* Subject Verb Agreement

Remember that the subject and verb in a a

sentence must agree in person and number.
E.g. - The elevator works very well
singular singular

- The elevators work very well

singular singular

*Subject separated From the verb

Always check the subject and verb to be sure they
agree. However, sometimes it is difficult to decide
exactly what the subject is, If the subject and verb
are separated.
e.g. The boys in the room are studying
plural plural
Very often, if the subject and verb are separated,
they will be separated by a prepositional phrase.
The prepositional phrase has no effect on
the verb.
Subject + (prepositional phrase) + Verb
e.g. – The study of languages is very interesting
singular (s) singular (v)

- The effects of the crime are likely to be

plural (s) plural (v)

devastating.
The following expressions also have no effect
on the verb
Together with along with
accompanied by as well as
e.g. - The actress, along with her manager
singular (s)

and some friends, is going to a party.

singular (v)

Note: If the conjunction and is used instead of one

of these phrase, the verb would then be plural.
e.g. – The actress and her manager are going to the
Plural (s) plural (v)

party.
*Words that always take singular verb and pronouns
The following words must be followed by singular
verbs and pronouns in formal written English.
Any+singular noun some+singular noun every each
Anybody nobody somebody everybody either*
Anyone no one someone everyone neither*
Anything nothing something everything
*Either and neither are singular if they are not used with or and no.

e.g. – Something was under the house

- If either of you takes a vacation now, we will
not be able to finish the work
- Nobody works harder than John does.
*None/no
None can take either a singular or plural verb depending
on the noun which follows it
None + of the + non-count noun + singular (v)
e.g. None of the counterfeit money has been found.
None + of the + plural count noun + plural (v)
e.g. None of the students have finished the exam yet.

No can take either a singular or plural verb depending

on the noun which follows it.
No + singular noun non count noun + singular verb
e.g. No example is relevant to this case
 No + plural noun + plural verb
e.g. No examples are relevant to this case.

*Either/ Neither
When either and neither are followed by or and nor
the verb may be singular or plural depending on
whether the noun following, or and nor is singular or
plural if or and nor appears alone.
neither/either + noun + nor/or + plural (n) + plural (v)
e.g. Neither john nor his friends are going to the
plural (n) plural (v)

beach.
Neither/either + noun + nor/or + singular (n) + singular (v)

e.g. Neither John nor Bill is going to the beach

singular (n) singular (v)

*Gerunds as subjects
If sentence begins with (verb + ing) the verb
must be singular.
e.g. Dieting is very popular today.
Writing many letters makes her happy.
Knowing her has made him what he is
*Collective Nouns
Also many words indicating a number of people or animals are
singular. The following are usually singular.
Congress family group public
Organization team army club
Government jury majority* minority
Class crowd committee
*Majority can be singular or plural. If it is alone it is
usually singular if it is followed by plural noun it is
usually plural.
e.g. The majority believes that we are in no danger
Examples of collective nouns:
- Our team is going to win the game
- The family was elated by the news
The following nouns are used to indicate groups of certain
animals. It is not necessary to learn the nouns; however, they
mean the same as group and thus are considered singular.
Flock of bird school of fish
Herd of cattle pride of lions
Pack of dogs
e.g. The flock of birds is circling overhead
A school of fish is being attacked by shark
Collective nouns indicating time, money, and measurements
used as a whole are singular
e.g. - Twenty-five dollars is too much to pay for that
shirt.
- Two miles is too much to run in one day
*A Number of/the number of
A number of + plural noun + plural verb
e.g. A number of students are going the class picnic.
The number of + plural noun + singular verb
e.g. The number of days in a week is seven.

Nouns that always plural: The following nouns are always

considered plural. They cannot be singular. In order to speak
of them as singular, one must say: “a pair of ________”
Scissors shorts pants jeans tongs
Trousers glasses pliers tweezers
e.g. The pants are in the drawer
A pair of pants is in the drawer
*There is/there are: Remember that with
sentences beginning with the existential there,
the subject is actually after the verb.
There is
There are + singular subject (non count)
There has been
e.g. There is a storm approaching
There was water on the floor where he fell
There are
There were + plural subject
There have been
e.g. - there were too many people at the party
- there have been a number of telephone calls
today
Exercise
Choose the correct form of the verb in the following sentence.
e.g. The army (has/have) eliminated this section of the training test.

1. Neither Bill nor Mary (is/are) going to the play tonight.

2. Anything (is/are) better than going to another movie tonight.
3. A number of reporters (was/were) at the conference yesterday.
4. Your glasses (was/were) on the bureau last night.
5. Skating (is/are) becoming more popular every day.
6. There (was/were) some people at the meeting last night.
7. The committee (has/have) already reached a decision.
8. A pair of jeans (was/were) in the washing machine this morning.
9. Each student (has/have) answered the first three questions.
10. A pack of wild dogs (has/have) frightened all the ducks away.