Subject-Verb Agreement

Brief Rundown

I. Agreement in NumberA. Singular—refers to ONE person, place, thing, or ideaB. Plural—refers to MORE than one person, place, thing, or idea

II. Agreement of Subjects and VerbsA. S and V must agree in number.

1. Singular S take singular VEx. The student works very hard.

2. Plural S take plural V.Ex. The students work very hard.

B. I, he, she, and it are singular pronouns.We, they, and these are plural

pronouns.

C. Most verbs become singular when an “s” is added and plural when the “s” is taken away.

Ex. She drives. (sing.) They drive. (pl.)

D. The first helping verb in a verb phrase must agree with its subject.

Ex. The class is building bird feeders.

The students have been building bird feeders.

III. Prepositional Phrases between the S and V A. The number of a subject is usually not changed by a prepositional phrase following the subject.

Ex. The lights (on the Christmas tree) create a festive atmosphere.

B. The subject will NEVER be inside a prepositional phrase or an appositive phrase.

Ex. Jason, one of the famous singers, gives a great performance.

Indefinite Pronouns

• Indefinite Pronouns do not refer to one specific person.

Indefinite Pronouns

• Words ending in “one,” “body,” or “thing” and the words each, neither, and either are singular.

• Ex: Either (of the boys) is coming.

Indefinite Pronouns

• Both, few, many, and several are plural.

• Ex. Few (of the students) listen to the news at home.

Indefinite Pronouns• All, none, any, most, some, and more are

“confused,” aka can be singular or plural.• For these pronouns ONLY, the number of the

subject is determined by the OP. If the OP is singular, the pronoun is S. If the OP is plural, the pronoun is P.

• Ex. All (of the book) has been damaged.

Most (of the books) have been damaged.

Compound Subjects with SVA

• Subjects joined by “and” are usually plural and take plural verbs.

• Ex: The boys and girls leave for the show.

• A compound subject that names only one person or thing takes a singular verb.

• Ex: The captain and point guard is Jack.

(One person is both the captain and the point guard.)

• Singular subjects joined by “or” or “nor” take a singular verb.

• Ex: A ticket or pass is required to enter the gala.

(One thing, not both or two things)

• When a singular subject and a plural subject are joined by “or” or “nor,” the verb agrees with the subject nearer the verb.

• Ex: The students or teacher is in the classroom.The teacher or students are in the classroom.

Collective Nouns

• Collective nouns representing ONE unit take a singular verb.

• Ex: The football team claims the state championship.

(the team as a unit)

• Collective nouns referring to a unit acting as individual parts or members take a plural verb.

• Ex: The league have been unable to agree on the issue.

Other Problems with Agreement• “There,” “Here”, and “Where” will NEVER be

the subject of a sentence.• Look inside the sentence to find the subject

before matching a singular or plural verb to it.

• Ex: Here come the children. The S is “children” (plural), so the V “come” is plural.• Ex: Where is the key?The S is “key” (singular), so the V “is” is singular.

Other Problems in Agreement

• The contraction “here’s,” “there’s,” and “where’s” contain the verb is and should only be used with singular subjects.

• Ex: There’s my shoe.

There is my shoe. NOT-- There is my shoes.

Other Problems with Agreement

• The contractions “don’t” and “doesn’t” must agree with their subjects.

• Doesn’t is singular. Don’t is plural. Don’t is also used with I and You.

• Ex: She doesn’t want to go to the gala with him. These shoes don’t fit well.

I don’t like broccoli.

Other Problems with Agreement

• Some nouns ending in s are singular in meaning.

• Ex: mumps, measles, news, etc.

The news reports that mumps has taken over children and the measles has taken over adults.

Other Problems with Agreement

• Titles, Amounts, and Time are singular.

• Ex: The Mona Lisa has been restored. Fifty thousand dollars has been raised for the project even though fifty years was the last time this has happened.