More on Subject Verb Agreement

Compound Nouns When a compound subject is connected by or, nor, either Or neither, nor The verb must agree with part of the subject that is closest to it

Examples My aunts or my mother usually hosts our family gatherings. The singular noun mother is closer to the verb, so the singular verb hosts is used. Either he or his parents were home that night. Either his parents or he was home that night.

Inverted Sentences In most sentences the verb FOLLOWS the subject Hector passed the course. The rabbit lives in my backyard. The plane roared overhead. However, in some sentences, the verb comes BEFORE the subject; this is called an INVERTED SENTENCE.

Example What was your score on the test? The verb was is singular; it agrees with the singular subject score.

Inverted Sentences The verb also comes first in sentences that begin with there or here Example: There are ants in the sugar jar. Here is the menu.

Inverted Sentences The verb may also come before the subject in sentences that begin with a prepositional phrase. Example: On that shelf are the reports for this year.