The price of these jeans (is/are)
reasonable
is
The girl or her sisters (watch,
watches) television every day.
watch
The famous singer and
composer (has/have) arrived
has
Neither his father nor his mother
(play/plays) Uno cards.
plays
Collecting match-boxes (is/are)
one of his favourite pastimes.
is
Does anybody (know/knows)
when our reports are due?
know
My best friend (goes go) to a
different school.
goes
Anything you (want wants) to
do today will help.
want
Anything you (want wants) to
do today will help.
want
Lesson Objectives:
After this lesson, students will be able
to:
• Identify the subject and verb of a sentence
• Understand the rules of subject-verb
agreement
• construct sentences in which the
subject and verb agree.
Subject-verb agreement unifies a
sentence and makes it easier to
understand.
Rules in Subject – Verb
Agreement
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Prerequisite Knowledge:
Singular Verbs Plural Verbs
am
is are
was were
has have
does do
s form base form
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Rule # 1: Basic Rule. A singular subject (she,
Bill, car) takes a singular verb (is,
goes, shines), whereas a plural
subject takes a plural verb.
Example:
The list of items is on the desk.
The dog growls when he is angry.
The neighbors laugh at him.
✔ These agreement rules do not apply to
verbs used in the simple past tense
without any helping verbs.
✔ The agreement rules do, however, apply
to the following helping verbs when they
are used with a main
verb: is-are, was-were, has-have, does-
do.
Example:
a. The girl has talked to me.
b. The girls have talked to me.
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Rule # 2 : Compound subjects joined by ‘and’
take the plural verb.
Example:
Ninoy Aquino and his wife were not afraid
to speak for their rights and the rights of
others.
Compound Connector Verb
Subject
Ninoy Aquino and were
his wife
How about this?
1. The famous singer and composer
has/have arrived.
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Rule # 3: Two singular subjects connected by
or, either/or, or neither/nor require a
singular verb.
Examples:
1. Neither Juan nor Carmen is available.
2. My aunt or my uncle is arriving by train
today.
3. Usually, either my niece or my nephew
picks me up at the airport
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Rule # 4: When a compound subject is joined
by 'either/or’ or ‘neither/nor’ the verb
agrees with the nearer subject.
Examples:
1. Either Elisa or her friends are coming.
2. Either Larry or Brad holds the record.
3. Neither the plates nor the serving bowl
goes on that shelf.
Let’s Practice!
1. The pupils and teachers (is, are)
participating in the activities.
2. Men and women (has/have) something in
common.
3. Adam and Eve (was/were) deceived by
the snake.
4. Neither Mark nor Dawn (is/are) at the
function.
5. Either my father or my brothers (is/are)
going to sell the car.
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Rule # 5: Phrases introduced by as well as,
along with, and in addition to, together with,
accompanied by, one of that come
between the subject and the verb do not
change the number of the verb.
Examples:
1. His daughter, as well as his two sons, wants
him to move.
2. The speaker, in addition to the guests, has
arrived.
Let’s Practice!
1. The coach, as well as the fans, (was, were)
disappointed in the team’s performance.
2. Linda, one of my good friends, (visits, visit)
England every year.
3. A mask from the South Seas, along with two
feather capes made in Peru, (was, were)
featured in the museum.
4. The doctor, together with his nurses, (is, are)
attending a conference.
5. The artwork, in addition to the jewelry, (are, is)
to be auctioned off in May.
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Rule # 6: The Indefinite Pronouns in Group A
require singular verb while indefinite pronouns
in Group B use plural verb.
A B
each, anyone; no one others
anybody; nobody both, few
everyone; everybody many, several
someone; somebody
Examples:
1. Everybody is welcome.
2. Few read this well at such a young age.
Let’s Practice!
1. Each of these bags (has/have) been
examined.
2. Nobody (like/likes) liver for supper.
3. Many of our young people (go/goes)
to larger cities to find work.
4. Everyone (sing/sings) in the shower.
5. Both of them (play, plays) the flute
very well.
