A G R E E M E N T
This is a very important topic for writing and speaking the English language.
You must memorize this role: A verb must agree with its subject in number.
A 3rd PERSON SINGULAR NOUN OR PRONOUN he, she, it ALWAYS TAKES AN -S OR -ES ON THE END OF THE VERB IN THE SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE AND A PLURAL NOUN OR PRONOUN we, you, they DOES NOT TAKE AN -S OR AN -ES ON THE END OF THE VERB.
Examples of incorrect subject-verb agreement:
John see a dog. She reach for the car door.
We correct the above two sentences in the following manner:
John sees a dog. She reaches for the car door.
Mistakes in subject-verb agreement are also made in the following situations:
1. When words come between the subject and the verb
2. When the verb comes before the subject
3. With indefinite pronouns
4. With compound subjects
5. With who, which, and that
6. With modals (see number 6, below)
Each of these situations is explained below:
1. WORDS BETWEEN THE SUBJECT AND THE VERB: Words which come between the subject and the verb do not change subject-verb agreement. Look at this example:
The breakfast cereals in the closet are made mostly of sugar.
In this sentence, the subject "cereals" is plural, and so the verb "are" is plural. The prepositional phrase "in the closet," which come between the subject and the verb, do not affect subject-verb agreement. To help find the subject of certain sentences and determine if it is singular or plural, you should cross out or simply ignore prepositional phrases.
For example:
One of the crooked politicians was jailed for a month. The posters on my little brother’s wall include rock singers, monsters, and blonde television stars.
Just in case you have forgotten them, hit any key to see the list of common prepositions on the next screen:
LIST OF COMMON PREPOSITIONS
|
about |
before |
by |
inside |
over |
|
above |
behind |
during |
outside |
through |
|
across |
below |
except |
of |
to |
|
among |
beneath |
for |
off |
toward |
|
around |
beside |
from |
on |
under |
|
at |
between |
in |
onto |
with |
|
into |
2. VERB BEFORE THE SUBJECT:
A verb agrees with its subject in number even when the verb comes before the subject. Words which may precede the subject include there, here, and in questions, who, which, what, and where.
Examples:
There were times when I was ready to quit my job. Where are the instructions for the microwave oven? Inside the garage are the garden tools. At the street corner were two panhandlers.
If you are not sure about the subject, ask who? or what? performs the action of the verb. With the third sentence above you might ask, "What are inside the garage?" The answer, tools, is the subject. In the fourth sentence, you might ask: “Who was at the street corner?” The answer, panhandlers, is correct.
3. INDEFINITE PRONOUNS:
The following words, known as INDEFINITE PRONOUNS, always take singular verbs. There are two exceptions: BOTH and MOST always take a plural verb.
|
-"one" words |
-"body" words |
-"thing" words |
|
|
one |
nobody |
nothing |
each |
|
anyone |
anybody |
anything |
either |
|
everyone |
everybody |
everything |
neither |
|
someone |
somebody |
something |
Here are some examples: Somebody is (singular verb) calling me. Nothing scares (singular verb) me more than thunder and lightning. BUT: Most people like (plural verb) Touro College. Both my friends are in my English class.
4. COMPOUND SUBJECTS:
Subjects joined by AND generally take a plural verb.
Examples: Yoga and biking are Lucy’s ways of staying in shape. Ambition and good luck are (plural verb) the keys to his success. When subjects are joined by either.... or, neither... nor, not only..., but also, the verb agrees with the subject closer to the verb.
Example: Either the restaurant manager or his assistants deserve (plural verb) to be fired for using spoiled meat in the stew.
5. WHO, WHICH, and THAT:
When who, which, and that are used as subjects, they take singular verbs if the word they stand for is singular, and plural verbs if the word they stand for is plural. For example, look at the following sentence: Paul is one of those people who is very private. Notice that the verb is plural because who stands for people, which is plural. Now, examine this sentence: Donald is a person who is very private. Notice in this example that the verb is singular because who stands for Donald, which is singular.
6. MODALS:
Modals are such verbs as should, would, could, may, might, and can. These modals do not take an -s or an -es in the 3rd person singular. For example: Susan can do (no -s on the verb) her homework now.