Subject-Verb Agreement

Conducted by:

Marco A:. Loyola Florián

Centro Peruano Americano – El CulturalTrujillo – Perú

mloyola@elcultural.com.peloyolamarco@hotmail.com

ECCE PREPARATION COURSE

www.ecceloyola.pbworks.com

A singular subject demands a singular verb; a plural subject demands a plural verb. That is the simple principle behind subject-verb agreement.

However, in some case it might be difficult to tell the difference. Explore this presentation to learn more about these cases.

General Rule

1. Each of the board members _______ to vote.

a) need b) needs

2. Every candidate in the lists ____equal chances.

a) have b) has

Case 1: “Each and Every”

Nouns preceded by “each” and “every” are always singular — and take a singular verb.

1. Each of the board members needs to vote.

2. Every candidate in the lists has equal chances.

RULE:

1. Neither my parents nor my best friend _______ my girlfriend.

a) like b) likes

2. Either the assessors or the president _______permitted to sign.

a) is b) are

3. Not only the teacher but also his assistants ______ given a prize.

a) was b) were

4. The winners or the host _____ going to present the next show.

a) is b) are

Case 2: Correlative Conjuntions

When we have subjects with correlative conjunctions (“neither- nor”, “either-or”, “not only - but also”, or “or”), the noun CLOSER to the verb determines its number.

1. Neither my parents nor my best friend likes my girlfriend.

2. Either the assessors or the president is permitted to sign.

3. Not only the teacher but also his assistants were given a prize.

4. The winners or the host is going to present the next show.

Rule

1. The mayor of the town, as well as his officials, ____ called to testify in the trial.

a) was b) were

2. The principal, together with senior teachers, _____ sent to an intensive course in China.

a) was b) were 3. Karl and Paul, along with the treasurer, _____ to present

evidence of their expenses.

a) have b) has

Case 3: Pseudo-conjunctions

Pseudo conjunctions, such as “as well as”, “along with”, or “together with” act as modifiers; for instance, they should be ignored when determining the verb number. All you have to do is to look at the core of the subject.

1. The mayor of the town, as well as his officials, was called to testify in the trial.

2. The principal, together with senior teachers, was sent to an intensive course in China.

3. Karl and Paul, along with the treasurer, have to present

evidence of their expenses.

Rule

1.One quarter of my students ____ against capital punishment. a) is b) are

2. Two thirds of the population _____affected by the tornado.

a) was b) were 3. The majority of the members ______ called.

a) was b) were

4. Some mistakes _________ made.

a) was b) were

5. A lot of criticism _____ received.

a) was b) were

Case 4: Fractions and quantifiers

All Fractions and the quantifiers which work for both plural and uncountable nouns must be ignored when choosing the verb number. All you have to do is to use the number of noun they modify.

1.One quarter of my students are against capital punishment.

2. Two thirds of the population was affected by the tornado.

3. The majority of the members were called.

4. Some mistakes were made.

5. A lot of criticism was received.

Rule

1.Two centuries _______ not been enough to reconstruct the country. a) have b) has

2. Six months _______ enough to forget her.

a) was b) were 3. 1996 and 1997 ________ specially difficult for me.

a) was b) were

4. 50 minutes ________ the average you have to wait to be attended.

a) is b) are

5. The past few years ___________ scarce in rain.

a) was b) were

Case 5: Time periods

When a time expression is used to refer to a whole block of time as a unit, it has to take a singular verb.

1.Two centuries has not been enough to reconstruct the country.

2. Six months was enough to forget her.

3. 1996 and 1997 were specially difficult for me. (Conjunction)

4. 50 minutes is the average you have to wait to be attended.

5. The past few years were scarce in rain. (Plural quantifier)

Rule

1. The people of Israel _____ rich in terms of history and tradition. a) is b) are

2. All the data _______ saved in the hard disk.

a) was b) were 3. Our staff _______ working on different projects.

a) is b) are

4. The Police _________ investigating.

a) is b) are

5. The series _____ going to be won by The Lakers.

a) is b) are

Case 6: Collective nouns

A Collective noun such as “The Police”, or “The staff” take s a PLURAL verb if it is meant to highlight the actions of discrete individuals who are all doing different things. If the collective noun is acting as a single unit, use the singular verb.

“People” takes a plural verb ,except when it means “Nation”, in this case it is singular (and its plural is “PEOPLES” believe it or not!)

“Data” , “Men”, or “Women” always take a plural verb.

Be careful with words which are singular but happen to finish in “s”, like “series”, “Logics”, or “Economics”, they are all singular and take singular verbs.

1. The people of Israel is rich in terms of history and tradition.

2. All the data were saved in the hard disk. 3. Our staff are working on different projects.

4. The Police are investigating.

5. The series is going to be won by The Lakers.

Rule

Ready for a challenge on subject-verb agreement?

Click on the links below!

Exercise 1Exercise 2Exercise 3

Conducted by:

Marco A:. Loyola FloriánCentro Peruano Americano – El Cultural

Trujillo – Perú

loyolamarco@hotmail.com

“ECCE Preparation Course”

All the best!

This presentation can be downloaded from

www.ecceloyola.pbworks.com