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Subject-Verb Agreement
Numbers Game
Few grammar rules are more basic— and more frequently violated — the so-called subject-verb agreement rule.
The rule is simply this: Regardless of the content of the sentence, the correct form of the verb in any subject-verb combination is always governed by two factors: the number and person of the subject.
A Closer Look at Number and Person
Number refers to whether the subject of a clause or sentence is singular (one person, place or thing) or plural (more than one person, place, or thing.) Person refers to whether the subject, regardless of its position in the sentence is the person doing the speaking or writing (first person); the person being written to or spoken to (second person); and (3) the person or thing being written about.
The structure of a sentence has no bearing on the numerical relationship between the subject and its verb. If the subject is singular, it doesn’t matter where the subject is positioned in the sentence. The verb form should be singular as well. If the subject is plural, the verb needs to be expressed in its plural form.
The correct forms: When the subject of a verb is singular and in the first or second person person, the correct form of the verb is always the root form of the verb. When the subject is in the third person, you need to add an “s” to the root form.
My sister (third person singular subject (like s to sleep late on the weekend.
Complications
To: insulate your writing and speech from agreement-related grammar errors, you need to know how to do the following things:
- Singular nouns or pronouns that end in “s”
- Compound subjects
- Delayed subjects
- The rule: When the subject of a sentence or clause consists of two or more singular nouns or pronouns connected by “and”, the verb should always be plural. When the conjunction separating is “or” or “nor”, the verb should be singular.
Janet and I (compound subject) are (plural form of “to be”) planning to arrive tomorrow night.)
Good fences (third person plural noun) make (third person plural form of “make”) good neighbors.
The more things (third person plural noun) change (root form of “change’), the more they (third plural pronoun) stay (third person plural form of “stay”) the same.
I (first person singular pronoun) was (first person singular form of “to be”) hear that you (second person singular of the verb “to be”) are (second person singular form of “the verb “to be) are doing well in your new job.
Special Situations
The subject-verb agreement rule needs to be tailored to the following situations:
Collective
SINGULAR NOUNS THAT END IN “S”
The rule: When a singular noun ends in “s”, you form the by adding “es” to the final letter
Neither Janet nor I is (planning (singular form of “to be
I
There is only one good candidate.
When words like “each” are the subject
When used as subjects, words such as
each, either, neither
anyone, anybody, anything
someone, somebody, something
one, everyone
everybody, everything
no one, nobody, nothing
take singular verbs.
Some of the money has already been spent.
Nobody like (singular) a poor loser
Nobody like
When words like “none” are the subject
Other words such as
none, any, all
more, most, some
may take either singular or plural verbs, depending on the context.
Some of the dollar was spent.
Some of the dollars were spent.
[Note: here the prepositional phrase does affect the subject. It tells you whether you are talking about a part of one thing (singular) or about a number of things (plural).]
When the subjects are joined by “and”
Subjects joined by “and” take plural verbs.
Be aware: phrases such as “in addition to,” “as well as,” and “along with” do not mean the same thing as “and.” When inserted between the subject and the verb, these phrases do not change the number of the subject.
Both Tom and Jane have English 167 papers due on Tuesday.
Tom, as well as Jane, has an English 207 paper due Tuesday.
When singular subjects are joined by words like “or”
Singular subjects joined by “or,” “nor,” “either . . . or,” or “neither. . . nor” take a singular verb.
Either the man or his wife knows the truth of the matter.
Neither money nor power was important any longer.
When one subject is singular and one plural
If one subject is singular and one is plural, the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
Neither the television nor the radios work.
Neither the radios nor the television works.
When a linking verb is used
A linking verb (“is,” “are,” “was,” “were,” “seem” and others) agrees with its subject, not its complement.
Joe’s favorite dessert is blueberry muffins.
Blueberry muffins are Joe’s favorite dessert.
whether the subject is speaking about itself (first person—I or we); being spoken to (second person—you); or being spoken about (third person—he, she, it, or they).
When a collective noun is used
When regarded as a unit, collective nouns, as well as noun phrases denoting quantity, take singular verbs.
The whole family is active.
(Family is a collective noun regarded as a unit.)
The family have met their various obligations.
(The individuals of the family are regarded separately.)
A thousand bushels is a good yield.
( quantity or unit)
A thousand bushels were crated.
(individual bushels)
When a relative pronoun is used as a subject of an adjective clause
A relative pronoun (“who,” “which,” or “that”) used as a subject of an adjective clause takes either a singular or plural verb in order to agree with its antecedent.
A vegetable that contains DDT can be harmful.
(Adjective clause modifying the singular noun “vegetable.”)
Vegetables that contain DDT can be harmful.
(Adjective clause modifying the plural noun “vegetables.”)
Mary is one of the students who have done honor to the college.
(Adjective clause modifies the plural noun “students.” “Students” is the antecedent of “who.”
In the above sentence Mary is just one of the students. So at least two students have done honor to the college.
Compare that to:
Mary is the only one of our students who has achieved national recognition.
In this case, “one,” not “students,” is the antecedent of “who.”
Compare to the sentence above:
Of all our students, Mary is the only one who has achieved national recognition.