Bi,eht between subject and verb (1)

lf a sentence has a singular subiect it is followed by a singular verb, and if it has a pllral subject it is follclved by a plural verb; thirt rs, rhe verb agrees u,ith the subjecr. Compare:

Exr:rcise s
4(j.1 ll,i1t)j!tii lirr' sqiri,:rrlr'l ivtllt lr;r;l;. {A it ii)
1 Keeping large animals
ars

l..lir;t 4G
:r

rrnqirl:lr

lr l;ltiilti lorrtr ,ri tii, vrrir ii: house

i;tltt i<r'li. i.J5i l)r(.'\'rli

'''

she liue s

i'

pets in a small

. cruel. (re)
that she rvas

china. and

rwhen the subject of the sentencc is complcx thc follorving verb musr agrce u,ith thc main noun in the subject ln the examplcs below rhe subject is underiinecl and the main noun is circleci. Notice how the verb, in italics, agrees with the main noun: r ; Many leadi ng=rqrr bEi!:lrllhq_qppdliatl_party h a u e c r it tcised the de la y. i ; The only he gave for his actions was that he was tired.

'

More people liue in Asia than in any othcr continenr.

2 An

investigation oi the circumstartces surrouuding her death

murdered. (srggest)

3
4 5

What afirazes

rne

hrs

abilin' to hit the ball so hard. (&e)

The main reasons ior his lack oi

progress

..

to be his poor rnotivation and

iLtie'rthat

The verb must agree with the subject when the subject follows the verb (see iinit, r)r) it i{i{i): Lr Among the people invitecl rzs the mayor. (compdre The mayor ras among...) r; Displaved on the board u'ere rhe exarn results. (com[)dre The exanr restks uere drsplaved...)

inability to concentrate. ("tp pear) The cost of housing in the southern parts of the country
the last year. (baae)

..

risen dram:rticalh' in
nd

6 That
\se etfl

he was the best of the man,v talented golters of his generatir,n

)

isputable

If the snbjecr is a clause, we usualll' use ir singular verb; tr To keep these young people in prison rs- inhuman.

..

Having overall respo.sibilit!, for the course mednsthat I have a lot of meetinss. Whoever took rhern rentaitrs t nllsterv. That Rangers won both matches u/as a gre^t achievement.

ro be truilt nerr ro Grove Farm. 1bc1 7 The village's first nerv houses for 20 ,vears g Among the nany valuable paintings in the gallery ..... a self-portrait by Picasso. (be) 9 What I particularlv enio,v about the fi1m................ . .... the scenes in Australia. (be/

However, if we use a what-clause as subject (see l.init gSli), we use a si'gular verb if the following main noun is singr.:lar, and eirher a singular or a plural verb if the following marn n.un is pl,ral (although a plural verb is preferred in more f.rmal conrexts): lt What worries us ls the poor selectjon process. :t rWhat is needed are additional resources. (or ntctre colktquially...needed rs...) some nouns with a singular form. referring ro liroups of some kind, can be used with either singular or plural form of the verb: r The council has (<tr bat'e) postponed a decision on the new road.
'!7e
a

4i1.2 iirrtli)i.'i( il)f si.liiot(,s vritit orti r;i lhL irtiiowirtq rtcutts ltutl;lrl;tJrl)ruirl;ilii'it:rttl rti lllt vr'rll ;;r i;r;iir'rr'i: ii :, sirrqL;l:;r aittl ltlirr:il vtrlt fttitti lrt'ltllssiblt', rlivt irolh lf)

audience class press team I The ...l,t,r.tl.:...... 2 If the .......

be able to hold

crew
rhe United

it.y Nations
university

orchestra

j'iu.r'j,1:li!l)liii......

its first match of the season at its home ground. (p/a1') to host the conference, I just don't know where we u'ill for tomorrow's cup
.... . classical

it. (relzse)

.l

The world-wide television

final

.....

