Download Subject / Verb Agreement: subjects and verbs MUST agree in

Subject / Verb Agreement: subjects and verbs MUST agree in number- singular subjects need singular verbs and
plural subjects need plural verbs
Problem Subjects

Indefinite Pronouns: usually singular, but select few can be singular or plural .
Singular: another
everyone
nothing
anybody
everything
one
anyone
little
other
anything
much
somebody
Plural: both
many
others
several
few
Singular or Plural: a lot
all
any
more
most
none
each
nobody
someone
everybody
no one
something
some

After indefinite pronoun, object or preposition determines number.
Sing Sing
Somebody eats potatoes.
Plur Plur
A lot of bugs are in that tree.
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Collective Nouns: nouns that encompass a group comprised of individuals; always singular
Fields of Study: always singular
Compound Subjects: two or more subjects joined by AND: always plural
Subjects Joined by OR or NOR: refer to the subject that is after Or or Nor; if that subject is singular; then
singular verb.
Gerunds: -ing ending word that looks like a verb, but can function as a subject: always singular
S
V
Running is good exercise.
S
no verb!
CORRECTED
S
V
I running after school today.
I AM running after school today.
*if you have –ing verb, you must have a helping verb
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Problem Verbs

Compound Verbs: when two or more verbs are joined by AND; all verbs must agree with the subject.
S Sing V Sing
V Sing
The woman dusts the counter and cleans the sink.
S Plu V Plu
V Plu
The women dust the counter and clean the sink.
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Irregular Verbs: see textbook
Problem Sentence Structure

Prepositional Phrases: preposition + object of preposition (noun); nothing in a prepositional phrase can be
the subject or verb of a sentence.
Prep OoP
Prep OoP
S
V
From beginning to end. CORRECTED The book was great from beginning to end.

Reverse Order: questions and sentences that begin THERE and HERE have reverse order: verb then subject
V
S
What is your opinion?

V
S
There are four crayons.
Dependent Clause: may contain a noun and a verb, but is NOT a complete sentence. Dependent clauses
depend on an independent clause to make sense.
NOT A SENTENCE!
CORRECTED
Because insects are cold-blooded.
Insects do not usually survive winters since insects are coldblooded.
Insects are cold-blooded.