Subject-Verb Agreement

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Strictly numbers

The verbs must agree with the subject in number.– If a subject is singular, its verb

must be singular.– If a subject is plural, its verb must

be plural.– Can’t mix and match!

First Steps

Remember how to identify subjects & verbs?– Eliminate the

prepositional phrases– Spot the subjects and

verbs

Decide if Subject is Singular or Plural Singular = 1

– girl, house, car, flower, dog

Plural = more than 1– girls, houses, cars, flowers,

dogs

Special Situations

Indefinite pronouns And Or, Nor Collective nouns Inverted sentences

Indefinite Pronouns

-ONEanyone, everyone, someone, no one

-BODYanybody, everybody, somebody,

nobody

-THING– anything, everything, something,

nothing

Indefinite Pronouns

each, each of either, either of neither, neither of

“and”

“and” is a plus sign that adds the subjects and automatically makes them plural

Georgia and Teddy run the mile in seven minutes.

Dedication and motivation are characteristics of successful students.

plural

“and” as a single unit

When “and” is used to identify a single unit, the verb will be singular

Peanut butter and jelly is my favorite.

Rock and roll plays on the radio.

NOT “and”

These phrases are NOT the same as “and”; they don’t automatically create a need for a plural verb:– as well as, in addition to– along with, together with

The teacher along with her students is hopeful everyone passes.

The dogs as well as the cat are in the yard.

“or,” “nor,” “either…or,” “neither…nor” With “or” and “nor,” the subject

closest to the verb decides if the verb is singular or plural.

Mark or his sisters are at the store.

Neither his sisters nor Mark is at the store.

Collective nouns

Group of something acting as ONE is singular– jury, team, family, council, crew,

species, crowd, audience, herd

The city council makes a decision today.

The crowd hears the speaker.

singular

Inverted Sentences

Questions and sentences that begin with Here, There, or a prepositional phrase followed by a verb are inverted.

– The subject is NOT “here” or “there”

– The subject will be found AFTER the verb.

Inverted Sentences

Flip the sentence in your head to make it “go right”; put the subject BEFORE the verb.

There (is/are) two cats.– Two cats are there.

On one of the tables (is/are) a key.– A key is on one of the tables.

Hot Tip:

In most cases, only the subject OR the verb will have an “s” on the end, not both.

Examples:The cars run fastThe car runs fast

Four Steps for SV Agreement Review 1.Eliminate prepositional phrases 2.Spot the subject and the verb 3.Decide if subject is singular or

plural 4.Make verb agree with subject

in number

Special Situations Review Indefinite pronouns (singular) And (plural) Or, Nor (depends on closest

subject) Collective nouns (singular) Inverted sentences (there and

here aren’t the subject)

Practice

In each of the following, click on the option that corrects an error in the underlined portion.

If no error exists, click on “no change needed.”

When you choose the correct answer, click on NEXT in the lower right hand corner to see the next question.

Practice A

Neither our cars nor my friend

were in the lot; maybe the

attendants, who have been here

all afternoon, know where either

of them is.

A

B

C

A.was

B.has been

C.were

D.no change needed

Practice B

At Perkins, there are many different

food options for lunch, but Jay, along

with his sister, prefers peanut butter

and jelly, which are his favorite.

A

B

C

A.is

B.prefer

C.is

D.no change needed

Practice C

The group of calculus students come

to study in the library because the

staff is friendly and each gets his

own seat.

A

B

C

A.comes

B.are

C.get

D.no change needed

Practice D

The Department of Environmental

Affairs office sponsors a lecture

series that is so popular that no

one I know has been able to get

tickets.

A

B

C

A.sponsor

B.are

C.have been able

D.no change needed

Work Cited

Examples questions are based on those found in Thinking Through the Test by D. J. Henry & Mimi Markus (pages 168-172).

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