Download Subject/Verb Agreement

Subject/Verb Agreement
Verbs should agree in number with its subject:
• ‘S’ Rule:
– Singular subjects= verbs that end in ‘s’
– Plural subjects= verbs do not end in ‘s’
Ex: Singular:
He washes the dishes
Rachel plays basketball for Cape Fear Academy.
Subject/Verb Agreement
-Plural:
They wash the dishes.
Rachel and Maddie play basketball for CFA.
Note: The ‘S’ Rule applies to linking verbs as
well.
Singular: Ann is backpacking in Nevada.
Plural: All of my friends were late.
Subject/Verb Agreement
1. These pictures (show, shows) how noodles
are prepared.
2. First, the noodle maker (roll, rolls) out the
dough as thin as possible.
3. Then, the cook (slice, slices) the folded
layers.
4. Next, the strands of noodles (is, are)
separated and dusted with flour to prevent
sticking.
Subject/Verb Agreement
5. After the noodles have dried a little, they (go,
goes) into boiling water or broth to cook.
6. The Japanese (enjoy, enjoys) noodles made
from either wheat flour or buckwheat flour.
7. A dish of cooked noodles mixed with sauce,
broth, fish, or vegetables (makes, make) a
popular lunch.
Subject/Verb Agreement
8. Noodle shops all over Japan (serves, serve) a
variety of noodle dishes.
9. These shops often (resemble, resembles)
fast-food restaurants in the United States.
10.For lunch or a snack, customers at a noodle
shop (order, orders) noodles with their
favorite toppings.
S/V Agreement and Prepositional Phrases
Finding a subject and verb in a simple sentence
is relatively easy; it may become more difficult in
more complex sentences.
Therefore, remember the following: Subjects
and verbs are never found in PP’s.
If you encounter confusion, the easiest way to
uncover the subject and verb in a sentence is to
eliminate the prepositional phrases.
S/V Agreement and Prepositional Phrases
E1: Most of the women voted.
Most of the women voted.
The subject? Most, not women. Women cannot be
the subject of this sentence because it is in a PP.
E2: One of the parakeets in the pet shop looks like
ours.
One of the parakeets in the pet shop looks like ours.
S/V Agreement and Prepositional Phrases
E3: Are two of the books missing?
Are two of the books missing?
E4: Around the corner from our house is a
store.
Around the corner from our house is a store.
S/V Agreement and Indefinite Pronouns
Singular Indefinite Pronouns
E1: Each of the athletes runs effortlessly.
E2: Neither of the women is ready to start.
Plural Indefinite Pronouns
E1: Were both of the games postponed?
E2: Few that I know of have qualified.
S/V Agreement and Indefinite Pronouns
Depends upon meaning
E1: Some of the test is hard. [Some refers to the
singular noun test.]
E2: Some of the questions are easy. [Some
refers to the plural noun questions.]
S/V Agreement and Indefinite Pronouns
Singular:
E1: All of the exhibit is open to the public.
Plural:
E1: All of the paintings are on display.
S/V Agreement and Indefinite Pronouns
1. Each of the comedians (tries, try) to outdo
the other.
2. Somebody on the bus (was, were) whistling.
3. (Is, Are) all of the apples spoiled?
4. Neither of these books (has, have) an index
5. (Do, Does) everybody in the class have a
pencil?
S/V Agreement and Indefinite Pronouns
6. Few of these jobs (sound, sounds)
challenging.
7. (Is, Are) more of the vendors in the market?
8. She said that no one in the office (leaves,
leave) early.
9. Both of her parents (has, have) offered us a
ride.
10.(Do, Does) most of the CDs belong to her?
S/V Agreement and the Compound Subject
• Subjects joined by and generally take a plural
verb.
E1: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg make
movies.
• Compound subjects that name only one thing
take a singular verb.
E1: My pen pal and best friend is my cousin.
E2: Macaroni and cheese makes a tasty dish.
S/V Agreement and the Compound Subject
• Singular subjects joined by OR or NOR=
singular verb
E1: Neither the coach nor the principal is happy
with the team’s performance.
E2: After dinner, either Anne or Tony loads the
dishwasher.
S/V Agreement and the Compound Subject
• Plural subjects joined by OR or NOR = plural
verb.
E1: Either the boys or the girls take the garbage
out.
E2: Neither the dogs nor the cats come when
we call them.
S/V Agreement and the Compound Subject
When a singular subject and a plural subject are
joined by OR or NOR, the verb agrees with the
subject nearer the verb.
E1: Neither the children nor their mother was
ready for the trip.
E2: Neither the mother nor her children were
ready for the trip.
Final Issues in S/V Agreement
Don’t
Doesn’t
Use with:
Use with:
• All plural subjects
• I
• You
• All singular subjects
• All singular pronouns except
for ‘I’ and ‘you’
Final Issues in S/V Agreement
• Collective nouns may either be singular or
plural, depending on its usage in the sentence.
E1: The jury is ready. [The jury is seen as one
collective unit.]
E2: The jury are still arguing among themselves.
[The jury is split apart into separate members.]
Final Issues in S/V Agreement
Amounts of things (measurement, percentage,
fractions) are singular or plural, depending on
usage.
• Thinking of things as units:
E1: Two hours is a long time to wait.
E2: Two hours- one before school and one
after- are all I have for practice.
Final Issues in S/V Agreement
Thinking of things as individual portions:
E1: Three fourths of the pizza is gone.
E2: Of these songs, three fourths are new.
Final Issues in S/V Agreement
• Some nouns that are plural in form take
singular verbs.
E1: Politics is a controversial topic.
E2: The news of the nominee was a surprise.
E3: Rickets is a serious health problem in some
countries.
Final Issues in S/V Agreement
Even when plural in form, the title of a creative
work, the name of an organization, or the name
of a country or city generally takes a singular
verb.
E1: The United Nations was founded in 1945.
E2: White Plains is home to several colleges.
E3: “Greensleeves” is an old English folk song.