Friday, January 24, 2025 4:09 PM

Subject-Verb Agreement Lecture# 37

SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

 subjects and verbs in a sentence match in number (singular or plural) and person.

1. Basic Agreement
Singular subject with a singular verb:
Example: She walks to school.
Plural subject with a plural verb:
Example: They walk to school.

2. Compound Subjects
Joined by 'and': Usually plural, requiring a plural verb.
Example: Tom and Jerry are friends.
Joined by 'or' or 'nor': The verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
Example: Either the manager or the employees are responsible.
Example: Neither the employees nor the manager is responsible.

3. Collective Nouns
When acting as a single unit (singular):
Example: The team is winning.
When focusing on individual members (plural):
Example: The team are arguing among themselves.

4. Indefinite Pronouns
Singular: Everyone is excited.
Plural: Many are excited.
Sometimes singular or plural, depending on context:
Example: None of the information is correct. (Singular)
Example: None of the books are missing. (Plural)

5. Titles and Names

Titles or names of books, movies, etc., are singular:
Example: "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" is a classic.
When referring to multiple titles or works:
Example: "The Chronicles of Narnia" are popular among children.
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 Example: "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" is a classic.
When referring to multiple titles or works:
Example: "The Chronicles of Narnia" are popular among children.

6. Amounts and Quantities

Singular if referring to a single amount or quantity:
Example: Five dollars is enough.
Example: Two miles is a long distance.

7. Measurements and Quantities

Singular when the measurement or quantity is considered as a single unit:
Example: Three liters is too much.
Plural when referring to distinct items or separate units:
Example: Three liters are needed for the experiment.

8. Subjects with 'Each' or 'Every'

Always singular:
Example: Every student has completed the assignment.

9. Inverted Sentences
When the subject follows the verb: The verb agrees with the actual subject, not the
noun that precedes it.
Example: There is a problem with the report. (The subject is "problem," which is
singular.)
Example: There are several issues to address. (The subject is "issues," which is
plural.)

10. Relative Clauses

The verb in the relative clause agrees with the noun it refers to:
Example: The car that is parked outside belongs to John. (The subject "car" is
singular, so the verb is "is.")
Example: The cars that are parked outside belong to John. (The subject "cars" is
plural, so the verb is "are.")

11. Subject with a Prepositional Phrase

The verb agrees with the main subject, not with the noun in the prepositional phrase:
Example: The bouquet of flowers smells wonderful. (The subject is "bouquet," which
is singular.)

12. Titles of Works and Proper Nouns

Titles and names of organizations or entities are singular, even if they are plural in
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12. Titles of Works and Proper Nouns
Titles and names of organizations or entities are singular, even if they are plural in
form:
Example: The United Nations is a global organization.

13. Subjects with "As well as," "Along with," or "Together with"
The verb agrees with the main subject, not with the noun following these phrases:
Example: The teacher, along with the students, is excited about the field trip.

14. Subject with "Neither... nor"

The verb agrees with the subject closest to it:
Example: Neither the manager nor the employees are available.

15. Subjects with "Either... or"

The verb agrees with the subject closest to it:
Example: Either the cat or the dogs are causing the noise.

16. Subjects with "None"

"None" can be singular or plural depending on what it replaces:
Example: None of the cake is left. (Singular)
Example: None of the cakes are left. (Plural)

17. Subjects with "Each" and "Every"

Always use a singular verb:
Example: Each of the players is ready.

18. Subjects with “Here” or “There”

The verb agrees with the actual subject, which follows “here” or “there”:
Example: Here is the report you requested. (The subject is "report," which is
singular.)
Example: There are several issues to discuss. (The subject is "issues," which is
plural.)

19. Fractional Subjects

When the fraction refers to a singular noun, use a singular verb:
Example: Three-fifths of the cake has been eaten. (The noun "cake" is singular.)
When the fraction refers to a plural noun, use a plural verb:
Example: Three-fifths of the students have left.

