Every verb must agree to its subject.

What’s wrong with the ff. sentences?

• There is too many pictures on the wall.

• She don’t love him anymore.
• Nobody want to see us together but it
don’t matter.
• It is so sad to think that she don’t see
what I see.
 BASIC RULE

Plural
Singular Subject
Subject

Singular Plural
Verb Verb
 Examples
• SINGULAR • PLURAL
• Daekyo is an • IBIZ and YBM are
international company. foreign companies.
• Has she taken the • Have they heard the
exam? news?
• Everyone wants to • A few were chosen to
have a happy life. join the contest.
• There is a pot in the • There are books on the
fridge. table.
SOME POINTS TO CONSIDER IN
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
• An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any
specific person, thing, or amount.
• Can be classified as singular, plural, and
singular or plural (depending on its
antecedent).
• In subject-verb agreement, singular
indefinite pronoun takes a singular verb and
plural indefinite pronoun takes a plural verb.
 SINGULAR PLURAL
• another, anybody, anyone, • both, few, many, others,
anything, each, either, several
everybody, everyone,
everything, little, much,
neither, nobody, no one,
nothing, one, other,
somebody, someone,
something

SINGULAR/PLURAL
• all, any, more, most,
none, some
 • Singular
Anyone is entitled to get a pair of shoes.
Nothing was left at the crime scene.
• Plural
Each of or
thePlural
members has one vote.
• Singular
For many are called, but few are chosen.
Most of the students were done.
Both were given life sentences.
Some of the water is gone.
Some like that kind of thing. Others don’t.
None of the population is concerned about this
thing.

‘Most’ refers to ‘None’ refers to ‘Some’ refers to

students, population, which water, which is
which is plural is singular & taken singular & non
as one entity count noun
• Subjects joined by and, or, neither, either, etc.
• If we join the subjects with ‘and’, we have to use
the plural form of the verb because it indicates
there is more than one.
• Examples:
– The spatula and the whisk are in the second drawer
on the right. (We’re talking about two items so the
verb is plural.)
– Both the guitars and the amp were left in the car.
(Guitars is plural and amp is singular, but since they
are joined with the word and, the verb is plural.)
• NOTE: there are two subjects joined by and
but are considered one item.
• Examples:
– Peanut butter and chocolate is my favorite
combination.
– Fruit and cheese is a good afternoon snack.
– Bacon and eggs is also good for supper.
– My mom and best friend always cooks for me.
• When two or more singular nouns or pronouns
are connected by ‘or’ or ‘nor’, use a singular verb.
• Examples:
– Either Kevin or Brian plays the lead solo every week.
– A book or a magazine is fine for reading material.
• When two or more plural nouns or pronouns are
connected by ‘or’ or ‘nor’, use a plural verb.
– Neither the hamburgers nor the fries fit her appetite.
– The children or their mothers were so noisy at the
party.
• When a compound subject contains both a
singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined
by ‘or’ or ‘nor’, the verb should agree with the
part of the subject that is nearer the verb.
– The boy or his friends run every day.
– His friends or the boy runs every day.
• When I is one of the two subjects connected
by ‘either/or’ or ‘neither/nor’, put it second
and follow it with the singular verb am.
– Neither she nor I am going to the festival.
• Do not be misled by a phrase that comes between
the subject and the verb. The verb agrees with the
subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase.
Phrases will modify the subject/s but does not
compound the subject/s (as the word ‘and’ would
do).
– One of the boxes is open.
– The people who listen to that music are few.
– The team captain, as well as his players, is anxious.
– The book, including all the chapters in the first
section, is boring.
– The woman with all the dogs walks down my street.
• The normal pattern for English sentences is
subject-verb. However, there are a few situations
where this order is reversed.
• Care needs to be taken to identify it correctly.
– There were nights when the wind was so cold.
– Here comes the bride.
– Where are they?
– On the table are the goodies!
– There is a perfect man for every woman.
– Here arises a problem.
– There seems to be a relationship.
• These are nouns that refer to people, animal, or
things as a unit.
• Collective nouns may be either singular or plural
depending on their meaning in the sentence.
– The staff is in a meeting.
(Staff is acting as a unit here.)

