Subject-Verb Agreement

ACT Prep

Basic Principle:

• Singular subjects need singular verbs–My brother is a nutritionist.

• Plural subjects need plural verbs. –My sisters are

mathematicians.

Most indefinite pronouns are singularanyone anybody anything everyone everybodyeverythingsomeone somebody somethingno one nobody nothing every either neither another each

* Everyone has done his or her homework.

• * Somebody has left her purse.

Exceptional Indefinite Pronouns:• Some indefinite pronouns are

singular or plural depending on what they're referring to. – none, some, more, most, any,

and all• Be careful choosing a verb to

accompany such pronouns.*Some of the beads are missing.

* Some of the water is gone.

Compound Subjects• Compound subjects consist of two or

more subjects joined by and. – The professor and I are good

friends.• Phrases such as together with, as

well as, and along with are not the same as and. – The mayor and his brothers are

going to jail.– The mayor as well as his brothers

is going to prison.

Either and Neither• The pronouns neither and either

are singular and require singular verbs even though they seem to be referring, in a sense, to two things.– Neither of the two traffic lights

is working.– Which shirt do you want for

Christmas?– Either is fine with me.

Or and Nor• When nor or or is used, the

subject closer to the verb determines the number of the verb.

• Whether the subject comes before or after the verb doesn't matter

• The proximity determines the number.

For Example:• Either my father or my brothers

are going to sell the house.• Neither my brothers nor my father

is going to sell the house.• Are either my brothers or my

father responsible?• Is either my father or my brothers

responsible?

Because a sentence like "Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the house" sounds peculiar, it is probably a good idea to put the plural subject closer to the verb whenever that is possible.

There and Here• The words there and here are

never subjects.– There are two reasons [plural

subject] for this.– There is no reason for this.– Here are two apples.

• Although the subject follows the verb, it still determines the number of the verb.

Odds and Ends• Fractional expressions are

sometimes singular and sometimes plural:– half of, a part of, a percentage

of, and a majority of• The same is true when the

following act as subjects:– all, any, more, most and some

• Sums and products of mathematical processes are expressed as singular and require singular verbs.

• The expression "more than one" (oddly enough) takes a singular verb: – More than one student has tried

this.

• Some of the voters are still angry.• A large percentage of the older

population is voting against her.• Two-fifths of the troops were lost in the

battle.• Two-fifths of the vineyard was destroyed

by fire.• Forty percent of the students are in

favor of changing the policy.• Forty percent of the student body is in

favor of changing the policy.• Two and two is four.• Four times four divided by two is eight.

Caution!• Sometimes modifiers will get between a

subject and its verb, but these modifiers must not confuse the agreement between the subject and its verb.– The mayor, who has been convicted

along with his four brothers on four counts of various crimes but who also seems, like a cat, to have several political lives, is finally going to jail.

For the Super Advanced Student:• If your sentence compounds a positive

and a negative subject and one is plural, the other singular, the verb should agree with the positive subject.– The department members but not the

chair have decided not to teach on Valentine's Day.

– It is not the faculty members but the president who decides this issue.

– It was the speaker, not his ideas, that has provoked the students to riot.

TIP!!• Sometimes after you know that

the subject is singular or plural, you still can’t decide which verb is singular and which is plural.– Substitute “it” for singular– Substitute “they” for plural

• The verb immediately become apparent.– Most parents mistakenly think that

mumps has/have been eliminated as a childhood disease.

Relative Pronouns:• Who, whom, which, and that are either

singular or plural, depending on the words they refer to.

.• The sales manager is a good researcher

who spends a great amount of time surfing the Web for information. – Subjects: the sales manager ,

researcher– Verbs: is, spends

• Sales managers are good researchers who spend a great amount of time surfing the Web for information. – Subjects: sales managers,

researchers– Verbs: are, spend

Once Again . . .

• Sometimes the pronoun who, that, or which is the subject of a verb in the middle of the sentence.

• The pronouns who, that, and which become singular or plural according to the noun directly in front of them.

• So, if that noun is singular, use a singular verb. If it is plural, use a plural verb.   do.

Examples:

• Sarah is the scientist who writes/write the reports.– The word in front of who is scientist,

which is singular. – Therefore, use the singular verb

writes. • He is one of the men who does/do the

work. – The word in front of who is men,

which is plural. – Therefore, use the plural verb

• This may seem a bit confusing at first, but there's a way to get it right every time.

• If you find "who," "which," or "that" introducing a dependent clause (like in the examples above):– Look at the word right in front of it

(usually that's the word it takes the place of).

– Decide if the word is singular or plural (that will tell you whether "who," "which," or "that" is singular or plural).

– Make the verb agree! • That's all there is to it! 

“One of the. . .” causes problems:

• Sanders is one of the council members who oppose the plan.– Who refers to the plural members– Several council members oppose

the plan.• Sanders is the only one of the council

members who opposes the plan.– Who refers to one– There is only one council member,

Sanders, opposing the plan.

LET’S PRACTICE

1. Either the physicians in this hospital or the chief administrator is / are going to have to make a decision.

2. Is / Are my boss or my sisters in the union going to win this grievance?

3. Some of the votes seem / seems to have been miscounted.

4. The tornadoes that tear through this county every spring are / is more than just a nuisance.

5. Everyone selected to serve on this jury have / has to be willing to give up a lot of time.

6. Kara Wolters, together with her teammates, presents / present a formidable opponent on the basketball court.

7. He seems to forget that there are / is things to be done before he can graduate.

8. There have / has to be some people left in that town after yesterday's flood.

9. Some of the grain appear / appears to be contaminated.

10. Three-quarters of the students is / are against the tuition hike.

1. Either the physicians in this hospital or the chief administrator is going to have to make a decision.

2. Is my boss or my sisters in the union going to win this grievance?

3. Some of the votes seem to have been miscounted.4. The tornadoes that tear through this county every spring

are more than just a nuisance.5. Everyone selected to serve on this jury has to be willing to

give up a lot of time.6. Kara Wolters, together with her teammates, presents a

formidable opponent on the basketball court.7. He seems to forget that there are things to be done before

he can graduate.8. There have to be some people left in that town after

yesterday's flood. 9. Some of the grain appears to be contaminated. 10.Three-quarters of the students are against the tuition hike.