Subject/Verb Agreement Notes Take notes on your own paper.

1. Don’t get confused by the words that come between the subject and verb; they do not affect agreement.  The dog, who is chewing on my jeans, is usually very good.

2. If the words each, every, or no come before the subject, the verb is singular.  No smoking and drinking is allowed.  Every man and woman is required to check in.  Exception – No/Each/Every precedes a plural noun.

3. When you have subjects separated by or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also, you use the verb form of the subject that is nearest the verb.  Do your sisters or your girlfriend want any pizza?  Singular subject or Plural subject verb (agrees with plural)  Verb (agrees with singular) Singular subject or Plural subject

4. Collective nouns like herd, senate, class, crowd, etc. usually take a singular verb form.  The herd is stampeding.

Your Turn! 1.People who were at the grocery store on Saturday (was, were) crazy. 2.There (is, are) both men and women at the meeting. 3.Each of you (has, have) an equal chance to make good grades. 4.None of my friends (is, are) visiting this weekend. 5.Either March or April (is, are) the month where I start enjoying nice weather. 6.Either your sisters or my friend (help, helps) my out every day. 7.The news about Afghanistan (is, are) shocking, isn’t it?

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