SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

 1. Singular subjects need singular verbs, plural

subjects need plural verbs.
 (i) My brother is a Nationalist.
 (ii) My sisters are Mathematicians.

 2. The indefinite pronouns like ‘anyone’ , ‘no

one’, ‘someone’ , ‘everyone’ are always singular
and therefore require singular verbs.
 (i) Everyone has done his or her homework.
 (ii) Somebody has left her purse.
 3. (a) Some indefinite pronouns such as ‘all’ & ‘some’ are
singular or plural depending on what they are referring to . ( Is
the thing referred to countable or not?) Be careful while
choosing a verb to accompany such pronouns.
(i) Some of the beads are missing.
(ii) Some of the water is gone.

(b) On the other hand , there is one indefinite pronoun , ‘none’

that can be either singular or plural. It often doesn't matter
whether you use a singular or plural verb unless something else
in the sentence determines its number.
(i) None of you claims responsibility for this incident?
(ii) None of you claim responsibility for this incident?
(iii) None of the students have done their homework.
 3. Some indefinite pronouns are particularly
troublesome like ‘everybody’ and ‘everyone’ which
certainly feel like more than one person . Hence
many of us are tempted to use a plural verb with
them .They are always singular though ‘each’ is
followed by a plural word ( each of the cars), thus
confusing the verb choice. Hence ‘each’ too is always
singular and requires a singular verb .
 (i) Everyone has finished his or her homework.
 (ii) Everybody is here.
 (iii) Each of the students is responsible for doing his
or her work in the library.
 4. Phrases such as ‘together with’ , ‘as
well as’ and ‘along with’ are not the
same as ‘and’ . These phrases does not
compound the subjects as the word
‘and’ would do .
 (i) The mayor as well as his brothers is
going to prison.
 (ii) The mayor and his brothers are
going to jail.
 5.The words ‘neither’ and ‘either’ are
singular and require singular verbs,
even though they seem to be referring
in a sense to two things.
 (I) Neither of the two traffic lights is
working.
 (ii) Which shirt do you want for Eid?
Either is fine with me.
 6.The conjunction ‘or’ does not conjoin ( as ‘and’
does). When ‘nor’ or ‘or’ is used , the subject closer to
the verb determines the number of the verb. Whether
the subject comes before or after the verb , doesn’t
matter; the proximity determines the number.
 (i) Either my father or my brothers are going to sell
the house.
 (ii) Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell
the house.
 (iii) Are either my brothers or my father responsible?
 (iv) Is either my father or my brothers responsible?
 7. The words ‘there’ and ‘here’ are never
subjects.
 (i) There are two reasons.
 (ii) There is no reason for this.
 (iii) There are two apples.
 8. Verbs in the present tense for third
person singular subjects like ‘he’ , ‘she’, or
‘it’ can have ‘s’ – endings.
 (i) He likes , she likes, they like and so on .
 9.Sometimes modifiers will get
between a subject and its verb , but
these modifiers must not confuse the
agreement between the subject and its
verb.
 (i) The mayor who has been convicted
along with his four brothers on four
counts of various crimes but who also
seems like a cat , to have several
political lives, is finally going to jail.
 10. Sometimes nouns take weird forms and can
fool us into thinking they are plural, when they
are actually singular and vice versa. Words such
as glasses , pants , pliers and scissors are
regarded as plural and require plural verbs
unless they are preceded with the phrase ‘ pair
of ‘ . ( In this case the word ‘ pair’ becomes the
subject.)
 (i) My glasses were on the bed.
 (ii) A pair of trousers is in the closet.
 (ii) A pair of scissors is in the drawer.
 11. (a) Some words end in “s” and
appear to be plural . But they are really
singular and require singular verbs.
 (i) The news from the front is bad.
 (ii) Measles is a dangerous disease for
pregnant women.
 (c) The names of the sports team that do not end in ‘s’ will
take a plural verb .
 (i) The Miami Heat have been looking for a world cup.

 12. Fractional expressions such as ‘half of ‘ , ‘ a part of’ ,

‘ a percentage of ‘ , ‘ a majority of ‘ are sometimes
singular and sometimes plural depending on the meaning.
( The same is true when ‘ all’ , ‘ more’ , ‘ most’ , and
‘some’ act as subjects.
 (a) Sums and products of mathematical processes are
expressed as singular and require singular verbs.
 (b) The expression ‘more than one’ takes a singular verb.

 (i) More than one student has tried this.
 (ii) A large percentage of the older population is
voting against her.
 (iii) Two – fifths of the troops were lost in the battle.
 (iv) Two – fifths of the vineyard was destroyed by fire.
 (v) Forty percent of the students are in Favour of
changing the policy.
 (vi) Forty percent of the student body is in favour of
changing the policy.
 (vii) Two and two is four.
 (viii) Four times four divided by two is eight.
 13. If your sentence compounds a positive
and a negative subject , the verb should
agree with the positive subject.
 (i) The department members, but not the
chair have decided not to teach on Teacher’s
day.
 (ii) It is not the faculty members but the
president who decides this issue.
 (iii) It was the speaker, not his ideas that has
provoked the students to riot.
EXERCISE : SUBJECT AND VERB AGREEMENT EXERCISE

 Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees

with the subject.
 1. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school.
 2. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the
meeting.
 3. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside.
 4. Either my shoes or your coat (is, are) always on the
floor.
 5. George and Tamara (doesn't, don't) want to see that
movie.
 6. Benito (doesn't, don't) know the answer.
 7. One of my sisters (is, are) going on a
trip to France.
 8. The man with all the birds (live,
lives) on my street.
 9. The movie, including all the
previews, (take, takes) about two hours
to watch.
 10. The players, as well as the captain,
(want, wants) to win.
 11. Either answer (is, are) acceptable.
 12. Every one of those books (is, are) fiction.
 13. Nobody (know, knows) the trouble I've
seen.
 14. (Is, Are) the news on at five or six?
 15. Mathematics (is, are) John's favorite
subject, while Civics (is, are) Andrea's favorite
subject.
 16. Eight dollars (is, are) the price of a movie
these days.
 17. (Is, Are) the tweezers in this drawer?
 18. Your pants (is, are) at the cleaner's.
 19. There (was, were) fifteen candies in that bag. Now
there (is, are) only one left!
 20. The committee (debates, debate) these questions
carefully.
 21. The committee members (leads, lead) very
different lives in private.
 22. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, (greets,
greet) the press cordially.
 23. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, (is, are) in
this case.
 1. Annie and her brothers are at school.
 2. Either my mother or my father is coming to the meeting.
 3. The dog or the cats are outside.
 4. Either my shoes or your coat is always on the floor.
 5. George and Tamara don't want to see that movie.
 6. Benito doesn't know the answer.
 7. One of my sisters is going on a trip to France.
 8. The man with all the birds lives on my street.
 9. The movie, including all the previews, takes about two
hours to watch.
 10. The players, as well as the captain, want to win.
 11. Either answer is acceptable.
 12. Every one of those books is fiction.
 13. Nobody knows the trouble I've seen.
 14. Is the news on at five or six?
 15. Mathematics is John's favorite subject, while Civics is Andrea's
favorite subject.
 16. Eight dollars is the price of a movie these days.
 17. Are the tweezers in this drawer?
 18. Your pants are at the cleaner's.
 19. There were fifteen candies in that bag. Now there is only one left!
 20. The committee debates these questions carefully.
 21. The committee members lead very different lives in private.
 22. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, greets the press
cordially.
 23. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, are in this case.
 1. Man and woman …….. complementary to each other.
 2. Plenty of mangoes and bananas ……… available in this season.
 3. A dictionary and an atlas ……….. missing from the library.
 4. The leader as well as his brothers ………. (belong/belongs) to
the same tribe.
 5. Cats and dogs ……… (do/does) not get along.
 6. The brothers as well as their sister …………good at their
studies.
 7. The students accompanied by their teacher ………
(has/have) gone on a picnic.
 8. A lot of houses ……….(has/have)collapsed in the storm.
 9. The children as well as their mother …………. missing.
 10. A large sum of money ………..(was/were)stolen.
 1. Man and woman are complementary to each other.
 2. Plenty of mangoes and bananas are available in this season.
 3. A dictionary and an atlas are missing from the library.
 4. The leader as well as his brothers belongs to the same
tribe.
 5. Cats and dogs do not get along.
 6. The brothers as well as their sister are good at their studies.
 7. The students accompanied by their teacher have gone on a
picnic.
 8. A lot of houses have collapsed in the storm.
 9. The children as well as their mother are missing.
 10. A large sum of money was stolen.
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT: ADVANCED

 Writing is a little like math. Let us explain! In math, we know that two sides of an equation must
be equal—in a sense, they have to agree. In writing, subjects and present-tense verbs must also
agree: if the subject is singular, so is the verb; if the subject is plural, so is the verb. In the
following sentences, see if you can choose the verb that agrees with its subject.
 The frogs at the cottage very loudly.
 The horses wildly across the field.
 The herd of horses wildly across the field.
The true subject is herd, not horses. Since herd is singular, it needs a singular verb (gallops).
 There been many hurricanes this year.
The true subject is plural (hurricanes), so it needs a plural verb (have).
 The woman with all the cats here regularly.
The true subject is woman, not cats. Since woman is singular, it needs a singular verb (shops).

 The mascot, as well as the hockey players, at the school.

 The hockey players and the mascot at the school.
 The hockey players or the mascot at the school.
When the subjects are joined by or, the verb agrees with the closer subject. In this case, the verb
must be singular (volunteers) to agree with mascot.
 The frogs at the cottage……………. very loudly.
 a) croaks
 b) croak

 The horses……………..wildly across the field.

 a) gallops
 b) gallop

 The herd of horses………… wildly across the field.

 a) gallops
 b) gallop
 There……………. been many hurricanes this year.
 a) has
 b) have
 The woman with all the cats…………. here
regularly.
 a) shops
 b) shop
 The mascot, as well as the hockey players,
………… at the school.
 a) volunteer
 b) volunteers
 The hockey players and the
mascot…………. at the school.
 a) volunteer
 b) volunteers
 The hockey players or the
mascot ………….. at the school.
 a) volunteer
 b) volunteers