Subject Verb Agreement Remember that the subject and

* 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 - The elevators work very well 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

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) devastating. plural (v)

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) party. plural (v)

*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) beach. plural (v)

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.