Download subject verb agreement powerpoint updated 2016

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
Plurals in English Grammar
• To make a noun plural, we add –s
• Singular: girl
• Plural: girls
• To make a verb plural, we take away
the –s.
• Singular: he talks
• Plural: they talk
Watch the Verb Endings!
Singular
• I walk
• You walk
• He/She/It walk s
• Joe walk s
• The girl walk s
Plural
• We walk
• You walk
• They walk
• Joe and Maria walk
• The girls walk
Remember there are irregular verbs:
• DO
Singular
• He does
Plural
They do
• HAVE
• She has
They have
• BE
• He is
• She was
They are
They were
Tip for Subject/verb Agreement
Generally, if the subject doesn’t
end in –S, the verb will.
If the subject does end in –S,
the verb won’t.
No –S on
subject
-S on
verb
The girl dances.
-S on
subject
The girls dance.
No –S
on verb
Multiple subjects joined by “and”
• If there are two or more subjects joined
by and, the subject must be plural, so
the verb will not get an “s”.
Example
• The boy and the girl dance.
(= They dance.)
No –S on
verb
Multiple subjects joined by “or”
If there are two or more subjects joined by
or, the verb agrees with the part of the
subject closest to it.
Examples:
• The professor or the students walk the
halls.
• The students or the professor walks the
halls.
Indefinite Pronouns
•Some indefinite pronouns are always singular. Here
are some examples: anyone, everyone, someone, no
one, nobody
•Others can be either singular or plural (all, some)
• Everybody loves grammar!
• Some people love grammar.
Some subjects always take a singular verb even though the
meaning may seem plural.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
These subjects always take singular verbs:
each someone
either anyone
neither nobody
one somebody
no one anybody
everyone everybody
Someone in the game was (not were) hurt.
Neither of the men is (not are) working.
The following words may be singular or plural,
depending upon their use in a sentence:
•
•
•
•
•
some, any, all, most.
Most of the news is good. (singular)
Most of the flowers were yellow. (plural)
All of the pizza was gone. (singular)
All of the children were late. (plural)
Collective nouns may be singular or plural, depending on
their use in the sentence.
• A collective noun is a noun used to name a whole
group. Following are some common examples:
• Army, crowd, orchestra
• Audience, flock, public
• Class, group, swarm
• Club, herd, team
• Committee, jury, troop
• United States
Collective Noun Examples
• The orchestra is playing a hit song.
(Orchestra is considered as one unit—
singular.)
• The orchestra were asked to give their
musical backgrounds. (Orchestra is
considered as separate
• individuals—plural)
Some nouns, while plural in form, are actually
singular in meaning.
• Mathematics is (not are) an easy subject for some
people.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Physics is (not are) taught by Prof, Baldwin.
Examples:
mumps home economics, social studies, economics
Measles, calisthenics, statistics, civics
Physics, gymnastics, phonics. news
Acrobatics, aesthetics, thesis, mathematics
Expressions of time, money, measurement, and weight are
usually singular when the amount is considered one unit.
• Five dollars is (not are) too much to ask.
• Ten days is (not are) not nearly enough
time.
• On occasion, however these terms are
used in the plural sense:
• There were thirty minutes to countdown.
Relative Pronouns
Relative Pronouns (who/which/that) can be
either singular or plural, depending on the
word they refer to.
• The student who works hard will succeed.
• The students who work hard will succeed.
Helpful hints
Sometimes, several words come between the subject
and the verb. Just take out the phrase in the middle
to see whether or not the subject and verb agree.

The student, though she had lots of problems in
other schools, finds/find (?) her new class easy.
 The student, though she had lots of problems
in other schools, finds her new class easy.
 The student finds her new class easy.
Prepositional phrases
The subject can never be part of a
prepositional phrase.
Example
The students in my class study / studies
X
hard.
In the sentences below, do the
subjects & verbs agree?
• They goes to the gym after class to work out.
• Harry and his friends wants to see the new movie
coming out this weekend.
• The cat who is meowing at my door wants in.
• Neither the cat nor the dogs likes the new food.
• The mayor as well as his brothers are going to jail.
• Nobody wants to dance.
• The paper or the ruler are in the desk.