Subject Verb Agreement

Rules
 General Rule:

 In the present tense we use the third

person singular inflection (-s or the be
form is) if the subject refers to one entity,
whether it is singular proper name, a
singular common noun, a non-count noun,
or a third person singular pronoun.
Third person singular inflection
on verb
Examples:

 John walks to school.

 The bus stops here.
 This water tastes funny.
 She wants a new cellphone
 No inflection on verb

Examples:

 The Smiths walk to chuch.

 These books contain good information.
 I/You want a new cellphone.
 We/You/They want a new cellphone
Rules for Persistently Troubleome Cases
 Collective nouns my take either a singular or plural
verb inflection depending on the meaning.
Examples:
Our school team has on all its games.
Our school team have won all their games.

 Some common and proper nouns that are plural in

form but singular in meaning take a singular verb.
Examples:
This series is very interesting.
Measles is a contagious disease.
 Titles of books,plays,operas,films and such
works – even when plural in form- take the
singular verb inflection.
Examples:
Great Expectations was written by Dickens.
Tuesdays with Morrie teaches us accepting
deaths.

 Nouns in sets take the singular when the noun

pair is present but take the plural when pair
absent – regardless of whether one pair or
more is being reffered to.
Examples:
This pair of shoes needs new heels.
These shoes need new heels.
 A number of takes the plural, while the number takes
the singular.
Examples:
A number of students have dropped in the school.
The number of students in this school is 500.

 Plural unit words of distance, money, and time take the

singular verb inflection when entity is implied but a
plural verb inflection when more than one entity is
encoded in the subject.
Examples:
7 years is a long time to spend on an M.A. study.
3 years (1602,1649, and 1697) are missing from this
set of calendars.
2 million dollars is a lot of money.
2 dollars are on the table in the kitchen.
 Arithmetical operations take the singular because they
are perceived as a single numerical entity
Examples;
Ten divided by two is five.
Two times two equals four.

 Fractions and percentages take a singular verb

inflection when modifying a noncount noun and the
plural verb inflection when they modify a plural noun;
either the singular or the plural verb inflection may be
used when they modify a collective noun, depending on
the speaker’s meaning.
Examples:
Noncount: One half of the toxic waste has
escaped.
Plural : Sixty-six percent of the students are
satisfied with the class.
Collective: Ten percent of the population of Egypt
(is/are) Christians.
 The quantifiers all (of), a lot of, lots of, and
plenty of take singular verb agreement if the
subject head noun is noncount but plural verb
agreement if the subject head noun is plural.
Examples:
A lot of nonsense was published about that
incident.
A lot of people were present when it
happened.

 Clausal subjects are singular even if the noun

referred to are plural.
Example: What we need is more textbooks.
 Gerund (verb + -ing) and infinitive (to + verb)
subjects take singular verb.
Examples:
Reading books is my hobby.
To forgive is divine.

 Singular indefinite pronouns (each, every, and

every one) as subjects use a singular verb.
Example: Every student has a lunch stub.

 With none as subject, use a singular verb.

Example: None of the magazines is here.
 With either or neither as subjects, use a singular
verb.
Example: Either was acceptable to me.

 With correlative subjects either…or, or neither…

nor, the verb agrees with the closest subject.
Example: Either Bob or my cousins are going to do it.

 With expletives, there and here, the verb is

singular or plural depending on whether the noun
phrase following the verb is singular or plural.
Examples:
There is a book on the table.
There are a book and a pen on the table.
Exercises:
 Exercise1
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/
 Exercise 2.
 http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/
 Exercise 3
 http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/
Take a Quiz:
 Quiz 1
 http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/
 Quiz 2
 http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/
 Quiz 3
 http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/GRAMMAR/
Let there be PEACE on
Earth…
Make your verb agree with its
subject.