expected

to be 200 million.
The

(De)

use a singular verb if the focus is or the institurion or organisation as a whole unit, and a plural verb if the focus is on a collection of individuals. Oftcn you can use eirher with very little difference in rneaning, although in formal contexts (such as academic writir.rg) it is more common to use a singular verb. other words like this, sometimes ca|Ied utllectiue nouns, include army, association, audience, class, club, college, committee, community, company, crew, crowd, department, electorate, enemy, family, generation, govrnmenr, group, lury, opposition, orchestra, popularion, press, public, school, team, university, and the names of specificorganisarions such as the Bank of England, the BBC, IBM, sony, the United Nations. In some conrexts a plural form of the verb is needed. We would say: ! The committee usually raise their hands to vote'Yes'. \notTI're commiftee usually rarses its hands...) as this is something that the individuals do, not the committee as a whole. In others, a singular form is preferred. We would sal,: n The school is to close next year. (notTlte school are to close...) as we are talking about something which happens to the school as a building 6r instirution, nor to the individuals in the school.

concerts throughout rhe year lperfr:rm\

.................. three adults and three The W!1te rnan's Juntor Book Prize . . . . .. children. (,include) all passed the end-oflyear exan. (baue) 6 The ............ ............. a picture of chaos in our schools, but it's iust not like that / l ne .. .....

'tt all. \presentl

t]

. ........... . . . .... .......

...

ordered an investigation of the capture of ntembers of its

peace-keeping {orce in eastern Aftica. lbaue)

,'ii).:l ilofri{,i ilty ntislilki5 irr f}rrsl srnfcrrccs oi write,/ i{ lirey;l-t.';:lrt';rrlrl toricci. (A-[]) 1 The United Stares come top of the list of countries ranked bv economic performance.
The people I know who have seen the film say that it's really good. .3 A report in the Sntdav Tines detail the crimes of a 14-year-old boy in Southcastle. 4 Northern Lights are one of Suzanne's favourite books. 5 The stairs leading to the first floor were steep and poorly lit 6 Chequers is the countrv house of the British Prinre Minister. 7 Whoever made all the mess in rhe kitchen have to clear it up. tl The phrase 'men in white coats' are used to talk about psychiatrists. 9 The public necds to be kept informed about progress in the peace talks. 10 Musical chairs are x part,v game where everyone dashes for a seat when the music stops.

when names a'd titles ending in -s refcr to a single unit we use a si'gurar verb. F.ixamples include countries; newspapers; titles of books, filnrs, etc.; irnd qu.ted prurll words ., plrr"."r, i i At this tirne of the year the Natherlands is <;ne irour ahead of the UK. t.t The L<ts Angeles Times lists Derek Joncs as the fifth richest nra' i, rhc world. r, The Machine Gunners was onc of Robert \flestall,s nlosr succcssful books. r:t 'Daps'is the word used in the sourlr west of the country fur sr)()r15 sh()es.
BO
Grammar revicw

flt -iJ:l

81

lii-lii";9.,ii:,

[Jnlr 41

Agreement between subject and verb (2)

of, cach of' cither of. ncithcr of. or nonc of tltcl r plurill noun/prt>tloun we carl usc r sittyuhr o pltttLtlverir' [-lou'cvel' wc lrc ll)()rr lil<cl\' l() llse r sirlg,itl.lr r crb in (ilr( Jill \\ ritr, rl F.rtqlrtlr.
'\Xrirh irny

I ckrn't tlrinli an,v of rhcnr A'otl's {()r u,lrcrc thc nrotlcv is hiddcn' Neither of thc f]rencll rrthlctes bls (or Lrlt'c) rvotr rhis Ycar.

ii): i ii|lr t.,'l r:' ,, r,r,ri:1 i, i l;,;(;',i ;irl .;;)::r(i;ilirli t;|1,1t it ill|;tir- iltrit {iJ ;rttil : Vrrlr lrrittt iiil. !l., rir' t;','.i,,1 :jri,,, ii;: 11,. , ,r) ,, ,.,\\ ir . IrJioi)i'riri(. li lr,r{11 ri1,',11;1, ;ilil j;!il:ri
(i)

ll,rtt')

