Subjects-Verbs Agreements
This handout gives you several guidelines to help your subjects and verbs agree.
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.
In some cases in American English, a sentence may call for the use
of a plural verb when using a collective noun.
The crew are preparing to dock the ship.
This sentence is referring to the individual efforts of each crew
member. The Gregg Reference Manual provides excellent explanations of
subject-verb agreement (section 10: 1001).
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.
