Subject Verb Agreement The Stupidity of English Grammar

Subject Verb Agreement

The Stupidity of English Grammar To make a noun plural, we add –s Singular: girl Plural: girls To make a verb plural, we take Singular: he talks Plural: they talk away the –s.

Tip for Subject/verb Agreement Generally, if the subject doesn’t end in –S, the verb will. If the subject does end in –S, the verb won’t.

Singular verbs must accompany singular subjects, and plural verbs must accompany plural subjects. SINGULAR: The man wears four ties. His favorite college is in Nebraska. Matt, along with his friends, goes to Coney Island. PLURAL: The men wear four ties each. His favorite colleges are in Nebraska. Matt and his friends go to Coney Island.

Spicing it up Put the subject at one end of the sentence and the verb a mile away. An audience of thousands of expectant people who have come from afar to listen to live music in an outdoor setting seem terrifying to a nervous performer. A. No Change B. Seems C. Have seemed D. to seem

To solve this problem, cross out the junk in the middle that separates the subject, “an audience, ” from the verb “seem. ” Remember that the subject of a sentence can never be part of a phrase that begins with “of. ” You’re left with: An audience seem terrifying to a nervous performer. Now you can see what the verb should be: An audience seems terrifying to a nervous performer.

Prepositional phrases The subject can never be part of a prepositional phrase. Example The students in my class study / studies hard.

Watch out for long prep. The feline leukemia virus, characterized by a loss of appetite, weight loss, poor coat condition, and other debilitating losses, are rampant among cats on the island. a. are rampant among cats on the island. b. are rampant in cats on the island. c. is rampant among cats on the island. d. is rampant in cats on the island.

C

The Court’s rulings on assisted suicide, which overturned two previous decisions by a United States Circuit Court, dictates that any health care officials involved can be held responsible. A. by a United States Circuit Court, dictates that any health care officials involved can b. by a United States Circuit Court, dictate that any health care officials involved can c. by a United States Circuit Court, dictates that any health care officials involved will

B

Phrases can be separated by dashes The tony award winning plays-Sunset Boulevard, Rent, The Lion King and The Producers- was performed by the local theater throughout the summer and autumn seasons. A. was performed by the local theater throughout B. is performed by the local theater throughout C. Were performed by the local theater throughout D. Are being performed by the local theater throughout

c

Short prep can disguise the subject The scent of apples and cinnamon sticks permeate throughout the cider mill, causing most visitors to purchase snacks while on the tour. A. sticks permeate throughout the cider mill, causing B. sticks permeates throughout the cider mill, causing C. stick permeate throughout the cider mill, causing D. sticks permeate throughout the cider mill, the cause of

b

The number of car accidents A. involving deer, up seventeen percent B from 10 years ago and continuing C. to rise throughout the country, D. have decreased. E. no erro. R

D

s/v agreement The number of Americans living in rural areas have decreased (A) to unprecedented levels, with (B)most farmers saying that their days (C)in the country are numbered. D) No Error. (E) -

1. A (number has decreased)

THE SUBJECT FOLLOWS THE VERB Usually the sent starts with there or here. There are many reasons for the tax increase. Here is the map. Invert the sentences Many reasons for the tax increase are there. The map is here.

Possible Pitfalls Sometimes, the subject will come after the verb, in questions or when sentence begins with there. Examples n Does Rose go to camp? n Behind the door was a prize. n Why are they falling asleep? n There is no excuse for such behavior. n There are no excuses for such behavior.

According to the press release issued last month, there is more than 100 million users on the social networking website, a statistic that doubled in just two years. A. no change B. there is more than 100 million users on the social networking website, a statistic that has grown by twice C. there are more than 100 million users on the social networking website, a statistic that doubled

C

“There Is” or “There Are”? Whether to use “there is” or “there are” depends on the singularity or plurality of the noun that the phrase is pointing out. If you have five grapes, you should say: “There are five grapes. ” If you have a cat, you should say: “There is a cat. ” The “is” and the

Compound Subjects Most compound subjects (subjects joined by “and”) should be plural: Kerry and Vanessa live in Nantucket. The blue bike and the red wagon need repairs.

Hemingway and his contemporaries, all of A. WHOM B. WERE authors born at the turn of the Century, C. WAS REVERED for describing the sense of aimlessness D. FELT by their generation. E. No ERROR

C

“Or” and “Nor” If one of the subjects is plural and the other is singular, the verb agrees with the subject closer to it. For example, Neither the van nor the buses were operating today. Either the dogs or the cat is responsible for the mess.

