A
SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT (Revision notes)
What is a subject?
Subject’ is a noun or pronoun thattells us what the sentence talks about
What is a verb?
A ‘verb’ represents the action in the sentence.
Ravi is playing Football. He is Football.
Noun. Verb. Pronoun
What is Subject — Verb concord?
to
.
It means the subject and verb in a sentence should agree or match with one another form a complete meaning.
For example:
Ravi is playing football.
Here, Subject - Ravi
Corcord - is verb -
playing
Rule 1
The Verb and Subject mustagree in number (Singular or Plural)
This means that if the subject is singular, the verb should be singular and
be plural.
if the subject is plural, the verb should also
Examples
He plays football
Subject & Verb are Singular
They play football.
Subject & Verb are Plural
Rule 2
The number ofthe subject (Singular or
Plural) will not change due to
words/phrases in between the subject
and the verb.
+ One of the glasses is
empty.
Here, the subject is ‘one’, the verb shouldbe ‘is’
+ The
bouquet of red roses smells so sweet,
Here ‘bouquet’ is the subject and not ‘roses’, the verb
should be ‘smells’ and not ‘smell
Rule# 3
Subjects that are joined by conjunction
in
‘and’ a sentence take plural verb.
+ Radha and Meera are
coming home.
+ Apples and
mangoes are my favourite fruits.
+ The general
managers and the controllers are
attending a three-day meeting this week.
However......
Use a singular verb when two or more subjects are
connected by and refer to the same person or thing.
+ Our
secretary and treasurer is Francis
eNnberg (One person.)
*
Cored potato and cabbage was his favourite
dish. (One dish.)
+ Wear and
tear has to be expected when you're in
the rental business. (One type of damage)
Rule 4
When using the ‘be’ form of verbs, there is an exception. In this case, the verb is used according to the number and
person of the subjects Check out the following table to see how
it works with different pronouns.
Person Pronoun Verb Example
First person singular I am I am confident.
First person plural We are We
are confident.
You are You are confident.
Second person singular/plural
Third person singular He is He
is confident.
She is She
is confident.
It is It is amazing.
Third person plural They are They are confident.
Furthermore, when used with other nouns and noun phrases, the rule applies. The same works even with simple past,
present continuous and past continuous tenses when the ‘be’ form of verbs are used as the principal verb/helping verb.
Check out
the following examples to
understand.
+ Santana isarea singer.
+ The
girls waiting for
you.
+ We were happy with the review of our first movie.
+ Michael Jackson's songs are
still enjoyed by millions.
+ [was reading the latest book by Rudyard Kipling.
e§
he use of *have’ and ‘has’ in the present
perfect tense, the present perfect continuous tense and as a main verb is also
dependent on the subject. All singular subjects use ‘has’ and all plural subjects use ‘have’.
—
For example:
I have a younger brother.
. You have taken the wrong cut.
. Swetha has a pet dog.
. William Shakespeare has written around 37 plays.
. Finn has been waiting to talk to you about the test results.
Rule 6
When more than one noun is joined by the conjunction ‘or’, the subject is considered to be singular and a singular
verb is used. For example:
* Celery or spring onion works fine.
* Your mom or dad has to be here in an hour.
Rule 7
Sentences with pronouns such as
anybody, anyone, no one, somebody, someone, everybody, everyone, nothing and
nobody are treated as singular subjects and will therefore use a singular verb.
For example:
+ Nobody has understood anything.
+ Everyone was happy with the outcome.
+ Nothing fits me well.
+ Noone finds the movie interesting.
Rule 8
For sentences using ‘either..or’, not only...but also and ‘neither..nor’, the verb should agree with the noun or pronoun
that comes just before it. For example:
+ Neither Ricky nor Gina is here yet.
+ Either the teacher or the
students have to take an initiative to keep the classroom clean.
+ Neither the
children nor their parents are aware of the consequences.
Rule 9
Nouns such as ‘mathematics’, 'civics', 'news' measles, mumps, electronics, tactics, etc. while plural in form, are
singular in meaning and use singular verbs.
For Example:
*
is very depressing.
This news
* Mathematicsis very difficult for some people.
Some nouns ending in ‘-ics’ such as athletics, statistic and politics are considered singular when referring to an
organised body of knowledge and plural when referring to individual facts, qualities or activities.
+ Athletics provide good recreation,
+
Economics is an important subject for every field of study.
Rule 10
Some Nouns are always plural. These nouns have 2 parts - Scissors, Tongs, Eye glasses, Shorts, Pants For Example:
+ My pants are in the drawer.
+ Your eyeglasses are dirty.
+ These scissors are useless,
as single as singular subject
.
Note: /f these words are preceded by ‘a pair of’, they will be regarded For Example:
+
Apair ofpants is needed.
* This pair of trousers is ugly.