] his

tl1.{nest

carl.v paintings acquaintanccs

-,'.;, the food

.i

I
l

(ii) [------] Know

remarn

l:=:*:-1"":,1

Vr'itlr a/thc rrajoritv of, a numllcr of. a lot of, plcnty oi, all iof), or somc (of) irtttl r plural noun/pronoun !\'c use ri pilrr'll r'erb' But ii u'c ser the trunlber of. 'le itsc rr

A nunthcr,,f tllLtg,us /t.tti l'<crt ttrrtt'cl back at thc bordcr. 'Ihe numbcr of books irr thc librar,v }'r's risen fo ove'r Fve million.
Onc of tlrc ,,,nrnn. I took the iob ttar-s rlr.rr I eortlrl tvork trrlnl honlc. I lc's onc of thosc teilchers u'ho ltislstl irsi-{t-s ()1) pupils sitring siientlv in clrrss'

lr
b

I'd be surpriscd if any oi ....i.r:l ...:.':,.:.:.1-.i.:..:. It's unlikely thrt rny of .......... lvork he prociucccl cluring rhc I 930s. I don't think rrnv of .... .. .. ...

1.1.1'.:1 1:

r.:r;.1..:...1.:..i.ill..i.il-iti:ll:.r

m,v birthdaV.

- Ir sccrns that hc destroyed rrost of rhe

..........

particullrly

gooc1.

In iact, the restarur:rnt

is

\rn{tll,lr !crlr.
Aftcr clnc of ,ttltl ,l pltrral nourr/pron('lM \\jc Llsc ir -!//l3lr/!//- r'crll. I iorverc[ ,lftct ttnc of
+ plural noun/pfolloun + q'ho rvc c'trt oftcrt ure tithcr I sing,ulrrt'or pltrr'll Vcrb'

rathrr disappointineAn investigatiou is undcrrvey' ro dt5eovcL uhcthcr eur ,ri

he is.

where

(i)
l
L

otncr museurlrs
victims

vegctanans

-1 tiil

chargc

exceed

expecr

relieve

medicincs

r pluml rcrh i: troru gr,ttrttrtatic'tl' lf ith anr of, none of, the nrajoritv of, a lot
llthil"Sh
of, plent-v of, all (of), sonre {of) rtllcl rlrr uncountable noun \vo usc rr -slli{lt/,lr Vcrb

Ail rlru lrrrtttr'rr,

daySetl.

,r'.,4 .1.511.rcd irt the

iilc'

I b

Mairl,v because of the reccrrt hc'alth scrres involving becf and chicken, the nunhcr of

Norre of rhc ccluiptllctlt .tpp?trs rc bt

With evcr,v or cach rltd

rr

singular noun
ttsc il

or co-ordinatetl noutl (r alltl r') rvc

sittgul.tr vcrb. {For caclr of' st'e rrbovc') 'With evcryone, cvcrybody, evervthing (anel simil:rr rvorcls bcginrrirrg an.v, solnc ilnd no') \\'c Ll\( .t -.ill.1lt/.lr r crlt-

Every ro<;ttt /ortA-. lrvcr the ilarbottr' Every bov rnd girl i.rlcs prrt itl thc i]ctivitv' Each child b.ls drlrvn a picture' btrl

t() rise clrilrnlticilllv rn rhe ncrt five years. You can still go into the Nrtiorrll i\,luseLurr for frcc. irlrlroueh a nunrller of . .. ... .. peoplc for entry. tire clpitel. c ,A. nurnber of . . flre symptonrs of influcnzl, bur none can cure it. d It is cstimatccl thrt the nnnrbe r of ... .. .. of the floocling a hundred thousirrrd, ancl tLrrrher tielths rrrc anticipatccl

