MERRYLAND INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH : SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

GRADE 8
Name: ______________________

Rules of Subject Verb Agreement

1. If the subject is singular (one person, one thing),

the verb must be singular.
Ex. The dog growls when he is angry.
* In the present tense a singular verb ends with an ‘s’.

2. If the subject is plural (more than one person or thing), the verb must be plural.
Ex. The dogs growl when they are angry. *
*Notice that the verb growl does not have an ‘s’!

A: Underline the correct verb form (singular or plural).

1. The student (works, work).
2. He (studies, study) too.
3. All the students (walks, walk) to school.
4. These pictures (was, were) drawn by the instructor.
5. Children (wants, want) their parents to go to school.

3. If words or phrases come between the subject and the verb, first isolate the subject and then
decide on the correct verb form. Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb usually do
not affect agreement.
Ex. The designs on Indian pottery (fascinates, fascinate) me.
(The subject, designs, is plural; therefore, the verb must be plural. The plural verb is fascinate.)
2.The colors of the rainbow are beautiful.

B: In each of the following sentences, underline the subject and circle the verb.
1. The buildings on each campus (was, were) recently completed.
2. All applications for the job (has, have) been received.
3. Every student in all classes (has, have) been notified of the class test date.
4. The chalkboards in the school (is, are) scratched.
5. Each year the winner from all the schools throughout the state (seems, seem) to be very much surprised.
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4. Some words that are often used as subjects are always singular. Memorize them!!
(each, one, either, neither, no one, everyone, anyone, someone, anybody,
somebody, everybody, nobody, everything.)Ex. Everybody wants to make good grades.
Some words that are often used as subjects are always plural. Memorize them!!
(Several, few, both, many)
Ex. Several of the staff understand the idea of an attendance policy.
Some words may be either singular or plural, depending on how they are used.
(some, any, all, most)
Ex. Some of the fruit is rotten. (Some fruit is rotten.)
Some of the apples are rotten. (Some apples are rotten.)
All of this apple is rotten. (The entire apple is rotten.)
All of these apples are rotten. (All apples are rotten.)

C: Underline the correct form of the verb.

1. Some of the students (has, have) left the building.

2. Each of her students (is, are) special.

3. Several on the team (hits, hit) the ball really hard.

4. Everything in the buildings (was, were) destroyed.

5. Neither of the men (meets, meet) his class every day.

5. If the sentence has compound subjects (more than one subject) joined by and, the
verb is usually plural.
Ex. Ellis and John are twins.
The beginning of the story (and) the end of the story were exciting.

6. When compound subjects are joined by or or nor, the verb must agree with the nearer subject.
Ex. Either the old men or the young man was responsible for the lovely music.

Neither the teacher nor the students are in class this morning.

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D: Underline the correct form of the verb.

1. Neither science nor math (gives, give) me a problem.

2. Either the cat or the dogs (greets, greet) me at the door.

3. Neither the men who are listed as administrators nor the woman who is also listed (has, have) been

appointed to the board.

4. Either my cousin or my uncle (was, were) on the critical list.

5. Neither Ms. Jones nor a member of her staff (is, are) going to attend the meeting.

7.When a sentence begins with either there or here, the subject comes behind the verb.

Ex. There is going to be just one student representative on the board.

8. The singular verb form is usually used for units of measurement or time.

Ex. Four quarts of oil was required to get the car running.

9. When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence, they take the singular verb form of the
verb; but, when they are linked by and, they take the plural form.

Ex. Standing in the water was a bad idea.

Swimming in the ocean and playing drums are my hobbies.

10. Collective nouns like herd, senate, class, crowd, etc. usually take a singular verb form.

Ex. The herd is stampeding.

11.. Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as singular and take a singular verb.

The Burbs is a movie starring Tom Hanks.

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Final Rule – Remember, only the subject affects the verb!

The result is significant. The results are significant.

Do The student does her best. The students do their best.

Become The child becomes happier. The children become happier.

Cause That tree causes hay fever. Those trees cause hay fever.

Analyze The author analyzes the text. The authors analyze the text.

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E. Underline the subject (or compound subject) and then circle the verb that agrees with it. The first
one has been done for you.
1. Everyone in the telecom focus group (has/have) experienced problems with cell phones.
2. Your friendship over the years and your support (has/have) meant a great deal to us.
3. Hamilton Family Center, a shelter for teenage runaways in San Francisco, (offers/offer) a wide variety of
services.
4. The main source of income for Trinidad (is/are) oil and pitch.
5. The chances of your being promoted (is/are) excellent.
6. There (was/were) a Pokémon card stuck to the refrigerator.
7. Neither the professor nor his assistants (was/were) able to solve the mystery of the eerie glow in the
laboratory.
8. Many hours at the driving range (has/have) led us to design golf balls with GPS locators in them.
9. Discovered in the soil of our city garden (was/were) a button dating back to the Civil War.
10. Every year, during the midsummer festival, the smoke from village bonfires (fills/fill) the sky.
11. The story tellers (was/were) surrounded by children and adults eager to see magical tales.
12. Somebody (steal, steals) my morning paper nearly every morning.
13. Both (argue, argues) on the phone.
14. Half of the answers (was, were) correct.
15. Half of the assignment (is, are) already complete.
16. Most of the ice (melt, melts) in the spring.
17. Neither of the employers who interviewed me last week (has, have) called with the results of their
interviews.
18. A small group of parents (hope, hopes) to meet on Sunday to discuss travel arrangements for their
children touring Southeast Asia in the fall.
19. Evidently, neither of the professors (is, are) aware that the letter of complaint (has, have) been linked to
him.
20. Either her brother or her parents (has, have) Sara’s address in Miami.
21. There in the middle of the aisle (was, were) my abandoned cart along with all of the items I had intended
to purchase.
22. It should be perfectly clear by now that all of us (do, does) not agree with the motion as it stands now.
23. Somebody (leaves, leave) (his, their) computer on after work, and I intend to discover who that it.
24. Every Fourth of July, every car and truck in town (lines, line) up along the waterfront for the annual
fireworks display.

