Subject Verb Agreement Continued

Let's dive deeper into Subject/Verb Agreement

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​"Or" and "Nor"

Watch out for these two!​

When a sentence has two subjects linked with "Or" or "Nor", the verb must agree with the subject closest to it.

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​"Or" and "Nor"

Either cookies​ or an apple is the snack for today.

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Neither ​Julian Edelman nor the McCourtey twins were as important to the Patriots as Tom Brady.

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​Amounts and Units

​Another tricky exception to look out for!

Some subjects will sound like they are plural, but are actually just a singular "Amount".

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This is common with Money, Time, and Measurements.​

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​Money, time, and measurements can be plural or singular. If the focus of your sentence is a total amount, use a singular verb. If the focus of your sentence is on multiple units, use a plural verb.

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Helpful tip: think about your sentence as the answer to a question.

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-If to get your answer you can ask questions like how much? how big? how small? or how long?, use a singular verb. These questions suggest a total amount.

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-If you can ask the question how many?, use a plural verb. This question suggests multiple units.

​	​Singular (How much? How big? How small? How long?)	Plural​ (How Many?)
​Money	-Fifteen dollars is the cost of the cake. How much does the cake cost? A total of fifteen dollars. Your focus is on a total dollar amount. -Millions of dollars is what it will cost to renovate the library. How much will it cost? Millions of dollars.	-How many dollars are in the wallet? Two of them. Your focus is on multiple dollar bills -Millions of dollars were spent to renovate the library. How many dollars were spent? Millions of them.
​Time	​Ten hours is how much time we'll need to complete this project. How much time will they need? (Or how long will they need?) A total of ten hours	​Ten hours were spent on this project. How many hours did they spend? Ten of them.
​Measurement	​500 hundred square feet is a small space to live in. How big is the space? A total of five hundred square feet.	​Five hundred square feet have been added on to the house. How many square feet have been added? Five hundred of them.

Multiple Choice

179 years ______ passed since "The Tell-Tale Heart" was published.

• Has

• Have

Multiple Choice

Nearly a century ______ passed since the Great Depression.

• Have

• Has

Fill in the Blanks

Multiple Select

200 dollars _______ far too much to spend on a T shirt, even if it's a Jaylen Brown shirt.

• Is

• Are

• Were

• Was