Rale 11
When a negative sentence is written, the ‘do’ verb is used and it has to match the subject. For example:
+ The children do not like working out trigonometry problems.
+ Myfather does not work at the bank anymore.
Rule 12
Interrogative sentences also take the help of the ‘do’ verb. As far as the subject-verb agreement of interrogative
sentences is
concerned, the first verb (‘be’ verb or ‘do’ verb) has to
be aligned with the subject of
the sentence. For
example:
+ Do you read thriller novels?
+ Doesn't she know you already?
+ Is Tina happy with the new house?
* Were you looking for me?
* Has Sharon submitted her final project yet?
Rule 13
When
you have sentences that begin with ‘here’, ‘there’, ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘those’, ‘these’, etc., always remember
that the subject follows the verb and therefore the verb has to be conjugated with reference to the subject. For
example:
+ Here is your book.
+ There lies your shirt.
+ That was a great movie.
+ There have been many changes in the timetable.
Rule 14
In sentences that express a wish, request or
contrary to fact, the word 'were' is used instead of ‘was.’ For example:
* | wish my sister were here.
* I wish I were on a beach right now.
Rule 15
Abstract nouns and uncountable nouns are considered as singular subjects, so make sure you use a singular verb
along with it. For example:
+ Honesty is the best policy.
+ Love makes people do crazy things.
+ Good friendship keeps your mind and body healthy.
Rule 16
When the subject refers to a period of time, distance or a sum of money, use a singular verb, For example:
* 1267 kilometres is too \ong for us to
travel in half a day.
+ 10 years is not considered optimum to go on the water slide,
+ Don’t you think /000 rupees is
little too much for a portrait?
. BUT........
. Ten dollars (i.¢., dollar bills) were scattered on.
oo the floor.
el7
he next rule is based on the use of collective nouns as subjects. Remember that when you have a collective noun as
the subject of the sentence, the verb can be singular or plural based on the sentence and the context. For example:
+
My family is settled in Australia.
+ All groups of participants have arrived.
Rule 18
In the case of collective nouns such as
'group,'population’, 'family’, ‘jury, ‘audience’ in a sentence, the verb can be
singular or plural depending on their use in the sentence or on writer's intent.
For Example:
* Most of my family is here OR [Link]
* Most
of
the jury is here OR here. are
* Halfof the population was against the bill OR were against the bill.
Rule 19
In sentences that have adjectives such as
‘all’, ‘a lot of’, ‘lots of” or ‘some’ are used along with nouns to form a phrase
that acts as the subject of the sentence, the verb is used according to the noun just before it. For example:
+ All of my dresses have become tight.
+ A lotoffood is left out.
+ Some
ofthe books are torn and damaged.
Rule 20
When sentence begins with ‘each’ or ‘every’ as the subject, it is considered singular and so the verb has to be
singular too. For example:
+ Each student has beenasked to provide a consent letter.
+ Every teacher, parent and student is
expected to work together.
Rule 21
When you are using a sentence to express a wish or a sentence expressing a request, verbs are used little
differently from other sentences. For example:
+ I wish I were bird.
+ Ifyou were here, I would not be sad.
+ We request that everyone make their choices now.
Rule 22
Words like ‘with, together with, along with, besides, as well as, including, in
addition to, etc. do not affect the number
If
of the verb. the main subject is singular, the verb has to
be singular; if the subject is
plural, the verb has to be plural.
Fir example:
* The television, along with the cabinet, is to be sold.
+ Our chief competitor, as well as ourselves, is obliged to increase the prices.
* The decoration ofthe room, including all
the paintings on the walls, is most pleasing.
Rule 23
If a gerund (verb +ing) or an infinitive (to+ Ist form of verb) comes as a subject, the verb will always be singular.
For example:
+ Walking is a good habit.
+
Eating healthy food makes you healthy.
+ Swimming is a good exercise.
Rule 24
ae case of collective nouns such as ‘group,
Apulation’, ‘family’, ‘jury,’ ‘audience’ in a
sentence, the verb can be singular or plural
depending on their use in the sentence or on
writer's intent.
Examples
* Most of my family is here OR are here.
* Most of the jury is here OR
are
here.
+ Half
of the population was against
the bill OR were against the bill
Rale 25
Use on None/No None is a singular subject when it is used alone HoweverWhen used with prepositional phrase
startingwith of then the subject can be both singularand plural
None+ of + singular subject takes singular verb.
+ None of the
money has been used.
None+ of + plural subject takes plural verb.
+ None of the bottles are clean enough to
keep water.
Similarly No + plural subject takes plural
verb.
+ Nomen are hungry now
Rule 26
If the + an adjective appears as the subject of a
sentence, it will be plural.
+ The pious are loved by God.
+ The industrious are always not successful.
+ The best do not lack integr
