Subject and Verb Agreement

Subject and Verb Agreement

by Amy Lee

Singular and Plural Subjects

​1. Plural noun and pronouns
Ex. Students walk to school.
Ex. They are tired.

2. Compound subjects :
The conjunction "and," verb is plural.

Ex. Mom and Dad work hard everyday.

1. singular noun or pronoun

   Ex. James walks to school.

   Ex. She washes dishes.

2. The compound subject preceded by “each” or “every” use a singular verb.

​ Ex. Each pot and pan was washed and carefully put away.

​​​​2. The conjunction “or,” and "nor," the verb should match the subject that is closest to the verb

Ex 1. Either Ali or his parents have left an umbrella in the closet. (plural verb)

Ex. 2. Either Ali's parents or Ali has left an umbrella in the closet. (singular verb)

Multiple Choice

What is the subject of the sentence?

Someone is at the door.

• someone

• the door

​​Compound subjects

​1. The conjunction "and," verb is plural.

Ex. Mom and Dad work hard, so we enjoy our life.

​

​​2. The conjunction “or,” and "nor," the verb should match the subject that is closest to the verb

Ex 1. Either Ali or his parents have left an umbrella in the close.

Ex. 2. Either Ali parents or Ali has left an umbrella in the closet.

​

​3. The compound subject preceded by “each” or “every” use a singular verb.

​ Ex. Each pot and pan was washed and carefully put away.

Multiple Choice

What is the subject of the sentence?

Mom and Dad work hard, so we enjoy our life.

• Mom and Dad

• Mom

• Dad

Multiple Choice

Choose the right verb.

Benito ____ the answer.

• doesn't know

• don't knows

Multiple Choice

Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin ____ the first human beings to walk on the Moon.

• was

• were

Multiple Choice

My family and I ____ you all success in the new job. 

• wish

• wishes

Multiple Choice

Annie or her brothers ____ at the school.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

Either my shoes or your coat ____ always on the floor.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

The teacher or his students _____ expected to close the classroom door.

• are

• is

Multiple Choice

Every one of those books ____ fiction.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

One of my sisters ____ going on a trip to France

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

Each student ____ his or her book to read.

• needs to bring

• need to bring

Indefinite Pronouns

Singular

​
each
either
one
neither

anybody
somebody
nobody

​

​

Plural

​​
both
few
many
others
several
all

​

​

​anyone
no one
someone
something

​Practice Time!

Multiple Choice

Every one of the shirts ____ a green collar.

• has

• have

Multiple Choice

Everybody at the party ____ enjoying the food.

• was

• we

Multiple Choice

Neither she nor I ____ getting the lunch special.

• is

• am

• are

Multiple Choice

Nobody ____ the trouble I've seen.

• knows

• know

Multiple Choice

Of the female turtles, some ____ been found to be twice the size of the males.

• has 

• have

Multiple Choice

Some of the potatoes_____ washed, cut and salted for cooking.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

Neither my radio nor my television ____ working.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

Both Florida and New York _____ steeped in history.

• is 

• are

Multiple Choice

No one ____ where the keys ____.

• knows/are

• know/are

Multiple Choice

All of the boxes ____ in this closet.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

One of the boxes ____ still outside.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

Each of the students ____ missing his or her homework.

• is

• are

Some, ​Any, None, All, ​Most​ (a.k.a. SANAM)

​

​ Ex. 1 Some of the pie was eaten .

​

“Some of the pie” is singular because "pie" is singular. 

​       Ex. 2 All of this rice is burnt!

​

(“All of this rice” is singular because "rice" is non-countable noun)

​ Ex. 3 None of the water is left in the bottle.

("None of the water" is singular because "water" is non-countable)

​These pronouns can be used as a singular or plural.

​These pronouns can be used as a singular or plural.

Some, ​Any, None, All, ​Most​ (a.d.a. SANAM)

​

​    Ex. Some of the students were late.

​

​("some of the students" is plural because "students" is a countable noun and it is in the plural form)

​

​ Ex. Some trees were cut down to make room for farming.

​("Some trees) is a plural subject because "trees"is a countable noun and it is in the plural form.

​

​A subject that describes an amount is singular

​

Ex. 1: One million dollars is a lot of money.

