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Subject - Verbs Agreement

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Please remember that subject and verb in a sentence must agree in person and number. Singular subjects need singular verbs; plural subjects need plural verbs.

Example:
• The elevator works very well. (singular)
• The elevators work very well. (plural)

Subject separated from the verb:

In English, subject and verb are separated from each other. English learners have a bit difficulty to decide exactly how they are agreed in person and number.

Example:
• The boys in the room are watching TV

Very often, if the subject and verb are separated, they will be separated by a prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase had no effect on the verb.

More Examples:
• The study of languages is very interesting.
• Several theories on this subject have been proposed.
• The view of these disciplines varies from time to time.
• The danger of forest fires is not to be taken lightly.

The following expressions also have no effect on the verb.

together with	along with
accompanied by	as well as

Example:
• The actress, along with her manager and some friends, is going to a party tonight.
• Mr. Robbins, accompanied by his wife and children, is arriving tonight.

Words That always Take Singular Verbs and Pronouns:

Some words are often confused by English learners as being plural. The following words must be followed by singular verbs and pronouns in formal written English.

any + singular noun	no + singular noun	some + singular noun
anybody	nobody	somebody
anyone	no one	someone
anything	nothing	something

every + singular noun	each + singular noun
everybody	*either
everyone	*neither
everything

*Either and Neither are singular if they are not used with or and nor.

Examples:
• Everybody who has not purchased a ticket should be in this line.
• Something is under the table.
• If either of you takes a vacation now, we will not be able to finish the project.
• Anybody who has lost his ticket should report to the desk.
• No problem is harder to solve than this one.
• Nobody works harder than him.

NONE / NO :

1.None can take either singular or plural verb, depending on the noun which follows it.

Example:
• None of the counterfeit money has been found.

Example:
• None of the students have finished the exam yet.

2. No can take either a singular or plural verb depending on the noun which follows it.

Example:
• No ticket is required.

Example:
• No tickets are required.

Either / Neither :

When either and neither are followed by or and nor, the verb may be singular or plural, depending on whether the noun following or and nor is singular or plural. If or or nor appears alone, the same rule applies. Let's check out the following formulas.

Example:
• Neither Bob nor his friends are going to the beach today.
• Either Bob or his friends are going to the beach today.

Example:
• Neither John nor Bill is going to the beach today.
• Either John or Bill is going to the beach today.

Gerunds As Subjects:

If a sentence begins with {verb+ing}(gerund), the verb must be a singular.

Let's study the following examples.

Example:
• Working for him is the best choice I've made.
• Going out at night doesn't seems interesting to me.
• Not studying has cause him many problems.

Collective Nouns:

Many words indicating a number of people or animals are singular. The following nouns are usually singular. In some cases they are plural if sentence indicates that the individual members are acting separately.

Congress	family	group	committee	class
organization	team	army	club	crowd
government	jury	majority*	minority	public

* majority can be singular or plural. If it is alone it is usually singular; if it is followed by plural noun, it is usually plural.

• The majority believes that we are in no danger.
• The majority of the students believe him to be innocent.

Examples of collective nouns:

• The committee has met, and it has rejected the proposal.
• The family was elated by the news.
• The crowd was wild with excitement.
• Congress has initiated a new plan to combat inflation.
• The organization has lost many members this years.
• Our team is going to win the game.

The following nouns are used to indicate groups of certain animals. It is not necessary to learn the nouns; however, they mean the same as group and thus are considered singular.

flock of birds, sheep	school of fish
herd of cattle	pride of lions
pack of dogs

Examples:
• The flock of birds is circlling overhead.
• The herd of cattle is breaking away.
• A school of fish is being attacked by sharks.

A Number Of / The Number Of :

• A number of + plural noun + plural verb.....
• The number + plural noun + singular verb....

Example:
• A number of students are going to the class picnic. ( a number of = many)
• The number of the days in a week is seven.
• A number of the applicants have already been interviewed.
• The number of residents who have been questioned on this matter is quite small.

Nouns are that Always Plural:

The following nouns are always considered plural. They can not be singular. In order to speak of them as singular, we must say " a pair of ______".

scissor	shorts	pants	jeans	tongs
trousers	eyeglasses	pliers	tweezers

Let's study the following examples:

• The pants are in the drawer.
• A pair of pants is in the drawer.
• The pliers were on the table.
• The pair of pliers was on the table.
• These scissors are dull.
• This pair of scissors is dull.

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