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20. Subjects with "A number of" and "The number of"
"A number of" takes a plural verb:
Example: A number of employees are absent.
"The number of" takes a singular verb:
Example: The number of employees is decreasing.

21. Subjects with “Such as”

The verb agrees with the main subject, not the example that follows “such as”:
Example: The committee members, such as Sarah and Mike, are attending the
meeting. (The subject is "members," which is plural.)

22. Subjects with “Most”

"Most" can be singular or plural depending on the context:
Example: Most of the cake is gone. (Cake is singular, considered as a whole.)
Example: Most of the cakes are gone. (Cakes is plural, considered individually.)

23. Subjects with “A lot of”

The verb agrees with the noun that follows:
Example: A lot of work is required. (Work is uncountable, singular.)
Example: A lot of people are coming. (People is countable, plural.)

24. Subjects with "Neither"

"Neither" refers to two singular items, so use a singular verb:
Example: Neither of the books is missing.

25. Subjects with "Either"

When "either" refers to two singular items, the verb is singular:
Example: Either option is fine.

26 Subjects with "Much"

"Much" is used with uncountable nouns and takes a singular verb:
Example: Much of the information was useful.

27 Subjects with “None of the”

"None of the" can be singular or plural depending on the noun it refers to:
Example: None of the milk is left. (Milk is uncountable, singular.)
Example: None of the books are available. (Books are countable, plural.)

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Practice MCQs

Which sentence is correct?

a) The dog bark at the strangers.
b) The dog barks at the strangers.
c) The dog barking at the strangers.
d) The dog barkeed at the strangers.

Which verb agrees with the subject? "She ___ to school every day."
a) go
b) goes
c) going
d) gone

Which sentence is correct?

a) John and Sarah is coming to the party.
b) John and Sarah are coming to the party.
c) John and Sarah coming to the party.
d) John and Sarah comes to the party.

When two singular subjects are joined by ‘and,’ the verb is usually
a) Singular
b) Plural
c) Past tense
d) Future tense

Neither my brother nor my sister ___ going to the market.

a) is
b) are
c) were
d) have

Either the teacher or the students ___ responsible for the decorations.
a) is
b) are
c) was
d) has

Which sentence is correct?

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Which sentence is correct?
a) Everyone love to play football.
b) Everyone loves to play football.
c) Everyone loving to play football.
d) Everyone are loving to play football.

Which verb agrees with the subject? "Somebody ___ at the door."
a) is
b) are
c) were
d) have

The team ___ playing well this season.

a) is
b) are
c) were
d) have

Which sentence is correct?

a) The jury has reached its decision.
b) The jury have reached its decision.
c) The jury was reach its decision.
d) The jury reach its decision.

A number of students ___ absent today.

a) is
b) are
c) was
d) has

Which sentence is correct?

a) The number of books are limited.
b) The number of books is limited.
c) The number of books were limited.
d) The number of books have limited.

Which sentence is correct?

a) The boy who plays football are my friend.
b) The boy who plays football is my friend.
c) The boy who play football is my friend.
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a) The boy who plays football are my friend.
b) The boy who plays football is my friend.
c) The boy who play football is my friend.
d) The boy who play football are my friend.

Which verb agrees with the subject? "The students who ___ in the debate club are
very talented."
a) is
b) was
c) are
d) has

Which sentence is correct?

a) Swimming in the ocean are fun.
b) Swimming in the ocean is fun.
c) Swimming in the ocean were fun.
d) Swimming in the ocean have fun.

Which verb agrees with the subject? "Running every morning ___ her strong."
a) make
b) makes
c) making
d) made

Which sentence is correct?

a) The news are interesting.
b) The news is interesting.
c) The news were interesting.
d) The news have interesting.

Mathematics ___ one of my favorite subjects.

a) is
b) are
c) were
d) have

Ten dollars ___ not enough to buy that book.

a) is
b) are
c) were
d) have
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d) have

Which verb agrees with the subject? "Five kilometers ___ a long distance to
walk."
a) is
b) are
c) were
d) have

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