(the sentence is saying about one million dollars as amount and is talking about one thing, therefore singular verb must be used with)

​

Ex. 2:Five minutes in the dentist’s chair feels like a long time.

( “five minutes” in this sentence is referred to as single unit, one stretch of time and that’s why a singular verb is appropriate)

​Practice Time!

Multiple Choice

____ there any cheese left? 

• Is

• Are

Multiple Choice

Eight dollars ____ the price of a movie these days.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

All of the money ____ deposited for savings. 

• was

• were

Multiple Choice

All the sand ____ before coming into the house.

• has to be dusted

• have to be dusted

Multiple Choice

Many of the students ____ missing their homework.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

Many people ____ too fast. 

• drive

• drives

Multiple Choice

None of the stories ____ true.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

None of the ceiling ____ painted yet, but the walls are done. 

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

Most of my friends ____ their lunch at the canteen.

• buys

• buy

Multiple Choice

All the plants ____ watering twice a week.

• needs

• need

Multiple Choice

Any of those nails _____ useable.

• is

• are

​Nouns that are always singular

Some nouns are used only in the singular, even though they end in -s.

​

Subjects: maths, economics, physics, civics, ​

Physical activities: aerobics, gymnastics,

​disease: measles, mumps,

​Nouns that are always plural

Some nouns only have a plural form.

​

​Tools: binocular, headphones, sunglasses, glasses, scissors, tweezers

​

​Clothing: pants, shorts, knickers, pyjamas, tights, trousers

​

​Others: belongings, clothes, surroundings, premises, goods, outskirts, earnings, savings, stairs, wages

​

​Ex. Where are my sunglasses? Your sunglasses are on the table.

Collective Nouns​

​people: team, class, committee, club, group, family, jury, army, counsil, audience
In the majority of the cases, collective nouns are used as singular.
Ex. 1: The team is ready for the game.

(“team” is singular because it refers to the whole team (or one group) playing the game)

​

Ex. 2: The team are dressing in the locker room.

(“team” is plural because it refers to individual members of the team dressing in the locker)

Multiple Choice

Mathematics ____ John's favorite subject, while Civics ____ Andrea's favorite subject.

• is/is

• are/are

Multiple Choice

____ the tweezers in this drawer?

• Is

• Are

Multiple Choice

Your pants ____ at the cleaner's.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

The measles ____ a common ailment. 

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

The world economics ____ a direct bearing of the world peace.

• has

• have

Multiple Choice

Politics ____ an interesting career choice.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

The team ____ everyday after school.

• trains

• train

Multiple Choice

The committee ____ these questions carefully.

• debates

• debate

Multiple Choice

My friend's family ____ camping every summer.

• goes

• go

Multiple Choice

The club _____ a car wash every September.

• sponsors

• sponsor

​"the number" vs "a number"

​

The phrase “the number” is singular​

Ex. 1: The number of children in the family is three. (Here in this sentence “the number” is the subject which describes an amount and singular verb “is” must be used).

​

The phrase “a number” is plural.

​Ex. 2: A number of children are waiting for their parents. (In this context “a number of children” is referring to several children and is plural)

​When words separate the subject and the verb,

To identify the subject eliminate prepositional phrases before trying to identify the subject.

Ex. 1: The distance between the Earth and the more distant starts in our galaxy is difficult to measure.

(eliminate the prepositional phrase to find the subject)

​

​

Multiple Choice

The man with all the birds ____ on my street.

• lives

• live

Multiple Choice

The players, as well as the captain, ____ to win.

• wants

• want

Multiple Choice

The movie, including all the previews, ____ about two hours to watch.

• takes

• take

Multiple Choice

The Prime Minister, together with his wife, _____ the press cordially.

• greets

• greet

Multiple Choice

The number of people lined up for tickets ____ four hundred.

• was

• were

Multiple Choice

The number of people we need to hire ____ thirteen.

• is 

• are

Multiple Choice

A number of suggestions ______ made.

• was

• were

Multiple Choice

There ____ a number of important announcements in the bulletin.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

Here ____ the number of milk shakes you requested.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

A number of people ____ written in about this subject.

• has

• have