McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.All rights reserved. 1 Subject/Verb Agreement Prepared by Professors Paul Harris and Rita Perkins

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 2 Subject/Verb Agreement zWhen subjects and verbs agree, they match in number and person. zIn other words, singular subjects require singular verbs and plural subjects match plural verbs; third person subjects require the third person form of the verb. My brother buys old bicycles to repair. My brothers buy old bicycles to repair.

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 3 zIn English, regular verbs take the same form for singular and plural except for the third-person singular form of the verb. zThe -s, or -es ending on a verb designates a singular verb. zIn fact, nouns and verbs are the opposite where plural endings are concerned. Subject/Verb Agreement The boy walks. The boys walk.

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 4 zA subject agrees with its verb no matter how far apart the two are. Do not be distracted by nouns or pronouns placed between the subject and verb. yThe ducks on the lake behind the school swim in large groups. yA list of required readings is mailed to entering freshmen. Subject/Verb Agreement

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 5 zA compound subject that is linked by the conjunction “and ” requires a plural verb. yBoth the college newspaper and the literary magazine fail to attract experienced staff. Subject/Verb Agreement

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 6 zA compound subject linked by the conjunction or or nor requires a singular verb. yEither the dean or his assistant addresses the freshmen class. yNeither geology nor astronomy is required for my major. Subject/Verb Agreement

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 7 zIndefinite pronouns refer to indefinite persons or things and usually require a singular verb. yEach of the volunteers tutors for at least three hours every week. Subject/Verb Agreement

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 8 zIf a collective noun acts as a single unit, it takes a singular verb. yMy entire family is coming for homecoming weekend. Subject/Verb Agreement

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 9 zWhen normal word order is inverted and the subject follows the verb, the subject and verb must agree. yStanding at the door with grins on their faces were the cheerleaders. Subject/Verb Agreement

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 10 zNote: Sentences that begin with there or here have the subject follow the verb. yThere are three branches of government: judicial, executive, and legislative. Subject/Verb Agreement

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 11 Movies in today’s market makes a great deal of money. IncorrectIncorrect

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 12 Movies in today’s market make a great deal of money. RevisedRevised

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 13 The American audiences pays for tickets at the theater and for cable at home. IncorrectIncorrect

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 14 The American audiences pay for tickets at the theater and for cable at home. RevisedRevised

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 15 The international market, which includes dozens of countries, produces even more profit. CorrectCorrect

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 16 Films are very expensive to manufacture, so American studios creates far more films than other countries. IncorrectIncorrect

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 17 Films are very expensive to manufacture, so American studios create far more films than other countries. RevisedRevised

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 18 There is many advantages to seeing a movie seeing a movie in the theater rather than watching a video at home. IncorrectIncorrect

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 19 There are many advantages to seeing a movie seeing a movie in the theater rather than watching a video watching a video at home. RevisedRevised

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 20 The dark theater and the enormous screen take the movie viewer to another world. CorrectCorrect

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 21 The background music in movies play an important role. IncorrectIncorrect

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 22 The background music in movies plays an important role. RevisedRevised

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 23 The music creates a mood and gives a signal of something to come. CorrectCorrect

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 24 Not everyone in the entertainment fields agree about the quality of the quality of movies. movies. IncorrectIncorrect

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 25 Not everyone in the entertainment field agrees about the quality of movies. RevisedRevised

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 26 Neither the use of subtitles nor black and white photography demonstrate the preferences of most Americans. IncorrectIncorrect

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 27 Neither the use of subtitles nor black and white photography demonstrates the preferences of most Americans. RevisedRevised

McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2001 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. 28AnyQuestions?