Part 1

 Verbs must agree with their subjects in number.  Number refers to whether a word is singular or plural.  Singular subjects take singular verbs.  Plural subjects take plural verbs.  In a verb phrase, it is the first helping verb that must agree with the subject.

Agreement in Number Examples A ferocious fistfight looks real in a film. The fighters look as if they were really being punched. A stunt person knows many tricks to avoid being hurt. Stunt people know they must make a scene appear real. Some movie stars have been trained to do stunts safely. Often an untrained star has been replaced by a stunt double.

 When a phrase comes between the subject and verb, the number of the subject is not changed.

Phrases Between Subject and Verb Examples The success of Hollywood films is based on the grosses. Filmgoers at the box office give a financial thumbs up to a film. Jurassic Park, a high-grossing film, has made many millions. Sequels – The Lost World and others – generally make less. Sometimes a movie loved by millions receives a poor review. Movie lovers, playing critic, turn the movie around.

 A compound subject contains two or more simple subjects.  Compound subjects can take either singular or plural verbs.  A compound subject whose parts are joined by and requires a plural verb.  Some compound subjects act as a single unit and take singular verbs.  When the parts of a compound subject are joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the part closest to it.

Compound Subjects Examples Pictures and movement come together in animated films. An animator’s bread and butter is cartoons. Neither animation cels nor celluloid film was used for that movie. Neither celluloid film nor animation cels were used for that movie.

Part 2

 When used as subjects, some indefinite pronouns are always singular, some are always plural, and some can be used either singular or plural, depending on how they’re used. Indefinite Pronouns Singularanother, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, something Pluralboth, few, many, several Singular or Pluralall, any, more, most, none, some

Indefinite-Pronoun Subjects Examples Everyone has a favorite film star. Nobody is without opinions on films. Many of the films are nominated for Oscars. Few win, however. Most of the Oscar show is broadcast from Hollywood. Most of the winners appear at the Oscars.

 A collective noun takes a singular verb if the members of the group act together. A collective noun takes a plural verb if the members of the group act as individuals.  Some nouns ending in –s or –ics appear to be plural but are singular in meaning. ◦ civics ◦ mathematics ◦ news ◦ physics ◦ politics

 Titles of works of art, literature, film, or music are singular.  Words and phrases that refer to weights, measures, numbers, and lengths of time are usually treated as singular.  Fractions, such as three-quarters and seven- eighths, can be considered singular or plural, depending on the context.

Other Problem Subjects Examples In Major League, an inferior team (unit) strives to improve. The team (individuals) have different ideas about how to improve. In The Candidate, politics is the major theme. Ethics does not play much of a role in the movie. The candidate’s ethics are questionable. Cats is a long-running musical. Eight dollars seems too much to pay for a movie. Two hours is the running time of this film.

 In many questions, subjects follow verbs or come between parts of verb phrases.  In sentences beginning with here or there, those words rarely function as subjects. The subjects usually follow the verbs.  In an inverted sentence, the subject follows the verb. Do not confuse a word in an initial phrase with the subject.  When a relative pronoun (who, which, or that) is the subject of an adjective clause, its number is determined by the number of the word it refers to.

Special Sentence Problems Examples Are comedians respected as much as serious actors? There are many famous comedies in the history of film. Over the wall scrambles the runaway thief. The comedies of Robin Williams are Jan’s main passion. An actor who plays both comedy and drama is unusual. Actors who play both comedy and drama are unusual.