SUBJECT – VERB

AGREEMENT
MS. HANG BUI – TOEIC ACADEMY
WHAT IS S-V AGREEMENT?
SUBJECT

Singular Plural
-One person/thing -Two or more people/things
-Uncountable noun
-He/she/it -You, We, they
E.g.: companies, hotels, projects,
-E.g.: a hotel, success, the receptionist, etc. achievements, etc.

A pen, your book, information,….

VERBS
• Singular verbs:
E.g.: He washes dishes. (present simple)
Jamie was making monthly report at 8 last night. (past continuous)
The company has attained great success this year despite the effect of the pandemic.
(present perfect)
• Plural verbs
E.g.: They plan to build a new super market. (present simple)
Harry and Tom have endeavoured to fulfill the difficult task. (present perfect)
They wash their car daily.
They are my students.
SINGULAR V PLURAL V

• To be: is/was • To be: are/were

• has
He has 5 sisters.
• Auxiliary verbs: does, has
He doesn’t know about the changes.
She has already visited France.
• Vs-es
E.g.: My cousin washes the dishes for me.
We are a family.
• have
They have 5 dogs.
• Auxiliary verbs: do, have
You don’t have to do the housework.
We haven’t yet finished the housework.
• V.inf
E.g.: My cousins play football in the house.
• Past perfect
S + had + PII
E.g.: One of the students (submit) __had submitted_______ his essay before 10 last night.
The number of dishes has broken.
The number of houses in this town has been/was destroyed in the earthquake.
A huge amount of money was sent to the orphanage.
SINGULAR SUBJECTS
SINGULAR SUBJECTS

• V.ing/ To-inf as S
Learning online is convenient and fun.
Playing/To play football with friends is exciting.
Advertising products on TV costs a fortune.

• S (singular), modifiers, + singular verb

E.g.: The problem of most small companies ______is_____ lack of capital (vốn).
S1 + of + S2 => V (S1)
SINGULAR SUBJECTS
SINGULAR SUBJECTS

• The number of + plural noun (Ns)

The/An amount of + Unct-noun V(singular)
E.g.: The number of deaths has increased dramatically during the COVID outbreak.

• This/That + singular countable noun

E.g.: This is my hat. = This hat is mine.
This laptop was broken. That man is broke.
SINGULAR S
• Expressions of time, distance, money
E.g.: Two hours is long enough for me to complete the test.
10 miles is his usual running distance.
1 million dollars is never enough for me.
• Names of organization/countries/subject/disease ending with “s”
E.g.: Laos, (the) Philippines, the United States of America, ….
+ Physics, Math (Mathematics), economics, statistics, …
+ Measles, rickets,….
E.g.: Measles nowadays is not dangerous anymore.
• There/Here ___________ N
E.g.: There is a pen and a pencil.
PLURAL – S
• Plural countable nouns
E.g.: Employees (work) __have worked______ harder over the past few months due to the new
policy.
E.g.: People have read books.
Books are on the desk.
• Two or more subjects
E.g.: Tom, Brad, and Jerry are best friends.
Note: Tom and Jerry is my favorite cartoon movie.
E.g. 2: Water and food are important living sources.
• Determiner + plural nouns: most of, a lot of, lots of, many, a few/few, several, plenty of
E.g.: A lot of flowers have been sent to Jamie.
PLURAL S
• The + Adj -> class/generation.
E.g.: The rich, The poor, The old, The young, The disadvantaged, the disabled,…
E.g.: The old often love playing chess.
The rich usually purchase luxurious bags/clutches.
• A number of Ns
E.g.: A number of candidates have been approved.
• These/Those/Many/Some.
E.g.: Many (people) believe that ghosts are real.
E.g.:. These are my books.
• Police, cattle
• S (plural), relative pronoun (which, who, that) + V(plural)
E.g.: The flowers /which are grown in the west/ have better scent.
 SPECIAL CASES
• “and”
A and B.
The singer and songwriter, John Denver, has been awarded the first prize.
Bread and butter (dish) is my favorite breakfast.
Fish and chips is England’s national dish.
Salt and water
• Some of, most of, half of, three-fourths of,…:
- Plural countable nouns + V (plural)
- Uncountable/singular noun + V (singular)
E.g.: Most of my body is water.
Most of my students are from Britain.
Most children want to go to the park.
 – Neither S1 nor S2
either S1 or S2
 V (S2 )
Neither my dad nor my mom (like) ___likes____ coffee.
Neither my father nor his friends (enjoy) __enjoy____ the vacation.
•S1, accompanied by S2, => V (S1)
along with
together with
in addition to
E.g.: Tim, along with his best friends, (to be)____is______ planning a trip this holiday.