SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

NEC FACET Center

Remember this rule,

The subject and verb should always agree

I’m Sally Subject. I’m Vernon Verb.

We ALWAY

S agree

And these 6 sub-rules!

1. If a subject ends in an “s,” the verb will not. If a subject does not end in an “s,” the verb will. 2. Even when words come in between the subject and verb, they should both agree. 3. When joining two or more subjects with and, use a plural verb. 4. When joining two or more subjects with neither/nor, either/or, or, and nor, use a verb that agrees with the nearer or nearest subject. 5. Collective nouns (a group of individuals or things) use either singular or plural verbs depending upon the context. 6. Even if a sentence is inverted, the subject should agree with the

verb. 

Definitions

Subject- The word/s that name the topic of the

sentence The word/s that the sentence is about

Verb- The word that states the action or state of

the subject Subject-Verb Agreement-

The appropriate pairing of subject and verb based on whether the subject and verb are plural or singular and whether the person is first, second, or third.

How to check S-V agreement1. Identify the verb (action or state of

being word)2. Identify the subject (who or what the

sentence is about)3. Check whether the subject is plural or

singular or special. Then check whether is it first, second, or third person.

4. Based on your findings about the subject, make sure the verb fits.

Identifying the Verb

Ask which word shows action or relationship to the verb. The dog jumps over the fence. Stephanie and Bethany have names that

rhyme. Everybody came to JoAnn’s party. Did you see the shirt she wore? That house is so dilapidated.

Conjugating a verb

For present tense, generally add an –s or –es for third person singular. Otherwise, add nothing to the verb.

Singular Plural

First Person I eat. We eat.

Second Person You eat. You eat.

Third person S/he eats. They eat.

Singular Plural

First Person I talk. We talk

Second Person You talk. You talk.

Third person S/he talks. They talk.

Special verbs

BE Singular Plural

First person I am We are

Second Person You are You are

Third Person S/he is They are

HAVE Singular Plural

First person I have We have

Second Person You have You have

Third Person S/he has They have

DO Singular Plural

First person I do They do

Second Person You do You do

Third Person S/he does They do

Identifying the Subject

Ask who or what the sentence is about. The dog jumps over the fence. Stephanie and Bethany have names that

rhyme. Everybody came to JoAnn’s party. Did you see the shirt she wore? That house is so dilapidated.

Rule # 1

1. If a subject ends in an “s,” the verb will not.

If a subject does not end in an “s,” the verb will.

I’m Sally Subject, and I’m single.

If I’m single, Vernon Verb

better be too.

Hi Sally. I’m Vernon Verb,

and I am single.

Rule #1: Agreement

Singular subjects need singular verbs. Singular subjects include the following:

I, you, he, she, it, dog, house, etc. I eat. You eat. She eats. You have ears. She has ears. The dog has ears.

Plural subjects need plural verbs. Plural subjects include the following:

We, they, dogs, houses, etc. We eat. They eat. The dogs eat. We have ears. They have ears. The houses do

not have ears.

Rule #1Practice: Singular and Plural Subjects

1. My hair suffer/suffers from the terrible humidity.

2. Their hairstyles look/looks the same.

3. Jodi is/are my closest confidant.

4. The FACET Center is/are my favorite place to be.

5. Fast food employees smile/smiles when they see me coming.

Rule #1(some exceptions)Special Subjects: words that end in -s

Some words that end in –s are singular. The news sometimes makes my head hurt. Mathematics is my favorite subject.

Some words that end in –s are plural because they have more than one part. The scissors cut through paper easily. The pants are brand-spanking-new.

Rule #1 (some exceptions)Special Subjects: indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns do not refer to a specific person or item. Ex. Everyone, anyone, each, either, everybody,

someone, nothing, one, nobody, neither, anything Always singular

Anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, none, nothing, one, somebody, someone, something

Always plural Both, few, many, several

Sometimes singular, sometimes plural Some, any, all, most

Rule #2

2. Even when words come in between the subject and verb, they should both agree.

Please don’t

separate us!

But if you do, we’ll still agree.

Rule #2Separated subject and verb

The subject and verb should always agree, no matter how many words are separating them! Billy, the master carpenter, charges

exorbitant prices. Billy is the subject. “Charges” agrees with

“Billy.” Billy, along with all of his co-workers,

charges exorbitant prices. Billy is still the subject. “Charges” agrees with

“Billy.” Did you know that Billy, my best friend ever

of all of my carpenter friends, doesn’t charge me at all? Billy is still the subject. “Doesn’t” agrees with

“Billy.”

Rule #3

When joining two or more subjects with and, use a plural verb.

Hey Sally!

Meet my sister,

Stephanie Subject.

Rule #3Compound Subjects

A compound subject occurs when two or more subjects are grouped using a conjunction (such as and, nor, or).

Usually compound subjects are plural. Tom and Sally eat food. Neither the horse nor the mule want to

graze on muggy days.

Rule #3Compound Subjects Cont.

Compound subjects are singular when they refer to the same idea/entity

My most stable friend and my only means to independence is my car.

*Friend and means to independence are both referring to the car. NOT My most stable friend and my only means to

independence are my car. they are considered one unit

they are preceded by “each” or “every” Each house, trailer, and apartment serves as someone’s

home. NOT Each house, trailer, and apartment serve as someone’s

home.

Rule #4

When joining two or more subjects with neither/nor, either/or, or, and nor, use a verb that agrees with the nearer or nearest subject.

Either Sally or Stephanie will agree with Vernon,

whoever’s closest.

But Vernon

…

No, Stephanie. Vernon and I agree. He’s closer to me.

Rule #4Examples: Neither, nor, either, or

Neither the counselor nor the parents know what to do with Billy Bob. know agrees with parents, not counselor

The receptionist or the tutors try to help you. Try agrees with tutors, not receptionist

Either the dogs or the cat defend the house when the humans are away. Defend agrees with cat, not dog

Rule #5

Collective nouns (a group of individuals or things) use either singular or plural verbs depending upon the context.

Rule #5Special Subjects: collective nouns

Collective nouns refer to a group. Ex. team, audience, staff, herd, class, majority

Generally, collective nouns are singular. Ex. The team wins. Ex. The class cheers when the teacher

announces no homework. Collective nouns may be plural when

referring to its members as individuals. The staff were complaining about the influx of

paperwork. *To clarify the sentence, you may add a modifier.

Rule #6

Even if a sentence is inverted, the subject should agree with the verb.

 

Rule #6Subjects after the verb

When the subject follows the verb, the two must still agree. There is an incredible amount of food under my bed.

is agrees with amount There are many food items under my bed.

are agrees with food items Waiting on the Dr. Phil’s desk to be graded was a

stack of papers ten feet high. was agrees with stack

Waiting on Dr. Phil’s desk to be graded were papers stacked ten feet high. were agrees with papers

Practice!

The dogs howl/howls at night. The desk stay/stays messy, despite how

much we hope it will clean itself. The students who always wear

sunglasses in class smell/smells like sunscreen today.

Melissa and Joan love/loves watching Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.

The blank worksheets and the teacher’s edition remain/remains in my bag at all times.

More Practice!

Neither the math tutor nor the English tutors want/wants to play in the puddle today.

Either the English tutors or the math tutor play/plays hopscotch on the weekends.

The team win/wins every game. The family speak/speaks in turn as each name is

called. “Open the door,” say/says Timmy every time he

comes near an automatic door. Off fly/flies the papers as the door swooshes

open.

Just remember, Sally and Vernon always agree.

Bye, Vernon! See you later, Sally!