1. When the subject of a sentence is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by and, use a plural verb.
She and her friends are at the fair.
2. When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by or or nor, use a singular verb.
The book or the pen is in the drawer.
3. 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 part of the subject that is nearer the verb.
The boy or his friends run every day.
His friends or the boy runs every day.
4. Doesn't is a contraction of does not and should be used only with a singular subject. Don't is a contraction of do not and should be used only with a plural subject. The exception to this rule appears in the case of the first person and second person pronouns I and you. With these pronouns, the contraction don't should be used.
He doesn't like it.
They don't like it.
5. Do not be misled by a phrase that comes between the subject and the verb. The verb agrees with the subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase.
One of the boxes is open
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.
The woman with all the dogs walks down my street.
6. The words each, each one, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone, nobody, somebody, someone, and no one are singular and require a singular verb.
Each of these hot dogs is juicy.
Everybody knows Mr. Jones.
Either is correct.
7. Nouns such as civics, mathematics, dollars, measles, and news require singular verbs.
The news is on at six.
Note: the word dollars is a special case. When talking about an amount of money, it requires a singular verb, but when referring to the dollars themselves, a plural verb is required.
Five dollars is a lot of money.
Dollars are often used instead of rubles in Russia.
8. Nouns such as scissors, tweezers, trousers, and shears require plural verbs. (There are two parts to these things.)
These scissors are dull.
Those trousers are made of wool.
9. In sentences beginning with "there is" or "there are," the subject follows the verb. Since "there" is not the subject, the verb agrees with what follows.
There are many questions.
There is a question.
10. Collective nouns are words that imply more than one person but that are considered singular and take a singular verb, such as group, team, committee, class, and family.
The team runs during practice.
The committee decides how to proceed.
The family has a long history.
My family has never been able to agree.
The crew is preparing to dock the ship.
11. Expressions such as with, together with, including, accompanied by, in addition to, or as well do not change the number of the subject. If the subject is singular, the verb is too.
The President, accompanied by his wife, is traveling to India.
All of the books, including yours, are in that box.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
13. Under the original, unamended Constitution, the only person(s) elected directly by the people was/were…
- 866 Words
- 4 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
All but one of the following sentences contain a mistake involving (1) standard English or irregular verb forms, (2) subject-verb agreement, or (3) consistent verb tense. Cross out the incorrect verb and write the correct form in the space provided. Mark the sentence that uses verbs correctly with a C.…
- 295 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Women have been one of the most disadvantaged groups; they are the only group in the world who have/has been idealized into powerlessness…
- 5756 Words
- 24 Pages
Powerful Essays -
a. "I don't want to change sides and just be told what to do. There is no reason to change if I do that," (pg. 92)…
- 685 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
9. Highlight or bold what should be fixed in the following sentence. Then rewrite the sentence with the correction. My dogs or my cat is chewing the slippers my mother received from my brother and me, but I don’t know which pet is guilty.…
- 834 Words
- 4 Pages
Powerful Essays -
3. Because of the law, we rely on the goodwill and dependability of one another. True False…
- 16827 Words
- 63 Pages
Powerful Essays -
5. Do you use one or two quotes? I'm from the U.S. We use double quotes first. Then, single quotes.…
- 431 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Correction: Given a multiple choice quiz of four choices per question on a ten question quiz, students will identify the action verb present in the choices (a,b,c,d) with 80%…
- 443 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
There is one syllable in each part of the verb phrase. The main stress is placed on the first syllable.…
- 1220 Words
- 5 Pages
Powerful Essays -
When you have a series of items, you must use a comma before the ‘and’ or the ‘or.’…
- 970 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
3. Prepositional phrases that come between the subject and the verb do not change the number of the subject.…
- 768 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
* Follows a preposition (e.g. in, into, on, to, by, for, from, with, without, etc.)…
- 352 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
|either.....or (или....или) |Two subjects connected by both.....and take a plural|The research project will take both time and |…
- 4131 Words
- 17 Pages
Good Essays -
Please do not make the following common errors (for a complete list, please see http://www.wsu.edu/…
- 268 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
* The remaining subjects must include one subject from each from List 1 and List 2:…
- 286 Words
- 2 Pages
Satisfactory Essays