Subject - Verb Agreement in English Grammar | Definitions and examples | Easy English Grammar (Part - 2)

9. When two subjects are joined together by “ and ” but the two subjects refer to only one person or thing , a singular verb should be used .

Example :

Our principal and mathematics teacher knows me .

In the above sentence , Our principal and mathematics teacher is not two different people but , our principal is also our mathematics teacher , hence the subject is our principal , and it is a singular noun , hence , singular verb .

Now consider this example –

Our principal and the mathematics teacher .

This is quite different from the first sentence because Our principal and the mathematics teacher are two different subjects because of the use of “ the ” Mathematics teacher .

Hence , in this second sentence , you use a plural verb .

10. When amount or, unit is mentioned in a statement , units such as five thousand , three hundred , percent , twenty meters , five times , and so on . The next verb must be singular .

Example :

(i) Two pounds of flour is (not are) too few to bake a cake .

(ii) Ten percent of my earnings goes (not go) to my wife .

11. When mathematical facts such as subtraction , multiplication , addition , division , and so on , are used , the verb will be any of singular and plural , that is , a singular or plural verb can be used when mathematical facts are used .

Example :

(i) Ten plus ten is / are ( are and is are both correct) twenty .

(ii) Ten multiplied by two is / are twenty .

Both singular and plural are correct .

 

12. (a) Every + plural : When every precedes a plural , the next verb is plural .

Example :  Every ten liters of oil bought come (not comes) with a bonus of an extra liter .

But when “every” appears without any plural number, the verb is singular.

Example :  Every man (not men) likes cricket .

 

(b) When “ and ” joins two or more subjects with every or each , the verb should be singular .

Example :

(i) Every man and woman speaks ( not speak) good English here .

(ii) Every student and teacher comes ( not come) to school early .

(c) When “ most ” is used , the verb will either be singular or plural , depending on whether the referent is a countable or uncountable noun .

Example :

(i) Most of the boys (countable noun) are tall .

(ii) Most of the time (uncountable noun) , John has (not have) always been there for her .

(d) When “ much ” is used in a statement , the verb to be used must be singular .

Example :

Much of the water has (not have) been spilled .

(e)  When “ all ” appears , it means either everything or all the people .

When all means everything , the verb to be used should be Singular but when all means all the people , the verb to be used should be plural .

Example :

(i) All are already seated in the hall .

In the above sentence , “All” means all the people are already seated in the hall hence a plural verb .

But ,

(ii) All is well with me .

In the above sentence , “All” means everything is well with me hence a singular verb.

(f) When “ all but ” is used, the following verb should be plural

Example :

All but John are (not is) on the bus . That means , only John is absent .

13. Either or neither :

When either or neither joins two singular nouns together , the following verb should be singular .

Example :

(i) Either John or Jackson knows (not know) me.

(ii) Neither Mary nor her friend was (not were) here.

But , when either or neither joins two subjects (one singular and the other plural), the verb should be chosen by considering the nearer of the two subjects .

Example : Either James or his friends know me .

You can see that the word “ friends ” is nearer to the verb gap than it is near James .

 

# # These rules also apply , when “but or but even” joins two subjects .

Example :

(i) Not only Sola but even teachers laugh in school .

(ii) Not Lawrence but James speaks good English .

You can see that the word James is nearer to the verb gap than it is near Lawrence, hence, you use singular verb .

 

14. Each and one of :

When “ each ” appears , a singular noun + a singular verb will be chosen .

Example :

Each boy (not boys) has a car .

But , when “ each of or one of  ” appears , the next noun should be plural but the next verb should be singular .

Example :

Each of the candidates (not candidate) stands (not stand) a good chance to win a scholarship .

15. (a) When a negative sentence is written, the ‘do’ verb is used and it has to match the subject.

Example :

(i) The children do not like working out trigonometry problems .

(ii) My father does not work at the bank anymore .

(b) Interrogative sentences take the help of the ‘ do ’ verb . As far as the subject-verb agreement of interrogative sentences is concerned , the first verb (‘be’ verb or ‘do’ verb) has to be aligned with the subject of the sentence .

Example :

(i) Do you read romantic novels ?

(ii) Doesn’t he know you already ?

(iii) Is Rap happy with the new phone ?

(iv) Were you looking for me ?

(v) Has Sara submitted her final project yet ?

Subject - Verb Agreement in English Grammar | Definitions and examples | Easy English Grammar (Part - 1)

Subject-verb agreement is a grammatical concept that refers to the correspondence between the subject and the verb in a sentence . In English, the subject and the verb must agree in number , person , and tense . This means that if the subject is singular , the verb should be singular, and if the subject is plural, the verb should be plural .

1. (a) Singular subject with a singular verb :

When the subject of a sentence is singular, the verb should also be singular .

Example : The dog barks at the postmaster .

In this sentence , "dog" is the singular subject, and "barks" is the singular verb that agrees with the subject .

(b) Plural subject with a plural verb :

When the subject of a sentence is plural, the verb should also be plural .

Example : The dogs bark at the postmaster .

