An introduction to subject-verb agreement rules.

1. SUBJECT- VERB
AGREEMENT
C an’t they all jus t get along?

2. Youtube clips to start
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UelAAu-g3Mc&feature=related
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9hSgVHETPA&feature=related
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wureAATyXuk
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxmDmIkWqag good

3. SUBJECT – VERB AGREEMENT
 Subjects and verbs must AGREE with one
another in number (singular or plural).
 S ingular s ubjects take s ingular
verbs
 Plural s ubjec ts take plural
verbs

4. WORKING IN THE PRESENT
TENSE
In present tenses, nouns and verbs form plurals in
‘opposite’ ways:
 Singular subject = ADD an ‘S’ to the VERB
 Plural subject = NO ‘S’ on the VERB
 All will become clear – promise!

5. SINGLE SUBJECTS + SINGLE
VERBS
Single Subject Single Verb
The dog chases the cat.
The student works hard.
Susan drives to work.

6. PLURAL SUBJECTS + PLURAL
VERBS
Plural Subject Plural Verb
The dogs chase the cat.
The students work hard.
Susan and Karen drive to work.

7. BE, DO, HAVE, GO, TEACH
The bag is on the floor. The bags are on the floor.
Barry does a great job. The workers do a great job.
Aadesh has three cats. The neighbours have three cats.
Bella goes swimming once a week. Bella and Darcy go swimming once a week.
Paul teaches Bella to swim. Paul and Mary teach Bella to swim.

8. AGREEMENT IN NUMBER
Choose correct form:
 TheHendersons is/are at the movie
theater.
 The boxes has/have arrived from Spain.
 The actor is/are reciting his lines.

9. PHRASES
 Sometimes a phrase will come between the
subject and verb, but don’t let this confuse
you! You still only need the subject and verb
agree.
The students at school has/have many
different jobs.
Members of the club make/makes
sandwiches at a shelter.

10. WATCH OUT FOR COMPOUND
SUBJECTS
 When the parts of a compound subject are joined
by "and," treat the subject as plural, even if the
individual parts are singular.
 Which sentence is correct?
Danny and Rolando gets their share of
rebounds.
Danny and Rolando get their share of
rebounds.

11. SUBJECTS JOINED BY ‘OR’ OR ‘NO R’
 When the parts of subject are joined by "or" or "nor,"
let the subject part nearest the verb determine whether
the verb is singular or plural.
 Which sentences are correct?
 Either the table or the chairs needs moving.
 Either the table or the chairs need moving.
 Neither the chairs nor the table needs moving.
 Neither the chairs nor the table need moving.

12. DON'T BE MISLED BY FALSE
SUBJECTS
 Ignore phrases or clauses that come between the subject
and verb.
 What do we place in the gap here – has or have?
 The cracked windshield, in addition to the torn upholstery and
rusted body, __________ made Ruth’s old car difficult to sell.
 Which sentence is correct?
 Forgetting your tickets cause problems.
 Forgetting your tickets causes problems.

13. WATCH OUT FOR COLLECTIVE
NOUNS
 Words such as group, jury, crowd, team, and committee can
be singular or plural depending on the meaning of the
subject.
For example:
 The jury has awarded compensation to the victim.
The jury is acting as one unit; therefore, the verb is singular.
 The jury members have been arguing for days.
The jury members are acting as individuals; therefore, the
verb is plural.

14. PLURAL SUBJECTS - SINGULAR OR PLURAL
MEANING
 Words such as mathematics, politics, economics take a
singular or plural verb, depending on meaning.
 Politics is an interesting subject.
Politics is a single topic; therefore, the sentence has a
singular verb.
 The politics of the situation are complicated.
Politics refers to many aspects; therefore, the sentence
has a plural verb.

15. PLURAL SUBJECTS WITH PLURAL
MEANING
Words such as scissors and trousers have a plural meaning
and take a plural verb.
 The scissors are on the table.
In the following example, the subject of the sentence is
pair. We see this as one pair and therefore the subject
in singular.
 The pair of scissors is on the table.
More than one pair…
 The two pairs of scissors are on the table.

16. SINGULAR INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
 The following words are treated as singular
subjects and take singular verbs.
anyone anybody anything one
everyone everybody everything each
someone somebody something either
no one nobody nothing neither
 Each of the students is responsible for doing work in the
library.
 Neither of the tables is laid.

17. PLURAL INDEFINITE
PRONOUNS
 The following words are treated as plural
subjects and take plural verbs
several few both many
 For example:
 Several of the students are in the library.

18. TASK
1. The big tree with all the trimmings (make/makes)
the holidays special.
3. My brothers and sisters (enjoy/enjoys)
mathematics.
5. Neither the director or actors (is/are) following
the lines properly.
7. Neither the actors or director (is/are) following
the lines properly.

19. TASK
1. The committee (believe/believes) that waiting
until everyone arrives is important.
3. The committee (come/comes) from all parts of the
city, so we usually start late.
5. Each of those opera singers regularly (hit/hits)
notes high enough to break glass.
7. The pair of tweezers (is/are) on the dresser.
9. The tweezers (is/are) on the dresser.