Download Subject-Verb Agreement PPt II

Subject-Verb
Agreement
Requires Balance
Created by Georgia Clarkson Smith
UWF Writing Lab Assistant 2009
Revised June 14, 2010, by
Mamie Hixon, Writing Lab Director
Making Subjects and Verbs
Agree
• Singular Subject = Singular Verb
• Plural Subject = Plural Verb
Tip:
Plural Verbs look singular (they have NO “s”).
Singular Verbs look plural (they DO have an “s”).
Balance Your Singulars and
Plurals
The film about the forties is . . .
The films of the forties are . . .
Singular Subject> verb with an
s.
Plural Subject> verb with
No s.
Balanced Sentences
• “This presentation is
boring”…Singular subject = Singular
Verb
• “Perhaps, not all of the presentations
are boring”…Plural Subject = Plural
Verb
• Sounds Easy…
Right?
Well, it gets a little complicated…
Key Rules to
Subject-Verb
Agreement
Look Out For…
1.
2.
3.
4.
“And”
“Or” and “Nor”
“Doesn’t” and “Don’t”
Prepositional Phrases and
“Disruptive” Word Groups
5. Indefinite Pronouns
6. Singular Nouns That “Look”
Plural
7. Time, weight, distance, and
Money
8. Pairs
9. “Here” and “There”
10. “It”
11. Collective Nouns
“AND”
• When several
subjects are
connected by
AND, use a
PLURAL verb.
• The complaints
and questions are
frustrating.
“Or” & “Nor”
• When singular nouns or
pronouns are connected
by OR or NOR, use a
SINGULAR verb.
• Morgan or Jeni is
scheduled to tutor today.
“Either . . . Or”
and
“Neither . . . Nor”
• When singular nouns or
pronouns are connected
by EITHER…OR or
NEITHER…NOR, use a
SINGULAR verb.
• Neither the airline nor
the flight attendant is
happy.
The rules get weirder…
• When a compound
subject contains both a
singular AND a plural
noun or pronoun joined
by OR or NOR, the verb
should agree with the
subject that is CLOSER
to the verb.
• The host or her guests
are expected to leave
the tip.
• The guests or the host is
expected to leave the
tip.
• Tip: Just cover the “confusing” part of the
sentence with your hand to simplify.
“Doesn’t” & “Don’t”
• Doesn’t = Does
not….this is a singular
verb form.
• Don’t = Do not…this is
a plural verb form.
• The employee does not
(doesn’t) agree with the
decision.
• The employees do not (don’t)
agree with the decision.
•
Tip: Remember that though your verb phrase is “do like” OR
“does like,” make your subject agree with the first verb in the
phrase: “do” OR “does.” This helping verb is where we add
or remove the “s” for balance.
•
Exceptions to this rule occur with “I” and “you.” With these
pronouns, “do,” “do not,” OR “don’t” should be used.
So why all the Confusion?...
• Words between the subject
and the verb are what trip up
many people.
• Physics, along with calculus and
chemistry, make up the “Monster Trio”
of the sciences.
• “Along with calculus and chemistry” is a
prepositional phrase between the
subject “Physics” and the verb “make.”
• Ignore the prepositional phrase…
“Physics makes up the ‘Monster Trio.’”
Disruptive Word Groups
• Do not be misled by “disruptive”
word groups that come between the
subject and the verb.
• Neither of them were wearing a seatbelt.
• Simply ignore the “disruptive”
phrase, or reduce the sentence to
simplest form.
• Neither of them was wearing a seatbelt.
The people who listen to that music are
few.
• The team captain, as well as his players,
is anxious.
• The book, including all the chapters in the
first section, is boring.
• Every resident in three counties was
affected by the storm.
Indefinite Pronouns…
Oh MY!
• each, one, each one,
either, neither, everyone,
everybody, anybody,
anyone, nobody,
somebody, someone, and
no one are SINGULAR.
• Use a singular verb.
• Each of these students is
receiving a trophy.
• Everybody loves a winner.
• Neither of the teams has ever
won a championship game.
• Either answer is correct.
• Someone appreciates your
efforts.
• Tip: All of these indefinite pronouns are in fact referring to a
SINGLE (or potentially single) body or item. This is why
they require a singular verb.
• Nouns like civics, economics, AIDS,
and news require singular verbs
though the nouns themselves end in
“s” and look plural.
• The news is on at six.
• Home economics involves more
than sewing and cooking.
• AIDS is an epidemic.
Tip: These words imply a unified group, body or collection of
DOLLARS $$$
• When referring to an amount of
money, use a singular verb.
• When referring to physical dollars
themselves, use a plural verb.
• One hundred dollars is, unfortunately, not a lot of money.
• Dollars are the national currency.
Time, Distance & Weight.
-Twenty miles is quite a distance to run
daily.
-Kilometers are a part of the metric system.
-Five hundred pounds is heavy.
-Pounds are an accurate measurement of
weight.
Things With 2 Parts
• Like scissors, pants, eye glasses,
tweezers…
• Plural Verbs.
• The safety scissors are ironically
razor sharp.
• Her pants are outrageously tight.
“Here” & “There”
• There’s several brush fires
in California.
• There are several brush
fires in California.
• Here’s my reasons for
quitting.
• Here are my reasons for
quitting.
•
Neither “there” nor “here” can serve as the subject
of a sentence. When these words open a
sentence, look for the subject to follow the verb.
Collective Nouns
• Nouns that include or imply more
than one person but act as a unified
group.
• group, team, class, family,
committee, herd, jury, faculty
• If the persons in this collective noun
are working together, or are being
referred to as a whole, they take a
singular verb.
• The team runs during practice.
• My family goes to church.
• Collective nouns call for plural verbs
when the group members are not
acting together, or when you are
referring to individual effort within the
group.
• The jury has reached a verdict.
• The jury have left the courthouse in separate cars.
• The crew is making its plans.
• The crew are preparing the ship.
(This sentence refers to the individual efforts of each member)
References
The OWL at Purdue
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource
/599/01/
The Capital Community College
Foundation
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar
/sv_agr.htm
Red River College of Arts and Sciences
http://languagearts.pppst.com/subjectverb-agreement.html
Gerunds as Subjects
• Regretting your mistakes is often
useless.
• Finding honest people seems
difficult.
• Ignore the object of the gerund and
make your verb agree with the
singular gerunds “regretting” and
“finding.”
Inclusion/Exclusion Rule
• EXCLUSION – use a singular verb:
He is the only one of his classmates
who drinks or smokes.
• INCLUSION – use a plural verb:
He is one of the millions of
Americans who drink.
Consult a dictionary and/or follow your
professor’s preference for Foreign Nouns as
Subjects
• SINGULAR
PLURAL
criterion
criteria
medium
media
datum
data
• The media are not invited.
• No new data are available.