1. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

2.  When writing a sentence, the subject (a noun or pronoun) must agree with the verb  Ex:  He is  We are  I am  By making sure your subject and verb fit together, you’ll make your sentences easier to understand  In short: singular nouns go with singular verbs, plural nouns go with pluralized verbs WHAT IS IT?

3.  One of the most common mistakes young writers make is the use of mismatching of singular and plural subjects/verbs  Ex:  They is the best team in the league  Everybody are supposed to have their homework ready for tomorrow’s lesson SINGULAR OR PLURAL

4.  When you come across any of the following words:  Either, neither, none, each  Anyone, no one, everyone, anybody, nobody, everybody  ALL OF THESE TAKE SINGULAR VERBS!  Ex: Either Patrick or Larry likes when we read as a group.  Anyone who has Mr. D’Elia knows that he talks a lot.  Nobody wants to stay after school on a Friday. SO HOW CAN I TELL THE DIFFERENCE?

5.  Subjects joined by “or” can be singular or plural. The subject closest to the verb decides whether it is singular or plural.  The kids or my husband is/are driving me crazy.  My husband or the kids is/are driving me crazy. WHEN “OR” IS INVOLVED…

6.  When you come across two subjects joined by “and”, they are PLURAL  ex:  Daryl and Merle is/are/am brothers.  Bears and sharks is/are/am bad news; I hope they never team up.  Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut was/were famous authors. WHEN “AND” IS INVOLVED…

7.  Collective nouns are words that represent an entire group  Family, group, class, audience, team  THESE WORDS REQUIRE A SINGULAR VERB  Ex:  My class is/are/am really excited for Spring Break. INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

8.  Subject-verb agreement is harder to identify in longer sentences.  We can fix this by going over the text and crossing out the “interrupters” that get in the way of connecting the subject and its verb. TRIMMING THE FAT

9. After all, Elizabeth is the strongest candidate A for the job because her looks, experience, B and natural intelligence invites voters to cast C D their ballots for her. No Error. TRIMMING THE FAT: EXAMPLE

10. Everyone going on the spirit bus to Giants’ A Stadium on Saturday for the State Playoff B Game are advised to wear warm clothes. CD CD No Error. TRY IT OUT!

11. To the disappointment of the crowd, neither A B the president nor any of his aides were able C D to attend the ceremony. No error. REVIEW

12. Interest and applications to Stanford A University, an elite school in California, B has risen since Chelsea Clinton enrolled there. C D No error. REVIEW