Subject Verb Agreement

 

Rules of Subject-Verb Agreement

Subjects and verbs must agree with each other in number for a sentence to make sense.

1. Subjects and verbs must agree in number.
The dog is barking.
The dogs are barking.

2. Subordinate clauses that come between the subject and verb don't affect their agreement.
The boy, who is smoking, is usually very good.

3. Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb usually do not affect agreement.
The colors of the rainbow are beautiful.

4. When sentences start with "there" or "here," the subject will always be placed after the verb.
There is a mistake in your answers.
Here are the papers you requested.

5. Subjects don't always come before verbs in questions. Make sure you accurately identify the subject before deciding on the proper verb form to use.

Where are the pieces of this puzzle?
What is the child doing with toys?

6. If two subjects are joined by "and," they typically require a plural verb form.

The cow and the dog are jumping.

7. The verb is singular if the two subjects separated by "and" refer to the same person or thing as a whole.
Bread and butter is a wholesome food.
The actor and singer is coming.

8. If one of the words "each," "every," or "no" comes before the subject, the verb is singular.

No smoking or drinking is allowed.
Every man and woman is required to check in.

9. If the subjects are both singular and are connected by the words "or," "nor," "neither/nor," "either/or," or "not only/but also," the verb is singular.

Either Monika or Nutan is to blame for the accident.

10. If the subjects are both plural and are connected by the words "or," "nor," "neither/nor," "either/or," or "not only/but also," the verb is plural.

Not only dogs but also cats are available at the animal shelter.

11. If one subject is singular and the other is plural, and the words are connected by the words "or," "nor," "neither/nor," "either/or," or "not only/but also," use the verb form of the subject that is nearest the verb.

Either the bears or the lion has escaped from the zoo.
Neither the lion nor the bears have escaped from the zoo.

12. "few," "many," "several," "both," "all," and "some. always take the plural form.

Few were left alive after the flood.

13. A collective noun, such as "team" or "staff," can be either singular or plural depending upon the rest of the sentence. Typically, they take the singular form, as the collective noun is treated as a cohesive single unit.

The team is playing well.

14. Titles of books, movies, novels, and other similar works are treated as singular and take a singular verb.

Kites is a movie starring Hrithik Roshan.
The Arabian Nights is a very popular book .

Subject and Verb Agreement Exercise

Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject.

1. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school.

2. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the meeting.

3. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside.

4. Either my shoes or your coat (is, are) always on the floor.

5. Gunjan and Tara (doesn't, don't) want to see that movie.

6. Babita (doesn't, don't) know the answer.

7. One of my sisters (is, are) going on a trip to France.

8. The man with all the birds (live, lives) on my street.

9. The movie, including all the previews, (take, takes) about two hours to watch.

10. The players, as well as the captain, (want, wants) to win.

11. Either answer (is, are) acceptable.

12. Every one of those books (is, are) fiction.

13. Nobody (know, knows) the trouble I've seen.

14. (Is, Are) the news on at five or six?

15. Mathematics (is, are) Jaya's favorite subject, while Civics (is, are) Ankita's favorite subject.

16. Eight dollars (is, are) the price of a movie these days.

17. (Is, Are) the knife in this drawer?

18. Your clothes (is, are) at the drycleaners.

19. There (was, were) fifteen candies in that bag. Now there (is, are) only one left!

20. The committee (debates, debate) these questions carefully.

21. The committee members (leads, lead) very different lives in private.

22. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, (greets, greet) the press cordially.

23. All of the DVDs, even the scratched one, (is, are) in this case.

Answer:

1. Annie and her brothers are at school.

2. Either my mother or my father is coming to the meeting.

3. The dog or the cats are outside.

4. Either my shoes or your coat is always on the floor.

5. Gunjan and Tara don't want to see that movie.

6. Babita doesn't know the answer.

7. One of my sisters is going on a trip to France.

8. The man with all the birds lives on my street.

9. The movie, including all the previews, takes about two hours to watch.

10. The players, as well as the captain, want to win.

11. Either answer is acceptable.

12. Every one of those books is fiction.

13. Nobody knows the trouble I've seen.

14. Is the news on at five or six?

15. Mathematics is Jaya's favorite subject, while Civics is Ankita's favorite subject.

16. Eight dollars is the price of a movie these days.

17. Is the knife in this drawer?

18. Your xlothea are at the drycleaners.

19. There were fifteen candies in that bag. Now there is only one left!

20. The committee debates these questions carefully.

21. The committee members lead very different lives in private.

22. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, greets the press cordially.

23. All of the DVDs, even the scratched one, are in this case.

Error Detection (Exercise)

1. When she is free, she will helps us.

2. The teacher gave each of the student a test paper.  

 3. It's important for every students to have a dictionary.  

 4. We have a lot of works to do.   

5. One of my mother's ring was also stolen.   

6. She has a lot of jewelleries.   

7. We don't know why is he late.

8. They are able to concentrate of their work.

9. A small family have a lot of advantages.

10. The desert was delicious.

11. I have spend all my money.

12. Young people today have so much problems.

13. He has a habbit of getting up early.

14. She don't have any money.

15. A Indian lady gave the beggar some money.

16. My mother prefers coffee than tea.   

17. The girl which was chosen as Head Girl is my friend.

18. Did he spent all the money he had?

19. I will talked to her personally.

20. Where you are going?

Answer:

Error Detection

1. When she is free, she will help us.

2. The teacher gave each of the students a test paper.  

 3. It's important for every student to have a dictionary.  

 4. We have a lot of work to do.   

5. One of my mother's rings was also stolen.   

6. She has a lot of jewellery.   

7. We don't know why he is late.

8. They are able to concentrate on their work.

9. A small family has a lot of advantages.

10. The dessert was delicious.

11. I have spent all my money.

12. Young people today have so many problems.

13. He has a habit of getting up early.

14. She doesn't have any money.

15. An Indian lady gave the beggar some money.

16. My mother prefers coffee to tea.   

17. The girl who was chosen as Head Girl is my friend.

18. Did he spend all the money he had?

19. I will talk to her personally.

20. Where are you going?