Subject Verb Agreement

Subject Verb Agreement

The Stupidity of English GrammarTo make a noun plural, we add –s

Singular: girl Plural: girls

To make a verb plural, we take away the –s.Singular: he talks Plural: they talk

Tip for Subject/verb Agreement

Generally, if the subject doesn’t end in –S, the verb will.

If the subject does end in –S, the verb won’t.

Prepositional phrasesThe subject can never be part of a prepositional phrase.

ExampleThe students in my class study / studies

hard. X

Try 337

Singular verbs must accompany singular subjects, and plural verbs must accompany plural subjects. SINGULAR: The man wears four ties.

His favorite college is in Nebraska.Matt, along with his friends, goes to Coney Island.PLURAL: The men wear four ties each.His favorite colleges are in Nebraska.Matt and his friends go to Coney Island.

Spicing it up Put the subject at one end of the sentence

and the verb a mile away.An audience of thousands of expectant people who have come from afar to listen to live music in an outdoor setting seem terrifying to a nervous performer. A. No Change B. SeemsC. Have seemed D. to seem

To solve this problem, cross out the junk in the middle that separates the subject, “an audience,” from the verb “seem.” Remember that the subject of a sentence can never be part of a phrase that begins with “of.” You’re left with:

An audience seem terrifying to a nervous performer.

Now you can see what the verb should be: An audience seems terrifying to a nervous

performer.

Collective nouns (such as committee, family, group, number, and team) can be either singular or plural. The verb depends on whether the collective noun is being treated as a single unit or as divided individuals. For example:

SINGULAR: The number of people living in Florida varies from year to year.PLURAL: A number of people living in Florida wish they had voted for Gore.SINGULAR: The committee decides on the annual program.PLURAL: The committee have disagreed on the annual program.

The committee meets in the conference room every Friday morning.

The committee disagree on the budget plans.The band practices in Leon’s basement.The band practice their individual

instruments.

s/v agreement

The number of Americans living in rural areas have decreased (A) to unprecedented levels, with (B)most farmers saying that their days (C)in the country are numbered.  D) No Error. (E) -

1. A (number has decreased)

2. According to (A) a recent study, an increasing number of people in their 30’s choose (B) to remain single, a finding that (C), despite reports to the contrary (D),  suggest (E) that fewer (F) people plan to have children. No Error. (G)

2. E (suggests)

Anyone over the age of 21 is eligible to vote in the United States.Each has its own patch of grass.

Another Everybody NobodyAnybody Everyone No oneAnyone Everything Somebody

Anything Each Someone

The following indefinite pronouns are always singular, and they tend to appear on the English Test:

all, any, most, none, and some can be either singular or plural depending on the context of the sentence.

Other indefinite pronouns (for example, both, few, many, and several) are always plural.

Compound Subjects Most compound subjects (subjects joined by

“and”) should be plural:Kerry and Vanessa live in Nantucket.

The blue bike and the red wagon need repairs.

Possible PitfallsSometimes, the subject will come after the

verb, in questions or when sentence begins with there.

ExamplesDoes Rose go to camp?Behind the door was a prize.Why are they falling asleep?There is no excuse for such behavior.There are no excuses for such behavior.

“There Is” or “There Are”? Whether to use “there is” or “there are”

depends on the singularity or plurality of the noun that the phrase is pointing out. If you have five grapes, you should say: “There are five grapes.” If you have a cat, you should say: “There is a cat.” The “is” and the

“Or” and “Nor”If one of the subjects is plural and the other

is singular, the verb agrees with the subject closer to it. For example,

Neither the van nor the buses were operating today.Either the dogs or the cat is responsible for the mess.

ClauseClauses that begin with who, which, that

depend on the antecedent. The student who sells the most fruit wins a

trip to Disney World.The boxes which contain our dishes were

packed last night.

The correct answer is D. The subject (Help) is singular and therefore requires a singular verb (is, not are). The prepositional phrase (for improving test-taking skills and reading skills) is meant to trick you because it’s plural. It’s also long so that by the time you reach the verb, you’ve lost track of the subject, so be careful! It may help to actually bracket out (or cross out) all the stuff that comes between the subject and the verb to make it easier to check agreement. For example: Help [for improving test-taking skills and reading skills] are also available.Help for improving test-taking skills and reading skills are also available.

The correct answer is A. There is no error in the sentence as it is written. It’s difficult to look for something that isn’t there (i.e., an error), so eliminate the other answer choices one by one. Choice B changes were to was, or a plural verb to a singular verb. This is a good tip-off to check the subject. In this case, you have two subjects — the cruise (singular) and the sights (plural) — joined by nor. The subject closest to the verb determines whether the verb should be in singular or plural form. In this case, it must be plural. This same mistake is repeated in choices D and E, so you just have to check out choice C. Choice C changes we visited to we had been to visit which is unnecessarily wordy as well as passive. Choice A is best.