Subject-Verb Agreement

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Subject Verb Agreement

• Presented by Ms. S Andrewin

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A Subject and its verb must agree in number!

• But who remembers whats number anyway?

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Number

• Number means singular (one) or plural (more than
  one).

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Number Agreement

• Singular nouns and pronouns, such as she,
  director, lake, and freedom, refer to one person,
  place or thing and therefore make up a singular
  subject.
• Singular Subjects Need Singular Verbs

• Plural nouns and pronouns, such as they,
  directors, lakes, and freedoms, refer to more
  than one person, place, or thing
• Use plural verb forms with plural subjects

• Singular

• Plural

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Although nouns ending in s are usually plural,
NB

• Verb forms ending in s are usually singular.

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Examples

• Camille lives on Kelly Street.
• That student is a member of the basketball team.
• The contractor was reviewing the blueprints.

• Those children dont live near the library.
• The students were members of the glee club.
• The contractors were reviewing the blueprints.

In a verb phrase, use an auxiliary verb that
agrees in number with its subject.

• Singular

• Plural

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The Tricky Ones

• If were not careful, some subjects, such as
  compounds and indefinite pronouns might catch us
  off guard...

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Compound Subjects

• Two factors determine the verb form that agrees
  in number with a compound subject

2) whether the words in the compound subject are
singular or plural.
1) the conjunction
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Rules

• Use a plural verb with most compound subjects
  connected by and.
• Use a singular verb with a compound subject that
  refers to one person or thing, or that is
  generally considered a unit.
• Use a singular verb with a compound subject made
  up of singular nouns or pronouns connected by
  or or nor...unless one of those pronouns or
  nouns is plural.

NB If part of a compound subject connected by
or or nor is plural, the verb agrees with
the subject that is closest to it in the
sentence.
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Indefinite Pronouns

• Some are always singular, while others are always
  plural

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Easy Indefinites

• Most common
• Several
• Both
• Few
• Many

• Anybody, anyone, anything, each, either
• Everybody, everyone, everything, much neither
• Nobody, no one, nothing, one, other
• Somebody, someone, something

• Plural

• Singular

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Tricky Indefinites

• These indefinite pronouns are singular when they
  refer to a portion or a single person, place, or
  thing.
• They are plural when they refer to two or more
  individuals persons, places, or things.

Are singular or plural depending on their
antecedent
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Collective Nouns

• A collective noun names a group or collection of
  people or objects.
• Although they are singular in form, these may
  take a singular or a plural verb, depending on
  their meaning in the sentence.

Singular or plural??

• If the sentence speaks of the group as a unit,
  use a singular verb.
• If the sentence speaks of individual members of
  the group, use a plural verb.

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Amounts Time

• Use a singular verb with a subject that refers to
  
• a single unit
• A fraction
• A measurement
• An amount of money
• A distance
• Or a specific interval of time

• Use a plural verb when the subject expresses
• a length of time
• an amount that is considered as a number of
  separate units.

• Singular

• Plural

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