I lr. .lril.lr.
t

rr

L,rrt cach ,lr,trrn

th

rt

picrurr'
Phrl

(i)

l'rr. r..tllr cvcr) one tbrrils

shoultl bc given thc jotr.

rr

playcr
a b

the these factors

cars

thc pieccs __l

-l

""

influencc last test

try

'When

use a plutal verb: a sr-rbject hrs two or more items loinecl by irnd' we usually

to Australtil' Jean and David are moving btrck think of them b,v and can also be follorved trv sinliular verbs if we Ho*,ever, phrases connectetl

tt

The u'hoie conecrt includes 20 short irenrs ['om vr>ung nrusicians. Each of ....... .lbrrur i mirrrtte >. There are tbtLr rrirjor infhicnces tn cxchangc rates: price levels, tariffs, preference tor: irnported eoocls, ;rnd procluctivitl'. Here we investigatc how each of
..tlte cxchenEie rrttc
F-ach ... ro buy as many propcrties on the board as possible. Each oi ........ ior sirfcty, fuel ecor)orny and reliability.

c Thc rrinr of drc grrnre is cluite sirlple.

as

making up a single item; l] Meat pie and peas ls Tonl's frvourite at thc noment' (sr " are ") t The lorry, its cargo and passengers reelg|s lround 3'5 tonnes' (or "'weigh"')
41 .1

Whenasubjecrismatleupoftwot>rmoreitentsioinedbv(either)...or...or(neither)...nor... plural verb is sometimes used in we use a singular verb if the last item is singulirr (although a informal English), anc{ a plural verb if the last item is plural: English) .. Eitheithe station or the cinema ls a good place to meet. \or ...are-.. in informal The Presidcnt or his reprcsentatives Jr('to rttcnd tlte nreeting' or plural verb: If the l;rst item is singrrlar onj pr.uiuu' item plural, we call use a singular

t]Eithertheteachersortheprincipaljstoblarneforthe,rccident.(tlr,.'lretoblame...)
irncl uncountable ln there + be/have (see t inil :)i ) we tlse a singulirr ve rb fornl with singul:rr nouns However, in inforrrrl speech rvc often use a nouns and a plural form with plural plural nouns: shortenecl singular form of be or have (= Therct) with ''l Over the last few years thete hdue been lnany improvements in e rr srFutl' - There\ been lots oi good films on latell" (ol There'rc bcen" )

We often do the sa:nc rvith how/hcre/where + bc/have: tt Hows your nlLrrr and datl tlrcse tlays? lorHow

are"

(it,rir;,iti, ii^,.i'itiLi;rr',i;;iiii)r(,,1i:tii:l:)lr,jriltr:r;iiiri.vr'rlr,rtitr:tckcl:.lfl'rulhlrsilt;tti,ir :tlli t;ilrr:ij ir,r:r; .;ii' jtri-...rlric, 1i,vr llrlltr it;rtit {,/i -i)} 1 Plcnty of !.uropean lootbirll ciubs ........... interestecl in signing Nilse n frorn Rowham City, but the Rot'hrrrr milnager has said thet no one rt the ch:b Nilsen ro leave. lhel tttrnt) 2 Thc majoritl of thosL'Lluestioned that thc government's economic polices have failed, although neither the Prirnc.\4inistcr nor thr. Ilducation Minister............ irrdicated that tlrcse policics rvill change. (thinkl has) I "lt's rlrc {ir:st tinc rhrrt either of Lrs been to China, but everyone lvc'ye ffret here ...... ... lrcen verv wclcoming enrl helpful." (hat,el hatre) 4 Professor Smith end l)r Petcrs tlrrt the wreck of dre ship irnd its cargc: a rJrtrrgcr to local ircoplc iishing ncar thc island. (cLtiml constitttte) "Olr, co,,J. \.lr\,ut( \ .rrr.l ilripr .............. nry flvouritc." "Sorry, all the sausages .... !a()tlc, l)tlt thcrc . . . plenty of chips left if you want some." lbcl l:dsl bet

?)

