Download Subject-Verb Agreement

Part 1
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Verbs must agree with their subjects in
number.
Number refers to whether a word is singular
or plural.
Singular subjects take singular verbs.
Plural subjects take plural verbs.
In a verb phrase, it is the first helping verb
that must agree with the subject.
A ferocious fistfight looks real in a film.
The fighters look as if they were really being punched.
A stunt person knows many tricks to avoid being hurt.
Stunt people know they must make a scene appear real.
Some movie stars have been trained to do stunts safely.
Often an untrained star has been replaced by a stunt
double.
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When a phrase comes between the subject
and verb, the number of the subject is not
changed.
The success of Hollywood films is based on the grosses.
Filmgoers at the box office give a financial thumbs up to a film.
Jurassic Park, a high-grossing film, has made many millions.
Sequels – The Lost World and others – generally make less.
Sometimes a movie loved by millions receives a poor review.
Movie lovers, playing critic, turn the movie around.
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A compound subject contains two or more
simple subjects.
Compound subjects can take either singular
or plural verbs.
A compound subject whose parts are joined
by and requires a plural verb.
Some compound subjects act as a single unit
and take singular verbs.
When the parts of a compound subject are
joined by or or nor, the verb should agree
with the part closest to it.
Pictures and movement come together in animated films.
An animator’s bread and butter is cartoons.
Neither animation cels nor celluloid film was used for that movie.
Neither celluloid film nor animation cels were used for that movie.
Part 2
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When used as subjects, some indefinite
pronouns are always singular, some are
always plural, and some can be used either
singular or plural, depending on how they’re
used.
Indefinite Pronouns
Singular
another, anybody, anyone, anything, each,
either, everybody, everyone, everything, much,
neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one,
somebody, someone, something
Plural
both, few, many, several
Singular or Plural
all, any, more, most, none, some
Everyone has a favorite film star.
Nobody is without opinions on films.
Many of the films are nominated for Oscars.
Few win, however.
Most of the Oscar show is broadcast from Hollywood.
Most of the winners appear at the Oscars.
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A collective noun takes a singular verb if the
members of the group act together. A
collective noun takes a plural verb if the
members of the group act as individuals.
Some nouns ending in –s or –ics appear to be
plural but are singular in meaning.
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civics
mathematics
news
physics
politics
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Titles of works of art, literature, film, or
music are singular.
Words and phrases that refer to weights,
measures, numbers, and lengths of time are
usually treated as singular.
Fractions, such as three-quarters and seveneighths, can be considered singular or plural,
depending on the context.
In Major League, an inferior team (unit) strives to improve.
The team (individuals) have different ideas about how to
improve.
In The Candidate, politics is the major theme.
Ethics does not play much of a role in the movie.
The candidate’s ethics are questionable.
Cats is a long-running musical.
Eight dollars seems too much to pay for a movie.
Two hours is the running time of this film.
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In many questions, subjects follow verbs or
come between parts of verb phrases.
In sentences beginning with here or there,
those words rarely function as subjects. The
subjects usually follow the verbs.
In an inverted sentence, the subject follows
the verb. Do not confuse a word in an initial
phrase with the subject.
When a relative pronoun (who, which, or that)
is the subject of an adjective clause, its
number is determined by the number of the
word it refers to.
Are comedians respected as much as serious actors?
There are many famous comedies in the history of film.
Over the wall scrambles the runaway thief.
The comedies of Robin Williams are Jan’s main passion.
An actor who plays both comedy and drama is unusual.
Actors who play both comedy and drama are unusual.