Grammar in Context: Subject-Verb Agreement
Grammar for Reviews: Subject-Verb Agreement
CLO & Topic Content
CLO: Analyze subject-verb agreement, sentence types, and moods appropriately in a variety of contexts and for different purposes.
Grammar for Reviews: Subject-verb agreement.
With singular subject.
With plural subject.
With compound subject.
Teaching & Learning Activities:
1-hour Lecture.
2-hour Tutorial.
3-hour eLearning.
Subject-Verb Agreement
The person and number of the subject of the clause determine the person and number of the verb of the clause. This is called subject-verb agreement or concord (Carter et al., 2016, p. 501).
Example:
He hates being in hospital. (third person singular subject + hates)
We often go to Mont Kiara.
Are you ready?
They don’t do enough art at school.
Some nouns, describing groups of people, can take a singular or plural verb.
Example:
The audience was silent, waiting. (or The audience were silent…)
The government does not encourage investment in industry. (or The governments do not encourage…)
Countable Nouns
Singular countable nouns (or their pronouns) take a singular verb, and plural countable nouns (or their pronouns) take a plural verb.
Examples:
The pencils (costs, cost) 60 cent each.
They (costs, cost) 60 cent each.
The student (study, studies) hard every night.
S/he (study, studies) hard every night.
People often (think, thinks) he is not honest.
They often (think, thinks) he is not honest.
Uncountable Nouns
Use a singular verb with uncountable nouns.
Examples of uncountable nouns include, but are not limited to ambition, motherhood, fraternity, loyalty, information.
Many Malaysian parents feel that education is the most important gift they can give to their children.
Ambition has led many a man to be dishonest.
Collective Nouns
Use a singular verb with collective nouns.
Examples of collective nouns include, but not limited to flock, swarm, mob, herd, congregation, batch.
The collection of pictures I have always treasured is missing.
A bouquet of flowers generally cheers patients up in a hospital.
The loaf of bread I bought this morning appears to be stale.
Infinitives and Gerunds
When an infinitive or gerund is the subject of a sentence, use a singular verb.
Examples:
To write a good composition needs a well thought out plan.
Painting these large rooms is certainly an arduous task.
Two Singular Subjects Joined by ‘And’
Two singular subjects joined by ‘and’ take a plural verb.
Examples of such subjects include but not limited to badminton and tennis, Kim and his aged father, the teacher and her student, walking and running.
The peasant and his wife (lives, live) a peaceful life in that small village.
Silas Marner and his money (was, were) soon parted.
Smoking and drinking (is, are) bad for your health.
Subjects with Attached Phrases
A singular subject with attached prepositional expressions and adverbial phrases, does not change a singular subject to a plural one; hence, it is followed by a singular verb.
Examples of such attached phrases are: with, like, along with, together with, as well as, in addition to, besides.
The head prefect, with several others, (were, was) late for school.
Ah Hock, as well as his elder brother, (are, is) a promising student.
My neighbour, together with her son, often (jog, jogs) in the park.
Two Subjects Separated by ‘Either…Or’ / ‘Neither…Nor’
Two singular subjects separated by ‘either…or’ and ‘neither…nor’ take a singular verb. However, if one subject is singular and the other plural, then the verb agrees with the subject nearest to it.
Examples:
Either Hisham or his brother (are, is) right.
Either one or the other (have, has) forgotten to complete the minutes of the meeting.
Neither he nor she (draws, draw) well.
Neither my sister nor my brother (know, knows) how to solve this problem.
Neither Encik Saifuddin nor his clerks (is, are) able to repair the photocopy machine.
Either my cousins or their mother (is, are) coming over tonight.
Determiners
Singular determiners (each, every, either) take a singular verb.
Plural determiners (both, few, many) take a plural verb.
A number of determiners (some, any, all) can take either a singular or plural verb according to the noun that follows them.
Examples:
Some tea (was, were) left in the cup.
Some boys (was, were) playing soccer.
Each of the students (was, were) asked to complete a questionnaire.
Whoever (arrives, arrive) home first can start cooking dinner.
Some books (was, were) missing.
Both Zack and his sister (are, is) going to study music.
Determiners:
Singular: whoever, whatever, either (of), neither (of), the other, another, each (of), each one, every.
Singular verb.
Singular or Plural: any, all, some, more.
Uncountable.