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Rule # 7: The Indefinite Pronouns in Group C
may be either singular or plural
C (Singular or Plural)
all, most
any, more,
some
Examples:
1. All of the milk (has, have) spilled on the table.
2. All of the books (was, were) sold last week.
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Rule # 8: The Indefinite Pronouns in Group C
may be either singular or plural
C (Singular or Plural)
all, most
any, more,
some
Examples:
1. Some of the sugar (is, are) on the floor.
2. Some of the marbles (is, are) on the floor.
Let’s Practice!
1. More of the story (is/are) found online.
2. More of the rules (apply/applies) to me
than to you.
3. None of the cake (is/are) left for dessert.
4. Some of the photos (is/are) out of focus.
5. Most of the programs (was/were) new
to me.
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Rule # 9: Some nouns that are plural in form but
singular in meaning take singular verbs.
: Some nouns are considered plural and
require plural verbs.
Plural in Form but Singular Plural in Form and
in Meaning Require Plural Verbs
news, measles, physics, glasses, pants,
aerobics, mathematics, trousers, suspenders,
economics, mumps, remains, clothes,
billiards, politics shorts, pliers, scissors
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Rule # 9 : Some nouns that are plural in form
but singular in meaning take singular verbs.
Examples:
1. The interesting news was flashed on the
television.
2. Measles is a contagious disease.
3. Mathematics is a challenging area of
knowledge.
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Rule # 9 : Some nouns are considered plural
and require plural verbs.
Examples:
1. These scissors need sharpening.
2. My trousers are too long.
3. His remains were buried in the jungle.
Let’s Practice!
1. Does Paul know that his pants (has been
sent, have been sent) to the cleaners?
2. Physics (attempts, attempt) to explain
matter, energy, and their interaction.
3. Eyeglasses (was/were) prescribed by
Rachel’s ophthalmologist.
4. I lost my scissors. Have you seen (it/them).
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Rule # 10: Collective nouns may be either singular or
plural, depending on their use in the sentence. Words
such as crowd, troop, herd, team, people, flock, jury,
family, or committee, are collective nouns.
Examples:
1. The members of the jury (has returned, have returned)
to their homes.
2. The choir (was told, were told) to bring their hymnals.
3. The family (has given, have given) their contributions.
Let’s Practice!
1. Martin's family (plan/plans) to vacation in Haida
Gwaii this summer.
2. A huge swarm of locusts (has/have) destroyed
the crops.
3. The pack of dogs (was/were) running off in
different directions.
4. The orchestra (is/are) tuning their instruments.
5. Our staff (work/works) hard to meet their goals
and deadlines.
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Rule # 11: The expression the number is followed
by a singular verb while the expression a
number is followed by a plural verb.
Examples:
1. The number of people we need to hire is thirteen.
2. A number of people have written in about this
subject.
Let’s Practice!
1. The number of people lined up for tickets
(was/were) four hundred.
2. A number of suggestions (was/were) made.
3. There (is/are) a number of important
announcements in the bulletin.
4. Here (is/are) the number of milk shakes you
requested.
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Rule # 12: When fractions are used, the verb
agrees with the object of the OF PHRASE
Examples:
1. One half of the cake was consumed.
2. One fourth of the employees were attending the
seminar.
Let’s Practice!
1. Two-thirds of the lemonade (has/have) been
finished off.
2. Half of the class (has/have) signed up for the field
trip.
3. Two-fifths of the vineyard (was/were) destroyed
by fire.
4. Two-thirds of the pie (is/are) gone.
5. Fifty percent of the pies (is/are) gone)
Rules in Subject – Verb Agreement
Rule # 13: Measurements of time, length
distance, weight and money take a singular
verb.
Examples:
1. Fiver meters is all I need for the uniform.
2. Two hours is required to finish the game.
3. In total, 10 g of tissue was tested.
4. Ten dollars is a great deal of money to a child.
Let’s Practice!
1. Three weeks (is/are) a long time.
2. Two hundred dollars (is/are) a lot of money.
3. Twenty miles on the way (seem/seems) like two
hundred.
4. Ten pounds of chocolate (is/are) too much to eat
at once.
