6. Subject Verb Agreement

Singular Nouns A singular subject (noun) needs to be used with a singular verb. – Joel speaks French. – singular subject + singular verb A singular verb in the simple present tense ends in “s” or “es” – he eats, she dances, George sleeps, Anne teaches The singular “be” verb = “is” in present tense The singular “be” verb = “was” in past tense – Catherine is here. – Robert was in Germany last week.

The words “each” and “every” are followed by a singular noun. Even if there are two or more nouns the verb is still singular. – Every book, magazine, and newspaper is about politics. If a gerund is used as the subject, the verb will be singular. – Swimming is a good form of exercise.

Plural Nouns A plural subject (noun) needs to be used with a plural verb. – My friends live in New York City. Plural verbs in the present tense do not end in “s” or “es” – they dance, my brother and sister make, we sing The plural “be” verb = “are” in present tense The plural “be” verb = “were” in past tense – My mother and father are very young. – Jane and Nancy were at the theatre on Friday.

Expressions of Quantity With most expressions of quantity, the verb depends on the noun that follows the word “of”. As a general rule, if the noun is in a plural form, the verb is plural. If the noun has no plural form or is not using one, the verb is singular. – Half of the money is mine. (singular) – Half of the students are here. (plural) – Some of the fruit is rotten. (singular) – Some of the strawberries are rotten. (plural)

Exceptions!! One of / each of / every one of....all of these expressions take singular verbs. – Every one of my friends is on vacation. Expressions of time, money, and distance require singular verbs. – Fifty dollars is too expensive. – Seven hours of sleep is enough for me. – Five kilometres is a short distance on a bike.

Exceptions!! Nouns of nationality in reference to the people of a country use plural verbs. – The English drink tea every day. (plural) – The Japanese have an interesting history. (plural) Some adjectives can be preceded by “the” and used as a plural noun. In this case use a plural verb. – The poor have many problems. (plural)

A final complicating factor It is easy to misidentify the subject of a sentence if a prepositional phrase comes between it and the verb. Consider the following examples: – The scientists at the conference were annoyed. – The owner of the labs was selling all his holdings. It is necessary during the proofreading stage of your writing to scan for agreement errors such as these.