In this sentence , "dogs" is the plural subject, and "bark" is the plural verb that agrees with the subject .

More examples :

(i) Swati spends her free time listening to music . (Singular subject with singular verb)

(ii) Krishna and Balram play the piano . (Plural subject with plural verb)

(iii) Radhe likes to have a dessert after every meal . (Third person singular noun with singular subject)

Note : The subject can be a noun, a pronoun or even a noun phrase . If it is a pronoun , the subject-verb agreement is done with reference to the person of the pronoun .

 

2. (a) When everybody or everyone is used, the object must be singular, not plural .

Example : Everybody knows his or her name ( " Everybody knows their name "  is wrong )

(b) When prayer , suggestion ,  wish , demand , recommendation , or resolution is used in a sentence, the verb that follows must be plural , whether the subject is singular or plural .

Example :

(i) It has been suggested that he go ( not goes ) away .

(ii) The board has recommend that the manager resign ( not resigns ) .

(iii) I pray that God help me on my upcoming examination, ( not God helps ) .

(c) When " many – a " is used , the verb and the noun that follows must be singular .

Example :

(i) Many a candidate (not candidates) speaks ( not speak) bad English expressions .

(ii) Many a girl (not girls) is (not are) here .

The actual meaning of statements (i) and (ii) are many candidates and many girls .

3. Collective nouns :

(a) Collective nouns refer to groups of people , animals , or things as a single entity .

e.g. (i) An audience which means people who watch programs .

(ii) The congregation, which means worshipers .

(iii) Clergy which means religion officers .

(iv) A club, which means the association of members .

When a collective noun is used as the subject of a sentence , the verb can be singular or plural , depending on the context .

Example : The team is playing well . (singular verb)

In this sentence , "team" is a collective noun that refers to a group of individuals as a single entity . The singular verb "is" agrees with the singular noun "team" .

Example : The team are arguing among themselves . (plural verb)

In this sentence , "team" is still a collective noun, but the verb "are" is used because the individuals within the team are acting separately .

(b) When a collective name , denoting category (not a collective noun) is used , the verb to be used must be plural .

Categories like : the poor , the rich , the wealthy , the successful , the gifted , the weak , the young in spirit , the handicapped , the helpless , etc. The verb to be used should be plural .

Example :

(i) The poor need help ( not helps or needs ) from the government .

(ii) The young are ( not is ) disobedient .

(iii) The weak are ( not is ) left to their fates .

4. Parenthesis : The parenthesis statement is an additional statement to what has already been said before .

Note : A parenthetical statement should not be considered in choosing the verb that will follow .

Example :

(i) The teacher , not his students is in the class .

The correct answer is, ‘ is ’  because  ‘ not his students ’ is just parenthesis , and parenthesis has nothing to do with choosing the verb .

(ii) The manager, not many of his workers , is ( not are ) here now . ‘ not many of his workers ’ is just a parenthesis , therefore, the parenthesis should be ignored .

The manager is a singular noun , hence a singular verb .

5. When ‘ more than ’ is used , the word or number that comes after more than will determine the next verb .

Example :

(i) More than two apples are ( not is) here .

(ii) More than one mangoes is (not are) here .

In the first statement , the answer is “ are ” not is because two attracts are but in the second statement , the correct option is , “ is ” not are because one attracts is .

6. Indefinite pronouns :

When any of the following words are used, you should use a Singular verb –

“ Everybody , everything , everyone , everywhere , no one , nothing , nobody , nowhere , something , someone , somebody , anyone , anything , anybody, anywhere and each ” the next verb must be singular .

Example :

(i) Nothing goes ( not go) .

(ii) Everybody likes (not like) him .

(iii) Everybody thinks (not think) she stole the money .

(iv) Each of the students has ( not have ) a different opinion .

7. Relative nouns :

When who, whose, which and that refers to a previously mentioned noun or pronoun, such noun is a Relative noun .

Example :

One of the farmers who plant (not plants) on the farm has (not have) been asked to withdraw .

8. Uncountable nouns :

(A) Countable nouns are nouns that can be quantified in units and numbers , that is , are nouns that can be counted .

e.g. chairs , tables , phones , stars , etc.

(B) Uncountable nouns are nouns that cannot be quantified in units and numbers.

e.g. water, information, equipment , etc.

Note : all uncountable nouns will avoid “s” at the back .

It is wrong to use any of these words given below –

Informations , clothes , equipments , furnitures , machineries , datas , advices , evidences , wealths , etc.

Instead, you say a piece of , information , evidence , data , cloth , equipment , advice , etc

It is wrong to say machineries instead , you say a machine or two machines .

# # Other examples of nouns that attract plural verbs are –

(i) The police work hard (not works) , but , that policeman (not policemen) works (not work) hard .

Police and policemen are collective nouns that is why they attract a plural verb .

But policeman is not collective noun but a singular noun , hence a singular verb

(ii) The headquarters look (not looks) palatial .

(iii) Cattle give (not gives) bad odo , and a cow gives bad odor.

(iv) Aircraft make (not makes) traveling easier but , that chopper , airbus , or airplane makes traveling easier .