Subject, Verb, Agreement

Sentence: Subject + Verb

ü  Example:

a.       I work

b.      She works

c.       The car in the garage is mine

Basic Rule / Principle

Singular subjects need singular verbs

Plural subjects need plural verbs

ü  Example:

a.       My brother is a nutritionist

b.      My sisters are mathematicians

      Tips and Tricks

1)      Rule 1. Indefinite Pronouns

The indefinite pronouns abyone, everyone, someone, no one, nobody are always singular, and therefore, require singular verbs. Example:

a.       Everyone has done his homework
b.      Nobody is in the room

A.     Exceptions 1: All and Some

Some indefinite pronouns such as all, some are singular or plural depending on what they’re referring to (is the thing reffered to countable or not) be careful when choosing a verb to accompany such pronouns. Example:

a.       Some of the books are missing
b.       Some of the water is gone

B.     Exceptions 2: None

None can be singular or plural depending on the npun that follows. Example:

a.       None of the students are in the class

b.      None of the food is fresh

C.     Special Case: Each

Each is always singular. Don’t be confused/distracted with the plural nouns following it. Example:

a.       Each of the students is responsible for his homework

b.      Each of the cars has different color

2)      Rule 2: together with, as well as, along with

Phrases such as together, as well as, along with are not the same as and they don’t add or compound the subject. Example:

a.       The mayor as well as his brother, is going to prison

b.      The mayor and his brothers are going to jail

Additional explanation

Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by word such as along with, as well as, besides, or not. Ignore these expressions when detrmining whether to use a singular or plural verbs. Example:

a.       The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly

b.      Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking

3)      Rule 3: Subject separated from the verb/apposivives

Sometimes modifiers will get between a subject and its verb, but these modifiers must not confuse the agreement between the subject and its verb. Example:

a.       The mayor, who has been convicted along with his four brothers on four counts of various crimes but who also seems, like a cat, to have several political lives, is finally going to jail

4)      Rule 4: the pronouns of adjectives clause

Sometimes the pronouns who, that, or which is the subject of a verb in the middle of the sentence. The pronouns who, that, and which become singular or plural according to the noun directly in front of them. So if that noun is singular, use a singular verb. If its plural, use a plural verb. Example:

a.       Salma is the scientist who writes the repots

b.      He is the one of the man who close the work

5)      Rule 5: either + or and neither + nor

Or doesn’t conjoin (as and does) when nor or or is used the subject closer to the verb determines the umber of the verbs. Whether the subject comes before or after the verb doesn’t matter. Example:

a.       Either my father or my brother are going to the sell house

b.      Neither my brothers nor my father is going to the sell house

Pronouns: either and neither

The pronouns neither and either are singular and require singular verbs even though they seem to be reffering, in a sense, to two things. Example:

a.       Neither of the two traffic lights is working

Either of us is the capable of doing the job

b.      Which shirt do you want for Christmas?

Either is fine with me

6)      Rule 6: Pseudo Sbuject There and here

the words ‘there’ and ‘here’ are never subjects. The real subjects come after the verbs. Example:

a.       There are two reasons for this

b.      There is no reasons for this

c.       Here are two apples

d.      Here is the key

7)      Rule 7: third Party Singular (he, she, it, personal name)

Verbs in the present tense for third person, a singular subject (he, she, it and anything those words can stand for: rani, Dani, The cat, The table) have s-endings. Other verbs don’t add s-endings.Example:

a.       She teaches English

b.      Rani teaches English

c.       It eats fish

d.      The cat eats fish

Add s/es only to present verbs, not to past or past participle verbs. The past form of singular “be” is “was”. Example:

a.       Singular present     : She is her. She takes the offer.

b.      Singular past                      : She was her. She took the offer.

8)      Rule 8: words end in –s

§  Singular

Some words end in –s and appear to be plural but are really singular and require singular verbs. Example:

a.       The news from the front is bad

b.      Measies is a dangerous disease for the pregnant women

§  Plural

But some words end in –s and appear to be plural and require plural verbs.Example:

a.       My assets were wiped out in the depression

b.      The average workers’s earnings have gone up dramatically

Another singular words end in-s are costoms, clothes, arms, goods, etc

9)      Rule 9: fractional expressions (half or, a part of, a percentage of, etc)

With words that indicate portion-percent, fraction, part, majority, some, all, none, remainder, etc. look at the noun in your phrase (object of the preposition) to determine whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the object of the preposition is singular, use a singular verb. If the preposition is plural, use a plural verb. Example:

a.       fifty percent of the pie has disappeared

b.      fifty percent of the pies have disappeared

c.       one-third of the city is unemployed

d.      one-third of the people are unemployed

10)   Rule 10: negative & positive subjects

If your sentence compounds a positive and negative subject and one is plural, the other singular, the verb, should agree with the positive subject.

a.       It is not the faculty members but the president who decides this issue

b.      The department members but not the chair have decided not to teach on valentine’s day

c.       It was the speaker, not hi ideas, that has provided the students to riot

11)   Rule 11: sum of money or periods

Use a singular verb with sum of money or periods of time. Example:

a.       Ten dollars is a high price to pay

b.      Five years is the maximum sentence for that offens

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