Subject-Verb Agreement

Jomar Ferrer Morena

Assistant Professor I
Far Eastern University
1. Subjects and verbs must agree in number. This is the cornerstone
rule that forms the background of the concept.
The dog growls when he is angry. The dogs growl when they are
angry.
2. Don’t get confused by the words that come between the subject
and verb; they do not affect agreement.
The dog, who is chewing on my jeans, is usually very good.
3. Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb usually do
not affect agreement.
The colors of the rainbow are beautiful.
4. When sentences start with “there” or “here,” the subject will
always be placed after the verb, so care needs to be taken to
identify it correctly.
There is a problem with the balance sheet. Here are the papers
you requested.
General Directions:

Determine whether or not the

following sentences are correct. If
the sentence is correct, put a check
mark after the item number. If they
are incorrect, make the necessary
adjustments by changing the verb.
1. There are extra butter in the refrigerator.
2. My mother, along with the other representatives, are going to the
convention.
3. A player on the Vikings are going to sign autographs at the mall this
Saturday.
4. My sister eat paste.
5. This Tuesday, John, as well as his friends, is driving to the rock
concert.
6. Runners on the team is being tested for performance enhancing
drugs.
7. Dad and mom yells at me when I play my music too loud.
8. Here are a plate of Oreo cookies.
9. There are a box for you to pack your things in.
10. Finally, this exercise, after reading pages of material, are finished.
5. Subjects don't always come before verbs in questions. Make sure
you accurately identify the subject before deciding on the proper
verb form to use.
Does Lefty usually eat grass? Where are the pieces of this puzzle.
6. If two subjects are joined by and, they typically require a plural
verb form.
The cow and the pig are jumping over the moon.
7. The verb is singular if the two subjects separated by and refer to
the same person or thing.
Red beans and rice is my mom's favorite dish.
8. If the words each, every, or no come before the subject, the verb
is singular.
No smoking and drinking is allowed. Every man and woman is
required to check in.
1. Were the election news on the front page?
2. Mary and David is driving to the city this afternoon.
3. Each man and woman are required to pay taxes.
4. Macaroni and cheese are Ben’s favorite dinner.
5. Every college and university require a transcript for
admission.
6. The teacher and the principal negotiates the labor contracts
for the building.
7. Steak and green beans is what we will have for dinner.
8. Bacon and eggs is what we will have for breakfast.
9. Do John normally arrive late to the meeting?
10. No running and horseplay are allowed in the hallways.
9. If the subjects are both singular and are connected by the words or,
nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also the verb is singular.
Jessica or Christian is to blame for the accident.
10. The only time when the object of the preposition factors into the
decision of plural or singular verb forms is when noun and pronoun
subjects like some, half, none, more, all, etc. are followed by a
prepositional phrase. In these sentences, the object of the preposition
determines the form of the verb.
All of the chicken is gone. All of the chickens are gone.
11. The singular verb form is usually used for units of measurement.
Four quarts of oil was required to get the car running.
12. If the subjects are both plural and are connected by the words or, nor,
neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also, the verb is plural.
Dogs and cats are both available at the pound.
1. Three cups of milk are needed to make this recipe.
2. Not only the teachers but also the students is attending the
assembly.
3. Either Mary or John are taking Pete to the movies.
4. Some of the butter are melting in the sunlight.
5. Some of the cakes are covered with pink icing.
6. Fifteen gallons of gasoline is enough to fill my car.
7. Neither the parents nor their children is going on the fieldtrip.
8. All of the people has the chicken pox.
9. Ann or Kathy have the remote control.
10. Half of the class are home with the flu.
13. If one subject is singular and one plural and the words are
connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not
only/but also, you use the verb form of the subject that is nearest
the verb.
Do your sisters or your girlfriend want any pizza?
14. Indefinite pronouns typically take singular verbs.
Everybody wants to be loved.
15. * Except for the pronouns (few, many, several, both) that
always take the plural form.
Few were left alive after the flood.
16. If two infinitives are separated by and they take the plural
form of the verb.
To walk and to chew gum require great skill.
1. Either the principal or the students is planning the assembly.
2. Either the students or the principal is planning the assembly.
3. To run and to jump is the key to success in track and field.
4. Several has to attend the meeting on Saturday.
5. Nobody have a clue as to the correct answer.
6. Not only the players but also the coach were in the bus
accident.
7. Everybody need several glasses of water every day.
8. Both was on the train that derailed.
9. Neither the mice nor the cat was found after the house burned
down.
10. To sleep and to eat is the primary routine for a baby.
17. When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence they take the
singular verb form of the verb, but when they are linked by and they take
the plural form.
Standing in the water was a bad idea. Swimming in the ocean and playing
drums are my hobbies.
18. Collective nouns like herd, senate, class, crowd, jury, crew, etc. take
a singular verb form when they act as a single unit. They take a plural
verb form when the members or parts of the group are acting
individually.
The jury has decided on its verdict. The jury have different opinions
about the verdict.
19. Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as singular and take
a singular verb.
The Burbs is a movie starring Tom Hanks.
20. Final Rule – Remember, only the subject affects the verb!
1. The class are making way too much noise.
2. The students are making way too much noise.
3. Skiing is probably my favorite winter activity.
4. Boating and fishing is probably my favorite summer activities.
5. The Outsiders are my favorite S.E. Hinton novel.
6. My mother, along with all of her friends and all of our
neighbors, eats exotic fruit.
7. The senate vote on the legislation this Tuesday.
8. The herd were stampeding.
9. Students for Safety are a new organization in the school.
10. The Wedding Crashers are the funniest movie I’ve seen in a
long time.
 You have to ask these eight questions while solving a sentence
correction problem :

