Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject  Noun or pronoun performing the action of the sentence  Find the verb  Cross out any prepositional phrases  Then ask who/what is doing the action?  The tourists from Boston speak with a slight accent.  The picture of the kittens in a basket hangs on my door.  Reading at the beach is my favorite thing to do in the summer.

Singles like to mingle with singles  Singular subject takes a singular verb  She  It  Kitten  Soccer player  Singular verbs always end in –s  Is  Was  Plays  Kicks

Plurals stick to other plurals  Plural subjects take plural verbs  Girls  Books  Desks  Water Bottles  Plural verbs do NOT end in –s  Laugh  Are  Were  Squirt

Check it out  The door opens  The ghosts float  The children whisper  The wind howls  The door open  The ghosts floats  The children whispers  The wind howl

Practice! 1. This new car is/are a blue-and-white four-door sedan. 2. It has/have a sunroof and an automatic transmission. 3. The leather seats feel/feels comfortable. 4. Dual air bags make/makes the car very safe. 5. Our family’s new car is/are a small one with a big trunk. 6. It get/gets thirty miles per gallon of gas. 7. Consumers don’t/doesn’t like to spend too much on gasoline.

Forever Single  Each, each one, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone, nobody, somebody, someone, and no one are singular and require a singular verb.  Examples:  Each of these hot dogs is juicy.  Everybody knows Mr. Jones.  Either is correct.

Forever Plural  Both, many, few, others, several  Nouns such as scissors, tweezers, trousers, and shears require plural verbs. (There are two parts to these things.)  These scissors are dull.  Those trousers are made of wool.  Two subjects joined by “and”  Johnny and June are performing tonight.

Goes both ways…  All, any, more, most, none, some  It all depends on how they are used.  Often a prepositional phrase will follow so base it off the object of the prep.  All of the soup (is/are) gone.  None of the students (is/are) missing.  Some (say/says) that the journey is better than the destination.

Practice!  The coach and the player (was, were) surprised by the referee’s call.  Each of the comedians (tries, try) to outdo the other.  Somebody on the bus (was, were) whistling an annoying tune.  (Is, Are) all of the apples spoiled?  Neither of these books (has, have) an index.  (Do, Does) everybody in the class have a pencil?  Few of these jobs (sounds, sound) challenging.  She said that no one in the office (leaves, leave) early.  Both of her parents (have, has) offered us a ride.  Some of the soup (is/are) left in the bowl.  All of the students (go/goes) to Sheetz for free coffee in the morning.

Look plural but are singular  Nouns such as civics, mathematics, dollars, measles, and news require singular verbs.  The news is on at six.  Mathematics is my favorite subject.  Note: the word dollars is a special case. When talking about an amount of money, it requires a singular verb, but when referring to the dollars themselves, a plural verb is required.  Five dollars is a lot of money.  Dollars are often used instead of rubles in Russia.

Ahhh tricky tricky  In sentences beginning with "there is" or "there are," the subject follows the verb. Since "there" is not the subject, the verb agrees with what follows.  There are many questions.  There is a question.

Collective nouns  Collective nouns are words that imply more than one person but that are considered singular and take a singular verb, such as group, team, committee, class, and family.  The team runs during practice.  The committee decides how to proceed.  The family has a long history.  The crew is preparing to dock the ship.

Compound subject joined by “or” Either/or Neither/nor  Look at the subject closest to the verb.  Determine agreement based on that one  Either the cats or the dog is responsible for the damage.  Neither the store manager nor his employees know what happened.  Billy or the twins are going to the store to pick up milk.  The twins or Billy is going to the store to pick up milk.

Practice!  (Is, Are) Bo or Andy going out for the pass?  Neither the coach nor the players (hear, hears) the referee’s whistle.  The marching band or the dance team (has, have) already performed.  Either Rebecca or Endia (leads, lead) the student fight song.  Neither the players nor the coach (has, have) ever won a state championship.  (Was, Were) the announcer or the referees ready for the fans to rush the field?  There (was, were) only three milk cartons in the refrigerator.  The mail on the kitchen counter (is, are) for you.  The group (was, were) debating on where to hold a fundraising event.