Download Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-Verb Agreement and the PLC high school student
AGREE TO AGREE
Subject-Verb Agreement
 In a sentence, a subject and its verb must
“agree.”
 If a subject is singular, the verb must be
singular. If a subject is plural, the verb must
also be plural.
Subject-Verb Agreement:
Examples
Singular Subjects and Verbs
Plural Subjects and Verbs
 She practices her song
 We practice our songs
every day.
 Joanne dances very
gracefully.
 Jason is skilled with
computers.
every day.
 Joanne and Sarah dance
very gracefully.
 My cousins are skilled with
computers.
Subjects: Pink
Verbs: Blue
Subject-Verb Agreement: “I”
 The word “I”, while singular, sometimes takes
a plural verb. It’s that exception to the rule.
Other times it receives its own form of the
verb.
 I am tall.
 I practice my song.
 I like frozen yogurt.
Subject-Verb Agreement:
Past-Tense
 Some past-tense verbs are the same for both
singular and plural subjects.
 I.e.: Jane talked to Tommy yesterday. We talked to
Tommy yesterday.
 I.e: The dog chased the falling leaves. The dogs
chased the falling leaves.
 In the present tense, these verbs are different for
singular and plural subjects:
 Jane talks to Tommy. We talk to Tommy.
 The dog chases the leaves. The dogs chase the
leaves.
Subject-Verb Agreement:
Compound Subjects
 Compound subjects are
subjects linked with the
conjunctions “or”, “nor” or
“and”.
 Depending on the
conjunction, these subjects
can be either singular or
plural.
 Two or more subjects joined
by “and” are considered
plural subjects and get plural
verbs.
 Two or more singular subjects
joined by “or” or “nor” are
considered singular subjects.
 When a compound subject
contains both singular and
plural nouns and is joined by
“or” or “nor”, the verb takes
the form (singular or plural) of
the word closest to it (the
verb).
Compound Subjects Continued
Joined by “and”
Joined by “or” or “nor”
 Lewis and Mark are
 Either Ashley or Gena is
meeting for ice cream.
 The teacher and the
students write their ideas.
 He and I like the color
green best.
 The girls and I are going to
the store.
playing first.
 Either Hannah or her
brothers play the flute.
 Neither David nor Patrick
wants to eat that dish.
 Neither the pumpkins nor
that peach looks very ripe.
Subject-Verb Agreement:
Collective Nouns
 A collective noun is one noun that stands for
a group.
 Collective nouns can be a little tricky when it
comes to subject-verb agreement.
 Whether they are treated as singular or plural
depends on how they are used in the
sentence.
Collective Nouns Continued
 If the collective noun is used as a whole (a
single unit), then the verb should be singular.
 The company is growing quickly.
If the collective noun refers to individuals
within the group, then the verb should be
plural.

The team are staying at separate hotels tonight.
Plural Form/Singular Meaning
 Some nouns appear to be plural (end with an
“s”), but stand for a single unit.
 Examples:
 Mathematics is difficult for Cory.
 The news was very interesting today.
 The measles is not as common an illness as it once
was.
Indefinite Pronouns
Singular Indefinite Pronouns
Plural Indefinite Pronouns
 These pronouns take a
 These pronouns take a
singular verb.
plural verb.
 another, anybody, anyone,
 both, few, many, others,
anything, each, either,
everybody, everyone,
everything, little, much,
neither, nobody, no one,
nothing, one, other,
somebody, someone,
something
several
Indefinite Pronouns
 Some indefinite pronouns can be either
singular or plural.
 They are considered singular or plural
depending on what word/words to which
they refer.
 These pronouns are: all, any, more, most,
none, some.
 Singular: More of that pie is what I want.
 Plural: All of the children are learning their
alphabet.
Subject-Verb Agreement
 The best way to avoid subject-verb
disagreement is to be able to clearly identify
your subject and your predicate.
 Make sure you identify the noun in your subject;
don’t get distracted by prepositional phrases!
 Incorrect: The cat with long whiskers are stretching.
 Correct: The cat with long whiskers is stretching.
 The cat is the noun that the sentence is about; “with
long whiskers” is a prepositional phrase that modifies
the noun “cat”.
Subject-Verb Agreement
 Congratulations! You have reached the end of
your journey… your journey in the world of
subject-verb agreement, that is!
 When you have studied/reviewed your notes
and lesson, see Mrs. Shankle to take your
quiz.