Agreement: Subjects and Verbs, Pronouns and Antecedents

Number

• Number indicates whether a word is singular or plural.
• Singular: Refers to one person, place, thing, or idea.
  • Examples: igloo, she, one, child, class
• Plural: Refers to more than one.
  • Examples: igloos, they, many, children, classes

Agreement of Subjects and Verbs

• Singular subjects take singular verbs.
  • Example: The lightning fills the sky.
  • Example: Jan begins her vacation on Friday.
• Plural subjects take plural verbs.
  • Example: Cheetahs run fast.
  • Example: New families move into our neighborhood often.
• Singular verbs often end in 's'.

Verb Phrases and Agreement

• In a verb phrase (helping verbs + main verb), the first helping verb agrees with the subject.
  • Example: The motor is running.
  • Example: The motors are running.
  • Example: The girl has been delayed.
  • Example: The girls have been delayed.

Problems in Subject/Verb Agreement: Phrases Between Subject and Verb

• The number of a subject is not changed by a phrase following it.
  • Example: The hero of those tales is Coyote.
  • Example: The successful candidate, along with two of her aides, has entered the auditorium.
  • Example: Scientists from all over the world have gathered in Geneva.
• When the subject is a noun, prepositional phrases do not impact subject/verb agreement.
• Cross out the phrase between the subject and verb to simplify agreement.

Indefinite Pronouns and Agreement

• If the subject is the indefinite pronoun all, any, more, most, none, or some, its number may be determined by the object of a prepositional phrase that follows it.
  • Example: Most of the essays were graded. ("Most" refers to the plural word "essays.")
  • Example: Most of this essay is illegible. ("Most" refers to the singular word "essay.")

Singular Indefinite Pronouns

• The following indefinite pronouns are singular: anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, and something.
  • Example: Neither of the apples is ripe.

Plural Indefinite Pronouns

• The following indefinite pronouns are plural: both, few, many, several
  • Example: Few of our neighbors have pets.

Indefinite Pronouns: Singular or Plural

• The indefinite pronouns all, any, more, most, none, and some may be either singular or plural, depending on their meaning in a sentence.
  • Example: All of the fruit is ripe. (All is singular because it refers to the singular word fruit.)
  • Example: All of the pears are ripe. (All is plural because it refers to the plural word pears.)

Compound Subjects

• Subjects joined by and usually take a plural verb.
  • Example: Our dog and cat get baths each day.
• A compound subject that names only one person or thing takes a singular verb.
  • Example: A famous singer and dancer is going to speak at the banquet.

Compound Subjects with or or nor

• Singular subjects joined by or or nor take a singular verb.
  • Example: The chief geologist or her assistant is due to arrive.
• Plural subjects joined by or or nor take a plural verb.
  • Example: Either mice or squirrels are living in our attic.

Compound Subjects with Mixed Number

• When a singular subject and a plural subject are joined by or or nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearer the verb.
  • Example: A book or flowers usually make an appropriate gift. (The verb make agrees with the subject flowers which is nearer to it.)
  • Example: Flowers or a book usually makes an appropriate gift. (The verb makes agrees with the subject book which is nearer to it.)

Collective Nouns

• A collective noun may be either singular or plural, depending on its meaning in a sentence.
  • When the subject follows the verb, find the subject and make sure that the verb agrees with it.
    • Example: Where was the cat?
    • Example: Where were the cats?
• If the group acts as a unit, use a singular verb. If they act individually, use a plural verb.
  • Example: The fleet sails home tomorrow.
  • Example: The group.

Other Problems in Subject-Verb Agreement

• Some nouns that are plural in form take singular verbs.
  • Example: Electronics is a branch of physics.
• An expression of an amount (a measurement, a percentage, or a fraction, for example) may be singular or plural, depending on how it is used.
  • Example: Ten of the dollars were borrowed.
  • Example: Two of the hours were spent at the theater.
• If the amount is a total amount, use singular.

Titles and Names

• Even when plural in form, the title of a creative work (such as a book, song, film, or painting), the name of an organization, or the name of a country or city generally takes a singular verb.
  • Example: The Philippines is an island country.
• Don’t and doesn’t should agree in number with their subjects.
  • Example: I don’t understand.
  • Example: He doesn’t understand.

Agreement of Pronoun and Antecedent

• A pronoun should agree in number and gender with its antecedent.
  • Example: Carla said that she found her book.
  • Example: Each of the girls has her own ideas.
  • Example: Every one of the parents praised his or her child’s efforts that day.

Singular Pronoun Antecedents

• Use a singular pronoun to refer to anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, or something.
  • Example: Someone in the class left behind his or her pencil.

Plural Pronoun Antecedents

• Use a plural pronoun to refer to both, few, many, or several.
  • Example: Both of the sailors asked their captain for shore leave.
• These pronouns refer to groups.

Indefinite Pronouns: Singular or Plural (Pronoun Agreement)

• The indefinite pronouns all, any, more, most, none, and some may be singular or plural, depending on how they are used in a sentence.
• Look at the object of the preposition.