83

I ' ,':r;'--filrfi,r
i:_

i'fr5{"15
i.ijilii.iil!:tf il:1:iI tilili,;iifti,ti,i,il]... i,r,-i)j

Agreement between subject and verb

(3)

liillr 42

irrirr\( ,iittl irii(!iili-!

belongings, clothes, Some nouns are rrsually plurirt ancl rrrke r plural vcrb. Thesc incluclc (= iniornrerioll)' prenrises congratulations, carnings, goods, outskirts, ovcrheads, particulars can be used (= builcting), richcs, savings, stairs, surroundings, thanks' The noutr whcreabouts r.crb. J'he n0uns policc and people alwa)'s take,r plural verb, with either a singular 0r a plural rnd the noun staff usuailY does: r The cornpany's earnings btu'e intredsed for thc last ttve years' , Police belieue that l horras is in Rrazil, rlthough his exact whereabouts drclls unknown' I Staff sa1 tlrar thc new comprter svstcm has Iecl to grcater levcls oi stfcss in their w()rk' lve use them as thc sublcct Some noulrs always end in -s and look as if rhey irre plural' but wlrerl they have il singular verb; I Thc news from tlre Micidlc Eest ssetl7-s very encouraginu' disciplines, c''g' Other lvords like this include means (= 'nrcthod'or'nroncy'); sonte acaclenlic phonetics. physics, politics, statistics; sonre sports' e'g' economics, linguistics, mathematics, Iiowever' compare: athletics, gymnastics; and some cliseirses, e.g. diabetes, measles, rabies'

I Dr Jones's whcrcill)ours har been kept r closcll, guarded secret by his fantil1,. 2 Bill (llinton's poiirics tyar inspired b,vjohn Kennedv. -l Plrenoncnir such irs sun spors.balg puzzled scientists for cenrurres. 4 Some .10 pcr cent of the rlilk clrunk in rhe counrry are ir.nported. i rWhen rhe solJicrr gor lost in tlrr jLrnqlc. thcil orrl1. rncJn\ t)i rrrn ir rl \'glg t,r e.rt 6 Over the lasr decarde the companyt overheacls !35 increased dramaticalll,. 7 The researcir dara y45 collected during rhe period 12,1,_29.l Julv 2002. 8 You don'l neecl much sugar for this pudcling; ten grams 41g enough. 9 Modern Lnguistics often said to have begun at the starr of the 2Otl cenrurr. '' 1 0 Congratulations gecs to Richard Branch for his excellent exam results. I I 'I'he coastal surroundings of the village !l particularly aftracrrve.
Dur rwo years see's rdrculously long. l5 Measles hatrs killed a large number of children in the Nagola region. t6 Further pirrticulars about rhe house a:q available fronr rhe owner 17 Aroirnd 90 per cent of the concerr audience 1yqs over 60 years old. l8 Tcn krlonterers JL9 a l,'n* \vr\ tu r1n il rus'1. r., 6,. 19 If athlerics 4ry neglcctecl in schools, this will have a big impacr ()n iurLlre narional

lrcrrrcs.

12 Norvadal's politics secat to be nrore about saving monev rhan changing socjen for the betrer.

l-l He fcels that the rledia have criricisecl hirn unfairly. l4 I know people often havc t. rvait for hospiral trcatment,

J.'.tJ(niL' subjL'(t Polrritr is l(,Prr] lr .ll {lri. Lrr,i\( r\ilt.

gttrtrtl

use

I{er politics !trc l)or.lcring, on tirc trscrst'

1- p,,lirii:rl I'clrct, Statistics ./re nblc to Lrro\ic irtrlthtng' r'ott u,,trta thettt t()- 1= nunlericil itllormrrtitltl)
I lrc ccon,,tnies l'<ltrrr.l tltrir i'oliric' tti unrcasonrrblc. (= thc finarlciirl slsreln)

i I sr",l*;a,,,,,,.

