SUBJECT & VERB AGREEMENT sdfsdfds

Rules for Subject-verb Agreement 1. When the following words are used as subjects, they are always singular. Some of these words are plural in meaning, but they are always require singular verbs. everyone      someone      anyone      no one      each everybody    somebody    anybody    nobody     either everything    something    anything   nothing     neither Everyone is here         S       V sdfsdfds

2. When each or every comes before singular subjects joined by and, a singular verb is required. Every man and woman  is eligible to vote.              S              S        V Each student and teacher  has a locker.               S                  S        V

3. Introductory it is singular and always followed by a singular verb. It  was the dogs which awakened me. S    V It   is his grades that worry him. S   

4. Words that come between a subject and its verb do not change the number of the subject. Prepositional phrases often have this position. The man  together with     his ten children is S leaving soon.       V                in addition to                                     The parent along with his only child has have                  as well as Everyone except him has a book.        S                             V

5. There, here, and where as are never subjects 5. There, here, and where as are never subjects. When a sentence begins with one of these words, the subject comes after the verbs. There..........many dogs in the V          S neighbourhood.             Here..........the result of V            S the experiments.           

6. Subjects joined by and or both ... and ... take a plural verb. A red Honda and a blue Ford  are parked S                            S              V outside.                Both tigers and lions are becoming extinct.               S               S              V

7. Several, many, both, few are plural words and always take plural verb. Both  are going  to attend the   S         V University of Texas.   Only a few  have passed the S           V exam.             

8. Some nouns are always plural in form and always take plural verbs 8. Some nouns are always plural in form and always take plural verbs. clothes  : trousers, pants, jeans, sunglasses tools     : scissors, pliers, tweezers abstract: riches, thanks, means However, some of them are followed by a singular verb when used in expressions such as a pair of ....., a word of...... His pants are still at the cleaners.  but; That pair of pants is dirty.         S      V                                               S               V Your thanks are enough for me. but; A word of thanks is enough.            S       V                                   S                  V

9. When subjects are joined by the following structures, the verbs must agree with the closer subject. Neither ....nor, either ..... Or , Not only .... But also Neither the students nor the teacher  is allowed to   S                         S                  V smoke.                       Either the teacher or the students  have your books.                       S                      S              V Not only the nurses but also the doctor  is coming S S V soon.

10.  Many words may be singular or plural depending on what they refer to: None, all, some, any, majority, most, half. etc. When these words are fallowed by a prepositional phrase, the number of the object of the preposition will determine whether the words are singular or plural. All of the book has been destroyed.  S                       V All of the books have been thrown away.  S                         V All of the money is in the bank.  S                        V

11. The expression a number of is plural, and the number of is singular. A number of students were missing from class.        S                            V The number of conversation students is small.         S                                                  V

12. Expression stating one amount of time, money, weight, volume etc 12. Expression stating one amount of time, money, weight, volume etc. are plural in form but take singular verb. Two weeks  is enough time for a nice vacation. S          V. Five hundred dollars  is required as a down S                   V payment.                Twenty gallons of gasoline costs a lot of money.              S                                V

- 13. Some words are always plural in form but singular in meaning - 13. Some words are always plural in form but singular in meaning. These words require singular verbs. academic subjects: mathematics, physics, economics, statistics, civics .... disease: measles, mumps, herpes ..... abstract nouns: news, ethics, politics .....  Mathematics  is a difficult subject.             S          V The news  was very good.            S      V

14. Titles of books and movies, even if plural in form, take singular verbs. The New York Times  is a good newspaper.                   S                 V Star Wars  was a good movie         S          V

15. Collective nouns are usually singular, but may be plural if the members are functioning independently. Watch the pronouns for clues to the singular or plural nature of the subject. Some of these words are class, team, police, committee, audience, family, faculty, etc That class  IS  its final test on Friday.            S        V The class ARE working on their individual projects today.  

16. Some nouns use the same form for both singular and plural meanings 16. Some nouns use the same form for both singular and plural meanings. The pronouns and modifiers with these words will indicate whether they are singular or plural in meaning. This species  is rare.                   S           V These species are common.            S             V          That deer  is young.                      S          V Those deer are old.         S         V

18. English has borrowed words from other languages 18. English has borrowed words from other languages. Some of these words have unusual singular and plural forms. origin         singular     plural      singular (plural) examples Greek             -is            -es         basis (bases), crisis (crises)                         -on          -a           criterion (criteria), phenomenon (phenomena) Latin (m)         -us          -i            radius (radii), alumnus (alumni)           (f)          -a            -ae         alga (algae), vita (vitae)           (n)         -um         -a            datum (data), medium (media)                        -ix/-ex      -ices       index (indicies), appendix (appendicies) The algae in the pool are hard to remove.       S                            V The radius of the circle is two inches.

GOOD LUCK !!!