MAIN RULE OF
“subject verb agreement”
·
Only the subject affects the verb
RULE 1
Subject and verbs must agree
in number.
This is the cornerstone rule
that forms the background of the concept.
Examples :
·
The dog growls when it is angry.
·
The dogs growl when they are angry.
RULE 2
Don’t get confused by the
words that come between the subject and verb; they do not affect agreement.
Example:
The dog who is chewing on my jeans, is usually very
good
RULE 3
Prepositional phrases
between the subject and verb usually do not affect agreement.
Example:
The colors of the
rainbow are beautiful
RULE 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.
Example:
·
There are the student
·
There is the student
RULE 5
If two subjects are joined
by and, they typically require a plural verb from.
Example:
The cow and the pig are jumping over the moon
RULE 6
The verb is singular if the
two subjects separated by an refer to the same person or thing.
Example:
Red beans and rice is my mom’s favorite dish
RULE 7
If
one of the words each, every, or no comes before the subject, the verb is
singular.
Example:
·
No smoking or drinking is allowed
·
Every man and woman is required to check in
RULE 8
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
Example:
Jessica or
Christian is to a blame for the accident
RULE 9
The
only time when the object of the preposition decide plural or singular verb
forms is when noun and pronound subjects like some, half, none, more, all, etc.
are follow by a prepositional phrase, in these sentences, the object of the
preposition determinens the form of the verb.
Example:
·
All of the chicken is gone.
·
All of the chicken are gone.
RULE 10
The
singular verb form is usually used for units of measurement or time.
Example:
Four quarts
of oil was required to get the car running
RULE 11
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.
Example:
Dogs
and cats are both available at the pound
RULE 12
If one subject is singular and one plural and the
words are connected by the word or ,nor,neither/nor, either/or, and not
only/but also,you use the verb form of the subject that is neareset the verb.
Example:
·
Either the bearsof lion has escaped from the zoo
·
Neither the lion nor the bears have escaped from the
zoo
RULE 13
Indefinite
pronouns (everything, anything, everyone, someone, somebody, nothing, etc)
typically take singular verbs.
Example:
·
Everybody want to be loved
·
Everything is gonna be alright
RULE 14
Except
for the pronouns (few, many, several, both, all, some) that always take the
plural form.
Example:
·
Few were left alive after the flood.
·
Several student udestand the material.
RULE 15
If
two infinities are separated by and they take the plural form of the verb.
Example:
To walk and
to chew gum require great skill
RULE 16
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.
Example:
·
Standing in the water was a bad idea
·
Swimming in the ocean and playing drums are my
hobbies.
RULE 17
Collective
nouns like family, committee, herd, senate, class, crowd, etc,. usually take a
singular verb form.
Example:
·
The heerd is stampeding
·
Cooper family always ottends the annual party
RULE 18
Title of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as
singular and take a singular verb.
Example:
·
The burbs is a movie starring tom hanks
·
Harry potter has reached top 3 best seller books.
