitive- singular
Example:
Running with ducks is my favorite sport.
Running to the store and flying through the air are my
favorite sports.
Swimming ___ a good exercise.(be form)
Walking ____ a good habit. (be form)
Eating healthy food _____you healthy.(make)
To err __ human.(be form)
11.Some nouns are always singular and indefinite. When these
nouns become the subjects, they always take singular verbs.

Any + singular No + singular Some + sin. Every + sin. Each + sin.

noun noun noun noun noun
Anybody Nobody Somebody Everybody Each student
Anyone No one Someone Everyone Either*

Anything Nothing Something Neither*

*Note: Either and neither are singular if they are not used with or
and nor.

Example:
Everybody wants to live happily.
Something is bothering him.
No human being lives in that house.
Neither of you is responsible enough to handle it.
Each student has to submit a separate assignment.

(Any, Every, Some, Each, No) + sing.noun - singular

12. In a question or in a sentence that begins with there or
here, the verb will often come before the subject.

a. Example: Where is my sweater?

There are my sweaters.

Here/There + verb + subject

13.  If the + an adjective appears as the subject of a
sentence, it will be plural.
Example:
The pious are loved by God.
The industrious are always not successful.
The best do not lack integrity.

The + adjective- plural

RULES AT GLANCE
EXCEPTIONS
1.Number of+ singular subject: singular verb
Number of+ plural subject : plural verb

2. The phrase “more than one” takes a singular verb.

3.With fractions, the verb agrees with the whole.

One-fourth of the books are gone. (“books” is a plural noun)
One-fourth of the sand is white. (“sand” is a singular noun)
 QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS

QUESTION SOLUTION

1.The cracked windshield, in addition to the torn has

upholstery and rusted body, __________ made Ruth's old
car difficult to sell.(to have)

2.None of the cookies that you baked __________ fit to are

eat.(to be)

3.The whole red ant colony, including the queen and all of
her drones, __________ swarmed over Tommy's feet, has
stinging his ankles.(to have)
4.Fifteen gallons of chocolate milk __________ Make
Herbert the elephant a happy pachyderm.(to make)

5.Neither the coughing muffler nor the

squeaky brakes __________ Ruth as much as Annoy
the broken radio in her old car.(to annoy)

6.Every cat hair, candy wrapper, and loose thread

__________ to the super-charged polyester Clings
pants(to cling)

7.The shine on my hardwood floors __________

abuse from the ragged toenails of Floyd, my dog. Takes
(to take)

8.Statistics __________ so much homework that

Michelle's poor fingers have permanent Requires
indentations from the calculator pads.
 (to require)
9.When Matthew is having a bad day, old
episodes of The X-Files always __________ Brighten
his mood.(to bright)

10.Each of those opera singers regularly

___________ notes high enough to break Hits
glass and rupture eardrums.(to hit)

11.Either the fried oyster sandwiches or shrimp

pizza __________ the best choice for lunch at Is
Crusty's Seafood Restaurant.(to be)

12.A vitamin C tablet, in addition to milk jug

caps and dead cockroaches, __________ part Is
of the debris that Sara found when she
cleaned under the stove.

13.Neither of the surfers __________ the Sees

sharks that wish to make a quick snack of
some human toes.(to see)
 14.Not only shopping for presents but also
Makes
attending boring parties __________ many
people dislike the winter holidays.(to make)

15.The inch-thick dust on all the furniture, as

Has
well as the piles of unwashed clothes and dirty
dishes, __________ convinced Tony that
Horace will not make a good roommate.(to
have)
Fills
16.One thousand pounds of jelly beans
__________ the bed of Betty's truck.(to fill)

17.From the school cafeteria __________ the

Come
palest tomatoes, the driest lettuce, and the most
nuclear-green pickle slices that you will ever
see.(to come)

18.Where ______ the bowl of squid eyeball

Is
stew and the platter of broccoli-chocolate
muffins that Madison made for Elizabeth's
housewarming party?(to be)
Thank You!
MAIYURI.G