–The jury are in disagreement about

the findings.
(The jury are acting as separate individuals in
this example.)
• Percent, fraction, part, majority, some, all, none,
remainder, and so forth —look at the noun in your
‘of' 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 object of the preposition is plural, use a plural
verb.
– Fifty percent of the pie has disappeared.
– One-third of the people are unemployed.

NOTE: Hyphenate all spelled-out fractions.

• Expressions stating amount of time, money, weight,
volume are plural in form but take a singular verb
– Ten dollars is a high price to pay.
– Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense.

• The expression ‘the number’ is followed by a

singular verb while the expression ‘a number’ is
followed by a plural verb.
– The number of people we need to hire is thirteen.
– A number of people have written in about this
subject.
• Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as
singular and take a singular verb.
– The Burbs is a movie starring Tom Hanks.
– Beautiful Girls is my favorite Sean Kingston’s song.

• Generic references with ‘the’ require a plural verb.

–The rich are not always happy.
–The young like to listen to loud music.
–The old hate loud music.
–The English are distant and the French are
humorous.
• Some nouns are always plural and always take a plural
verb.
– Trousers, pants, slacks, shorts, briefs, jeans
– Glasses, sunglasses
– Scissors, pliers, tweezers
• Examples:
– Where are my scissors?
– My jeans have been stolen.
• ‘A pair’ is used when we want to use a singular verb.
– A pair of shorts is in fashion this year.
– A pair of jeans is what you need for the course.
• Some nouns look plural with –s but they take a
singular verb.
– Physics, Mathematics, Statistics, Economics
– News, Politics, Ethics, Measles, Mumps
– Mathematics is found difficult by many students.
– Statistics requires complicated methods.
• Some nouns have the same singular and
plural form. They take singular or plural verb
depending on the meaning.
 – Species, series, deer, fish, sheep
– This species of monkeys lives only in India.
– There are many species of monkeys.
• On the other hand, some words ending in –s refer
to a single thing but are nonetheless plural and
require a plural verb.
– My assets were wiped out in the depression.
– The average worker’s earnings have gone up
dramatically.
– Our thanks go to the workers who supported the
union.
• A relative pronoun takes a singular or plural verb
depending on which noun it modifies.
– Lisa is one of the students who have passed with an A.
(Many students passed with an A, Lisa is one of them.)
– Lisa is the only one of my students who has passed
with an A.
(Only Lisa passed with an A.)
1. The price of these jeans ____ reasonable. (is, are)
The books borrowed from the library ____ on my
desk. (is, are)
2. The boy who won the two medals ___ a friend of
mine. (is, are)
3. Bread and butter ____ our daily food. (is, are)
4. The famous singer and composer ____ arrived. (has,
have)
5. Collecting match-boxes ___ one of his favorite
pastimes. (is, are)
6. The quality of the candies ___ poor. (seem,
seems)
7. Neither his father nor his mother ____ mahjong.
(play, plays)
8. The sheep ___ when the gate is left open. (stray,
strays)
9. Sheep ___ when the gate is left open. (stray, strays)
10. Fifty miles ____ a long distance. (is, are)
11. The boss, as well as his colleagues, ___ been robbed
by the robber. (has, have)
12. Ten tons ___ a heavy load. (is, are)
13. The poor ___ suffering. (is, are)
14. You should decide which one of the three choices A,
B, or C best _____ the question. (answer, answers)
15. One of the most intelligent students who ____ full
marks ____ John. (score, scores/is, are)
16. The only one of these most intelligent students who
___ under 18 ___ Peter. (is, are/is, are)
17. Both candidates ___ increased defense spending.
(oppose, opposes)
18. Where ___ your little brother? (is, are)
19. The use of vitamin supplements ___ becoming
increasingly popular among Americans. (is, are)
20. Still, anyone who (take) ___ too much of a vitamin or
herb could suffer from negative side effects.
21. Eating 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily ___
said to provide all the essential vitamins we require.
(is, are)
22. Every silver knife, fork, and spoon ___ to be counted.
(has, have)
23. Each cat and each dog _____ its own toy. (has, have)
24. The committee _____ meeting today. (is, are)
25. The jury ___ still arguing about the matter. (was,
were)