1. “Is the verb in accordance with the subject?”

2. “Is the tense of the verb correct?”
3. “Is the subject or doer close to the participle?”
4. “Are the nouns and verbs in their proper forms con firming the
parallelism?”
5. “Are the articles, deter miners and adjectives correctly used?”
6. “Are the forms of pro noun correct and do they agree with the
related nouns and other pro nouns?”
7. “Are the prepositions correctly used?”
8. “Are the spelling and punctuation in place?”
Di rections Make a choice of the correct verb for the subject
in the following sentences.
1. It is so rainy in this region that it rain/rains very
frequently even in winters.
2. Whenever he meet/meets me he talk/talks about his ill
ness.
3. In a mature democracy like India, the voters know/knows
whom to vote.
4. A good teacher not only teach/teaches, but he is/are also
a good guide.
5. The Rajdhani Express usually run/runs on time; and is/are
one of the fast est trains in In dia.
Directions Identify the sub jects in the following and choose the correct – sin gu lar or plural
– verb.
1. The committee is/are seriously considering the mat ter.
2. During recession, not even the Mumbai public has/have enough money to meet its needs.
3. The public is/are dispersing away from the monotonous show.
4. The majority wins/win what the minority loses /lose.
5. The government has/have fallen after the trust vote.
6. The government wants/want to keep the plan to them selves.
7. Two deer/deers were killed by the poachers.
8. The army has/have be sieged the city and is poised to launch further at tacks.
9. The police has/have arrived and are investigating the mat ter.
10. The issue remained unresolved as the committee was/were di vided on the subject.
11. The scissors was/were there but the tailor could not see them as his spectacles
was/were not on his nose.
12. Brazil is/are the winning team.
Directions Identify the subject whether it is singular or plural and then make
a better choice of the given
verbs.
1. Each of the candidates was/were awarded a certificate for participation.
2. Either of those dresses is/are suit able for the party.
3. Either the student or his parents has/have to be present in the function.
4. Everybody or anybody is/are able to answer these questions.
5. Neither of them is/are an ex pert of the subject.
6. The ones who is/are found guilty must be punished.
7. You or she has/have to be blamed for the accident.
8. They and I was/were present there last night.
9. Jessica is absent, but some of her class is/are present.
10. No one know/knows what hap pens after death.
Di rec tions Choose the cor rect forms of the verbs in the fol low ing.
1. He was choose/ chose/cho sen leader of the group.
2. I have do/did/done my work.
3. The letter was write/wrote/writ ten by the clerk.
4. You have break/broke/bro ken the win dow pane.
5. Who has take/took/taken my pen?
6. The bananas have been eat/ate/eaten by the cow.
7. A beautiful song in this movie has been sing/sang/sung by the new singer.
8. He has catch/catched/caught cough.
9. The magician cast/casted a spell and turned the rat into a horse.
10. A lot has been say/says /said about life and death.