SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT THE BASICS A SINGULAR SUBJECT

SUBJECT – VERB AGREEMENT

THE BASICS ®A SINGULAR SUBJECT NEEDS A SINGULAR VERB ® THE GIRL (SINGULAR SUBJECT) READS (SINGULAR VERB) MYSTERY STORIES. ® A PLURAL SUBJECT NEEDS A PLURAL VERB ® THE GIRLS (PLURAL SUBJECT) READ (PLURAL VERB) MYSTERY STORIES.

IF ONLY LIFE WERE THAT SIMPLE ® DON’T BE CONFUSED BY PLURAL WORDS THAT COME AFTER THE VERB ® MY BIGGEST PROBLEM (IS/ARE) THE MANY INCOMPLETE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS I NEED TO FINISH.

MORE ISSUES ® DON’T BE CONFUSED BY PLURAL WORDS THAT COME BETWEEN A SINGULAR SUBJECT AND THE VERB ® THE TOPIC OF THESE FOUR BOOKS (IS/ARE) HORSES. ® EACH OF THE BIKES (HAS/HAVE) NEW TIRES.

MORE ISSUES ® DON’T BE CONFUSED BY SUBJECTS THAT COME AT THE END OF THE SENTENCE. ® STANDING AT THE BACK OF THE ROOM (WAS/WERE) MY PARENTS. ® AT THE END OF MOST OF OUR TEAM’S GAMES (COME/COMES) VICTORY’S SWEETNESS.

MORE ISSUES ® DON’T BE CONFUSED BY PHRASES SUCH AS “ALONG WITH”, “TOGETHER WITH”, “ACCOMPANIED BY”, “AS WELL AS”, “INCLUDING”, AND “IN ADDITION TO” ® TENITA, AS WELL AS MIKE, (PLAY/PLAYS) BASKETBALL WELL.

MORE ISSUES ® DON’T BE CONFUSED BY A “NOT” PHRASE. ® I, NOT YOU, (AM/ARE) LATE.

MORE ISSUES ® DON’T BE CONFUSED BY COLLECTIVE NOUNS ® FAMILY, ORCHESTRA, GROUP, COMMITTEE, JURY, CROWD, HERD, AUDIENCE, PAIR, SQUAD ® WHETHER THE NOUN IS PLURAL OR SINGULAR DEPENDS ON WHETHER THE SENTENCE REFERS TO THE INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OR THE GROUP AS A WHOLE.

MORE ISSUES ® DON’T BE CONFUSED BY NOUNS OF AMOUNT ® THESE ARE LIKE COLLECTIVE NOUNS – ARE THEY INDIVIDUAL OR THE WHOLE ® FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS IS A LOT OF MONEY. ® WE HAVE A PROBLEM: FIVE HUNDREDDOLLAR BILLS ARE MISSING.

MORE ISSUES ® DON’T BE CONFUSED BY INDEFINITE PRONOUNS. ® “I” AND “YOU” REFER TO SPECIFIC PEOPLE. SOME OTHER PRONOUNS POINT TO NON-SPECIFIC PEOPLE— SOMEONE, ANYONE, NOBODY, ANYBODY (INDEFINITE PRONOUNS)

MORE ISSUES ® PRONOUNS BEGINNING WITH “ANY”, “NO”, “EVERY”, AND “SOME” ARE ALWAYS SINGULAR. ® EVERYBODY IS COMING. ® “EACH”, “ANOTHER”, “EITHER”, “NEITHER”, “LITTLE”, “MUCH” ARE ALWAYS SINGULAR. ® LITTLE IS HAPPENING BECAUSE NEITHER OF MY FRIENDS IS HERE.

MORE ISSUES ® “BOTH”, “SEVERAL”, “FEW”, “MANY”, “MOST”, “OTHERS” ARE PLURAL ® “ANY”, “MORE”, “SOME”, “ENOUGH”, “ALL”, “MOST”, “WHO”, “HALF”, “NONE” ARE EITHER SINGULAR OR PLURAL.

EITHER/OR NEITHER/NOR ® THESE DEPEND UPON THE REST OF THE SENTENCE FOR DETERMINATION. ® IF BOTH PARTS ARE SINGULAR – USE A SINGULAR VERB (EITHER RYAN OR WESLEY IS HERE. ) ® IF BOTH PARTS ARE PLURAL- USE A PLURAL VERB (NEITHER THE BOYS NOR THE GIRLS ARE HERE. )

EITHER AND NEITHER ® IF ONE PART IS SINGULAR AND ONE IS PLURAL TAKE THE NOUN CLOSEST TO THE VERB AND MAKE THE VERB AGREE. ® NEITHER THE BOYS NOR THEIR MOTHER (IS/ARE) HERE. ® NEITHER THE MOTHER NOR HER SONS (IS/ARE) HERE.

MORE ISSUES ® DON’T BE CONFUSED BY NOUN PHRASES REFERRING TO A SINGLE UNIT. ® SINGULAR PHRASE = SINGULAR VERB ® SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS (IS/ARE) MY FAVORITE DINNER.

MORE ISSUES ® DON’T BE CONFUSED BY NOUNS THAT LOOK PLURAL BUT ARE ACTUALLY SINGULAR. ® THE NEWS (IS/ARE) BAD. ® MEASLES (IS/ARE) CONTAGIOUS. ® MATHEMATICS (IS/ARE) MY EASIEST CLASS.

MORE ISSUES ® DON’T BE CONFUSED BY SOME “-ICS” NOUNS THAT CAN BE EITHER SINGULAR OR PLURAL. ® POLITICS (IS/ARE) AN INTERESTING CAREER. ® THE POLITICS IN THE PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN (WAS/WERE) MIGHTY DIRTY.

MORE ISSUES ® DON’T BE CONFUSED BY THE PLURAL FORMS OF FOREIGN WORDS. ® THE DATA (SHOW/SHOWS) THAT BOYS WATCH MORE SPORTS ON TV THAN GIRLS WATCH. ® DATUM IS SINGULAR – DATA IS PLURAL

MORE ISSUES ® DON’T BE CONFUSED BY MATHEMATICAL PHRASES. ® ONE AND ONE (IS/ARE) TWO. ® FIVE TIMES SIX (IS/ARE) THIRTY.