HMH Grammar Subject Verb Agreement

Subject-Verb Agreement

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Singular/Plural

• a singular noun names ONE person, place, thing, or idea.

• a plural noun names MORE THAN ONE person, place, thing, or idea.

Open Ended

Give an example of a singular noun:

Open Ended

Give an example of a plural noun:

Subject-Verb Agreement

• Match singular subjects with singular verbs and plural subjects with plural verbs.

• In other words, a verb must agree in number with its subject.

• Ex: The beetle chews the flowers and stems.

• Ex: The beetles chew the flowers and stems.

Compound Subjects

• RULE: When combining 2 or more subjects with and, use a plural verb.

• Ex: Dave and his best friend are entering the trumpet contest.

Collective Nouns

• Collective nouns, such as team, club, and public; name a group of people or things. Use a SINGULAR VERB when you think of a collective noun as a single unit. Use a PLURAL VERB when you think of a collective noun as multiple members.

• Ex: The audience awaits the band's arrival. (singular)

• Ex: The audience clap their hands as the band plays. (plural)

Multiple Choice

Identify the correct verb form in parentheses that agrees in number with the subject of the sentence: Thousands of vactioners (orders, order) ferry tickets six months in advance.

• orders

• order

Multiple Choice

Identify the correct verb form in parentheses that agrees in number with the subject of the sentence: Statistics (is, are) a fascinating element in today's sports broadcasting.

• is

• are

Subject-Verb Agreement with Contractions

• RULE: "Doesn't" means "does not." Since "does" is a singular verb, it goes with a singular subject.

• "Don't" means "do not," and since "do" is a plural verb, it goes with a plural subject.

• Ex: Jon's steak knife doesn't have a wooden handle. (knife - singular / does - singular)

• Ex: Our new steak knives don't have wooden handle. (knives - plural / do - plural)

Subject-Verb Agreement with Contractions (continued)

• Same rules apply with "is" and "are." "Is" is singular, "are" is plural.

• Ex: He's a hot head with a quick temper. (He - singular / is - singular)

• Ex: In our family, we're all hot heads. (we - plural / are - plural)

Nouns ending in -s

• Nouns ending in -s are sometimes plural in form but singular in meaning: news, economics, mathematics, physics.

• Ex: News plays an important role in education. (News - singular / plays - singular)

• Other nouns ending in -s alway take a plural verb, even though they are understood to refer to one thing: scissors, pliers, pants, clothes, thanks.

• Ex: Thanks are due to all the volunteers. (Thanks - plural / are - plural)

Fill in the Blank

Read the sentence. If the subject and verb in a sentence agree in number, write correct. If the subject and verb do not agree, correct the sentence by writing the correct verb: Skylar and Molly isn't very good friends anymore.

Fill in the Blank

Read the sentence. If the subject and verb in a sentence agree in number, write correct. If the subject and verb do not agree, correct the sentence by writing the correct verb: The best kind of dessert, I think, is coconut cream pie.

Indefinite Pronouns

• An indefinite pronoun does not refer to a specific person, place, or thing.

• Some of these are always singular and take singular verbs: anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, something.

• Ex: Nobody wants that jacket. (Nobody-singular / wants-singular)

Indefinite Pronouns (continued)

• Some indefinite pronouns are always PLURAL and take plural verbs: both, few, many, others, several. 

• Ex: Many of my friends are serious readers. (Many-plural)

• 
  

• 
  

Indefinite Pronouns (continued)

• Some indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural: all, any, most, none, some - singular when they refer to a portion or to a single noun / plural when they refer to a number of individual nouns.

• Sometimes, the object of the preposition will signal whether the pronoun is singular or plural.

• Ex: None of their music makes sense to me. (None-singular)

• Ex: None of the lyrics make any sense. (None-plural)

Fill in the Blank

Read the sentence. Write the verb form that agrees in number with the indefinite pronoun. If the sentence contains no errors in pronoun-verb agreement, write correct: Everyone celebrates life events in some way.

Fill in the Blank

Read the sentence. Write the verb form that agrees in number with the indefinite pronoun. If the sentence contains no errors in pronoun-verb agreement, write correct: Something have to change or the company will surely fail.