Countable.
Plural verb.
Plural: both (of), few (of), others, many (of), several (of).
Sentences with ‘False’ Subjects
When sentences begin with ‘there’ or ‘here’ and are followed by ‘is/are/was/were’ or if one of the following wh-words – ‘how, which, what, who, where or when’ starts a sentence, look for the true subject of the verb elsewhere in the sentence. You would normally find it after the verb.
Examples:
Nowadays there (is, are) a tendency to spend without considering the consequences.
Here (is, are) the new e-catalogues I promised you.
Where (have, has) the old carpets been put?
Who (was, were) the people I saw you with last night?
There (was, were) a deliberate effort to improve the standard of English in the school.
There (was, were) many problems solved that way.
Here (is, are) the results of your mid-term examination.
Here (is, are) my term paper.
What (is, are) your conclusions regarding the election?
Who (is, are) your Science tutor?
Which (was, were) the best papers presented?
How (was, were) the results arrived at?
Quantifier Pronouns
Verbs after quantifier pronouns used with ‘of’ constructions (a lot of cheese, none of the ships) depend on the object following the preposition ‘of’ to decide whether they take a singular or a plural verb ending.
Verbs after ‘some, any, no, every’ words are singular.
Examples:
The rest of the cheese (was, were) eaten by mice. (uncountable noun)
The rest of the world (is, are) covered by oceans. (singular countable noun)
The rest of the cans (was, were) sold off cheap. (Plural countable noun)
Most of the sugar (was, were) covered with ants. (Uncountable noun)
Most of the car (is, are) rusty. (Singular countable noun)
Most of the cars (was, were) parked near the school. (Plural countable noun)
Someone (is, are) knocking at the door.
Nobody (is, are) answering.
Quantifier Pronouns:
most of
a lot of
some of
the majority of
none of
half of
all of
a third of
the rest of
the remainder of
20% of
Plural countable nouns:
the people
the cars
the students
Plural verb
Singular countable nouns:
the world
the ball
the tree
Singular verb
Uncountable nouns:
the cheese
the tea
the sea
someone
anyone
no one
everyone
somebody
anybody
nobody
everybody
something
anything
nothing
everything
Noun Clauses
When the subject of the verb is a ‘noun clause’, the verb must be singular.
Examples:
Where you work after the course (has, have) yet to be decided.
Who you invite to the part (is, are) your own decision.
When you present your project (depends, depend) on you.
What he spends his money on (is, are) a mystery to me.
What he and his friends do (is, are) no concern of yours.
How you collect the money from the class (is, are) up to you.
Subject Pronouns: ‘Who’, ‘Which’ and ‘That’
When the relative pronouns ‘who’, ‘which’ or ‘that’ are the subjects of a clause, the verb which follows has to agree with the noun that the clause is describing.
Examples:
The man who lives in that house (is, are) a friend of mine.
The men who live in that house (is, are) friends of mine.
Where (is, are) the biscuits which melt in your mouth?
Where (is, are) the file which has all my notes in it?
History (is, are) the subject that causes me most problems.
Geography and English (is, are) the subjects that come most easily to me.
Special Features to Watch Out For in Agreement
The following sentences contain examples of a number of special cases which often prove difficult for learners of English. The problem subject and the verb which agrees with it are identified.
Examples:
Many a true word (is, are) spoken in jest.
A number of students (is, are) going on a study visit to Qatar next month.
The number of candidates for this year’s examination (is, are) higher than last year’s.
Mathematics (was, were) my worst subject at school.
Three hours (is, are) long enough for any written examination.
The news about the kidnapped child (is, are) not very good.
A small percentage of entrants (have, has) failed this year’s test.
The English (love, loves) sports as much as they love tea.
The police (want, wants) to interview a man in connection with the murder.
People (is, are) basically the same no matter where they come from.
Singular subject:
Many a
The number of
Mathematics
Three hours
Forty kilometers
News
A percentage Singular verb *Plural subject
Many
A number of
The English
Police
People
Plural verb
References
Carter, R., McCarthy, M., Mark, G., & O’Keeffe, A. (2016). English grammar today : an a-z of spoken and written grammar intermediate B1/B2. Cambridge University Press.
Holden, A., & Jagjeet Singh. (1993). Remedial English grammar and usage. Fajar Bakti.
Subject
Subject