"l*"",

ttlv !vorst sithlct

lilconomics L.ls rtttly rtcctrtiv bccn

20 People qy5 the house is haunted. 2l Recert srirrisrics proi-dc firm evidence of a rapid increase in livi'g standards in Asia. 22 About 60 per cent of the people questioncd wants cars fo be b.rnned frorn thc town cenrre_
4.)

reanrs.

*.,rgnir"d rs

r scicntifi.

studl'.

(lvith singular Although thc worcls data ant{ media (= newspapel' telcvision, etc') are plural medium), t6ey are c.mmo'ly ,sed with a singular verb' Howcver' in formal for,', Jatum and other similar plurals contexts such as acadcntrc writing a plural vcrb is preferred. Notice rhat and phenomenon) are alrvaYs ars criteria ancl phenomcna (with singular fornls criterion such
used

{,illi)illl'iiltl't irit;rcis irttttt tttv,rs0itltrtr:rilri:lis wiiit lr rirttlLrilit or lrlllri irirnr 1i titr.v(.rl)\ irilrr rt'l', ii ()1ll1l sirl{lllli)r lritti lllur;,1{ l0rnrs irrt llilssil;lr:, qivr llrrrrr llolir. i/i- ll; :risri lJrrit 40j

tii

i All ;he data js rvtrilable for public inspectiot.t' (tr "'ara available"')arrJ r I agree thar the criteria are not of cqual irnportancc. (/rot ...the criterir is not...)
prefer a singular verb a phrase ref-erring ro a measurcment, amount or quirntity we usually metres septtrtttes the ntnncrs in first anci secotld placcs lratber than l: Only three

with plural verbs. ComParc:

(/:are) benefited from the new out_of rorvn shopping recently been built. Ort rrerlge.2i lirrer rrl wrter.. (bc) used each day b1, each household and ir is anticipated thar as the population .... (expect) higher living srandards, rhis 6gure

The outskirts oi our cities

(lillz)

-i It has been found

pri ces.

rh:rr some .i0 per cenr of the office space in London \t)e l presentl,y empry and the Department Of Emplol,ment (blanel high properr\

with

...separate...) The fifty pounds he gLlve me 7/4s sooll spent' \rdther than "'were"'J phrase (e g' a ancl a singular verb must be used when the conrplement is a singular noun long time): tt Three hours seezns a long tirne to takc on the hornework' (nol Three hours seem"')

\
6 7

phrrre rcfcrs to After per cent (also percnt or %) (of) we use a singular verb if rhe per cent rncl a plural verb if it refers to a plural noun Conparc': singuln, or uncountable noun :: An inflation rate o{ only 2 per cent rriaker a big difference to exports arurl need miljor repairs' t I I would say that about -50 per cent of thc houses whole trnit or r However, where we use a singular nourl thlt can be thought of as either a individuals, we can trse either rl singular or plural verb: coilection of 'j Some 80 per cent of the electoratc l-s erpected to vote' ("/ "'(//z expccred"
)

Three centimetres .... (be) all that separated the first fwo runners in last night,s 10,000 nretres ancl the sports club ...... ... .. .... . (haue\ declared rhe r;rce a dead-heat The rcserrr.h gruuf n()u liidntit) that the criteria they used in the work (be) nor totally reiiable. F.llowing last week's major art theft from the Arc.n Art Galiery, the prenrises (bc) searched bv police last'ighr and rhe ow'er's belo'gings (la,e) bce' rare' awa; 1or furthcr in\pedri()n. A survey of rhe opinions of British students \shou,) that e conomics (&e) rhe least popular subject studiecl ar university. Holvever, 90 per cenr oi all those econornics students surveyed (heliet'e) that their courses are well raughr. Strffcrcrr ironr diabercs (/:,rle) welcomed the iaunch bv Federex of a nell. drug r<r combar rhe disease. The conpany 1sa1,) that earnings from the drug (De) to be pur back into further research.
.

B5