{"id":9792,"date":"2015-07-24T15:57:18","date_gmt":"2015-07-24T22:57:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-crowdcontent.com\/?p=9792"},"modified":"2022-01-17T03:30:52","modified_gmt":"2022-01-17T11:30:52","slug":"subject-verb-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/resources\/writer\/university\/grammar\/subject-verb-agreement\/","title":{"rendered":"Subject-Verb Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Subject-Verb Agreement<\/h2>\n

Just like nouns and pronouns<\/a>, subjects and verbs need to agree. Once, again, the basic rule is that singular subjects take singular verbs.<\/p>\n

Wrong:<\/strong><\/span> The room<\/strong> are<\/span> cold today.<\/p>\n

Right:<\/span><\/strong> The room<\/strong> is<\/span> cold today.<\/p>\n

Wrong:<\/span><\/strong> Scientists<\/strong> makes<\/span> new discoveries every day.<\/p>\n

Right:<\/span><\/strong> Scientists<\/strong> make<\/span> new discoveries every day.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s try some trickier situations.<\/p>\n

What Is the Subject?<\/h3>\n

Is this sentence right or wrong?<\/p>\n

Example:<\/strong> The basket of teas are full.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s wrong! Why? Because the subject is \u201cbasket\u201d, which is a singular noun, and \u201care\u201d is a plural verb. Thinking that \u201ctea\u201d is the subject is a common mistake, but just remember this rule: the subject comes before a phrase that starts with \u201cof\u201d.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Example:<\/strong> The games<\/strong> of the child were<\/span> lively. (Or: The child\u2019s games<\/strong> were<\/span> lively.)<\/p>\n

Example:<\/strong> The bag<\/strong> of candies is<\/span> all gone.<\/p>\n

Adding And<\/h3>\n

When you join two nouns with the conjunction \u201cand\u201d, you make a plural subject.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wrong:<\/span><\/strong> Alfred and Susan<\/strong> drinks<\/span> tea copiously.<\/p>\n

Right:<\/span><\/strong> Alfred and Susan<\/strong> drink<\/span> tea copiously.<\/p>\n

Be careful of compound nouns, like \u201cbed and breakfast\u201d, that refer to one thing even though they contain the word \u201cand\u201d.<\/p>\n

Wrong:<\/span><\/strong> The bed and breakfast<\/strong> are<\/span> quaint.<\/p>\n

Right:<\/span><\/strong> The bed and breakfast<\/strong> is<\/span> quaint.<\/p>\n

What to Do with Or and Nor<\/h3>\n

Even though they\u2019re also conjunctions, \u201cor\u201d, \u201ceither\/or\u201d, and \u201cneither\/nor\u201d do not make \u00a0plural subjects.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wrong:<\/span><\/strong> Pie<\/strong> or cake<\/strong> are<\/span> on sale this week.<\/p>\n

Right:<\/span><\/strong> Pie<\/strong> or cake<\/strong> is<\/span> on sale this week.<\/p>\n

If your or\/nor sentence has a plural and a singular subject, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wrong:<\/span><\/strong> Neither the Lees<\/strong> nor Cassius<\/strong> are<\/span> coming skating.<\/p>\n

Right:<\/span><\/strong> Neither the Lees<\/strong> nor Cassius<\/strong> is<\/span> coming skating.<\/p>\n

Right:<\/span><\/strong> Neither Cassius<\/strong> nor the Lees<\/strong> are<\/span> coming skating.<\/p>\n

The last sentence sounds more colloquial than the second sentence, so it is probably best to use the singular subject, plural subject, plural verb order when you write these types of sentences.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Get Distracted by Words in the Middle<\/h3>\n

Sometimes, you might have a long string of modifiers (but hopefully not too long<\/a>!) between your subject and your verb. Don\u2019t lose track of what your subject is!<\/p>\n

Wrong:<\/span><\/strong> The man<\/strong> that has nine cats are<\/span> crazy.<\/p>\n

Right:<\/span><\/strong> The man<\/strong> that has nine cats is<\/span> crazy.<\/p>\n

Wrong:<\/span><\/strong> The security guard<\/strong>, as well as the robbers, are<\/span> having an adventurous night.<\/p>\n

Right:<\/span><\/strong> The security guard<\/strong>, as well as the robbers, is<\/span> having an adventurous night.<\/p>\n

Indefinite Pronouns<\/h3>\n

The words anybody, anyone, each, each one, either, everybody, everyone, neither, nobody, no one, somebody, and someone are all singular.<\/p>\n

Wrong:<\/span> Nobody<\/strong> are<\/span> cooler than you.<\/p>\n

Right:<\/span> Nobody<\/strong> is<\/span> cooler than you.<\/p>\n

Wrong:<\/span><\/strong> Each one<\/strong> are<\/span> important to the team.<\/p>\n

Right:<\/span><\/strong> Each one<\/strong> is<\/span> important to the team.<\/p>\n

What About None?<\/h3>\n

None can mean \u201cnot one\u201d, in which case it is singular, or \u201cnot any\u201d, in which case it is plural.<\/p>\n

You have to go with your gut about which meaning is correct in your sentence, but don\u2019t worry too much — chances are that you\u2019ll be right either way.<\/p>\n

Right:<\/span> None<\/strong> of you cook<\/span> as well as my grandmother does.<\/p>\n

Right:<\/span> None<\/strong> of you cooks<\/span> as well as my grandmother does.<\/p>\n

Nouns That Try to Fool You<\/h3>\n

A collective noun refers to a group of things, but it is singular.<\/p>\n

Wrong:<\/span><\/strong> My family<\/strong> are<\/span> coming for dinner.<\/p>\n

Right:<\/strong><\/span> My family<\/strong> is<\/span> coming for dinner.<\/p>\n

Other nouns seem singular, but are really plural.<\/p>\n

Wrong:<\/span><\/strong> The scissors<\/strong> slips<\/span> out of my hand.<\/p>\n

Right:<\/span><\/strong> The scissors<\/strong> slip<\/span> out of my hand.<\/p>\n

Learn More:<\/p>\n