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F. Choose the verb form that agrees with the subject. Write it in the blank .

1. Bread and butter ……………… served for breakfast. (was / were)

2. The horse and carriage ……………….. at the door. (is / are)

3. My brother ………………. to be an astronaut. (want / wants)

4. My parents ……………….. teachers. (is / are)

5. Politics ……………….. not something I am interested in. (is / are)

6. The cost of essential commodities ………………… gone up. (has / have)

7. Her clothes ……………….. made of expensive fabrics. (is / are)

8. Either Roy or I ……………….. to go. (has / have)

9. Neither Jane nor her parents …………….. at the party. (was / were)

10. Nobody ………………. what happened to her. (know / knows)

11. Jack as well as his brother …………….. cricket well. (play / plays)

12. Everybody ……………. a man of integrity. (respect / respects)

13. A new house ……………. a lot of money. (cost /costs)

14. Most things …………………. …. more than they did before. (cost/ costs )

15. The new car ……………. very fast. (run/ runs)

16. This airplane ………………. …… quicker than sound. (fly/ flies)

17. The lawn …………………. … beautiful in summer. (look/looks)

18. These children ………………. …… very healthy. (look/looks)

19. One of the players …………………. … from my village. (come/comes)

20. These people ………………. ….. to us in their own cars. (come/comes)

G. Fill in the blanks in the following sentences taking the best option from the brackets:

1. The quality of the apples …………………….(was/were/are/has) not good.

2. Fire and water ……………………. (do/does/did/done) not agree.

3. Time and tide……………………. (wait/waits/waited/waiting) for none.

4. Justice, as well as mercy ……………………. (allow/allowable/allows/allowing) it.

5. Neither the teacher nor the students…………………… (is/am/are/was) in the school.

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6. Many a man ……………………(has/have/is/are) done so.

7. The news…………………… (was/were/had/has) good.

8. The committee ……………………. (is/are) divided on one minor point.

9. The United States……………………. (is/are/has/have) a big navy.

10. Each of these producers…………………… his own advantage. (has, have)

11.Ten miles……………………… long distance. (is, are)

12.Many a student …………………. hard to pass his entrance exam. (try, tries)

13.The furniture in his house…………………. impressive. (look, looks)

14.Few students………………. present in the class today. (is, are)

15.Giovani, my best friend…………………… leaving for Japan next week. (is, are)

16.Most of my friends………………… government employees. (is, are)

17.The level of intoxication…………………. from subject to subject. (vary, varies)

18.Either boys or girls……………. telling lies. (is, are)

19.A number of people………………………. reported to be missing in the train accident at Dublin.(was,

were)

is
20. Public speaking ___________ a skill.

H. Edit the following sentences to eliminate problems with subject-verb agreement and write the
edited sentence. If a sentence is correct, write “C” and if incorrect, write “IC ”.
Example: Jack’s first days in the infantry was grueling. ____

1. One of the main reasons for elephant poaching are the profits received from selling the ivory tusks.
IC
___________
2. Batik cloth from Bali, blue and white ceramics from Cambodia, and a bocce ball from Turin has made
Hema’s room the talk of the dorm. __________
IC

3. The board of directors, ignoring the wishes of the neighbourhood, has voted to allow further development.
C
___________

4. The presence of certain bacteria in our bodies are one of the factors that determines our overall health.
IC
_________

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 C
5. Ali is the only one of the many applicants who has the ability to step into this job. _________

I. Circle the suitable form of the verb that agrees with the subject:
1. Everyone was/were present at the funeral service.

2. Mumps is/are a sore disease.

3. I have/has a clue to show to solve this question

4. Has everyone/anybody seen my purse?

5. I wish I was/were the Chairman.

6. Half of the girls was/were present in the hall

7. No one was/were willing to learn.

8. Neither Ann nor Annable live/lives near the park.

9. Either he or I is/am to represent the college.

10. God save/saves our king.

11. No woman and no man were/was allowed to enter without a mask.

12. The advice of his brother was/are indeed valuable.

13. Both these boys is/are going to market.

14. Most of the person/persons are reliable.

15. His shoes is/are shining.

16. ‘The Three Musketeers’ is/are a great book.

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