Once the flight landed, neither the flight attendants or the captain, who even tried using a hammer, were able to open the emergency exit door. A. or the captain, who even tried using a hammer, were B. or the captain, who even tried using a hammer, was C. nor the captain, who even tried using a hammer, were D. nor the captain, who even tried using a hammer, was

D

Each and Every If each and every are attached to a compound subject, the verb needs to be singular. Each child, adult, and teenager was wearing a seatbelt.

At the museum, each painting and sculpture, some purchased for millions of dollars and others found discarded at garage sales, have its history displayed on a board beside each piece. A. found discarded at garage sales, have its history displayed B. found discarded at garage sales, has their history displayed C. found discarded at garage sales, has its history displayed

C

Collective nouns (such as committee, family, group, number, and team) can be either singular or plural. The verb depends on whether the collective noun is being treated as a single unit or as divided individuals. For example: SINGULAR: The number of people living in Florida varies from year to year. PLURAL: A number of people living in Florida wish they had voted for Gore. SINGULAR: The committee decides on the annual program. PLURAL: The committee have disagreed on the annual program.

Total, majority, number The usually means singular A usually means plural especially iif of comes after

The committee meets in the conference room every Friday morning. The committee disagree on the budget plans. The band practices in Leon’s basement. The band practice their individual instruments.

Collective noun will be separate from verb The herd of wild horses living in Colorado A. WERE going to be B. REMOVED from the range until a federal court judge C. RULED that the plan D. WAS in violation of the Wild Horse Act. E. NO ERROR

A

Deceptive nouns that are singular Basis molasses Billards mumps Civics news Diabetes physics Linguistics rabies Measels series

Although many notices were sent home, the news of the child’s frequent suspensions were not successfully communicated to the parents. A. were not successfully B. was not successfully C. were not being successfully

B

Deceptive words that can be singular or plural Acoustics Athletics Dynamics Gymnastics Mathematics Politics

Acoustics- the branch of physics that (a) studies sound waves- (b)were used (c) to plan the office environment, as the proper placement of desks and insulating fabric (d) dictated the level of noise pollution. (e) no error

b

2. According to (A) a recent study, an increasing number of people in their 30’s choose (B) to remain single, a finding that (C), despite reports to the contrary (D), suggest (E) that fewer (F) people plan to have children. No Error. (G)

2. E (suggests)

Anyone over the age of 21 is eligible to vote in the United States. Each has its own patch of grass. :

Indefinite pronouns Singular: , anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, little, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, other, somebody, someone, something Plural: both, few, many, others, several Singular or Plural: all, any, more, most, none, some

Each of the fossils, some more A. THAN ten thousand years old and B, ADMIRED by archeologists around the globe, C. WERE destroyed D. BY the fire that engulfed the science laboratory. E. NO ERROR

C

Clause Clauses that begin with who, which, that depend on the antecedent. The student who sells the most fruit wins a trip to Disney World. The boxes which contain our dishes were packed last night.

s/v agreement in dependent clauses Because a hive of European honeybees produce much more honey than the bees can consume, beekeepers harvest the excess for human consumption. A. produce much more honey than B. produce much more honey then C. produces much more honey than

cproduce much more honey than

The correct answer is D. The subject (Help) is singular and therefore requires a singular verb (is, not are). The prepositional phrase (for improving test-taking skills and reading skills) is meant to trick you because it’s plural. It’s also long so that by the time you reach the verb, you’ve lost track of the subject, so be careful! It may help to actually bracket out (or cross out) all the stuff that comes between the subject and the verb to make it easier to check agreement. For example: Help [for improving testtaking skills and reading skills] are also available. Help for improving test-taking skills and reading skills are also available. The correct answer is A. There is no error in the sentence as it is written. It’s difficult to look for something that isn’t there (i. e. , an error), so eliminate the other answer choices one by one. Choice B changes were to was, or a plural verb to a singular verb. This is a good tip-off to check the subject. In this case, you have two subjects — the cruise (singular) and the sights (plural) — joined by nor. The subject closest to the verb determines whether the verb should be in singular or plural form. In this case, it must be plural. This same mistake is repeated in choices D and E, so you just have to check out choice C. Choice C changes we visited to we had been to visit which is unnecessarily wordy as well as passive. Choice A is best.