SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
The
most important thing to remember with subject-verb agreement is that:
Singular
subjects need singular verbs.
Plural subjects need plural
verbs.
This may
seem straightforward. However, there are some areas where errors are quite
common.
Common Errors
1.
Anyone/anybody, everyone/everybody, someone/somebody, no-one/nobody
These indefinite pronouns are always singular and require singular verbs.
e.g.
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Everyone
has to carry an I.D. card .
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Somebody
has left a mobile phone in the lecture hall. |
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No-one have ever seen her again.
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2.
All, some, none
Some indefinite pronouns can be both singular and plural,
depending on what they are referring to. (Plural countable nouns take
plural verbs, uncountable nouns take singular verbs.) Be careful when
choosing a verb to accompany such pronouns.
e.g
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Countable
noun:
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Some
of the assignments are missing. |
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The
Company is involved in other lawsuits, but none are considered valid. |
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These
innovations are all designed to create a sense of
connection. |
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Some of the dinosaurs is missing.
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e.g |
Uncountable
noun: |
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All
the wine has been drunk.
During fiscal 2001, all remaining outstanding debt was
cleared. |
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None of the petrol were spilled.
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3.
Each
'Each' is often followed by a phrase ending in a plural
word (e.g. each of the students¡K),
but 'each' is always singular and requires a singular
verb.
e.g.
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Each
of the students is responsible for submitting work
punctually. |
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Each
preferred share was converted into 1.1273 common
shares. |
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Each
Committee is directed by an appointed board. |
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The Principle asks that each are considered
equally.
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4.
Neither,either
Strictly speaking, these pronouns are singular and require singular verbs
even though they can seem to be referring to two things.
e.g. |
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Neither
of the books is useful.
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Either
is fine with me. |
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Neither the skirt nor the trousers are suitable.
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However,
in informal writing, neither and either
sometimes take a plural verb when they are followed by a prepositional
phrase beginning with of. This is particularly true with question forms.
e.g. |
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Have
either of you read the assignment?
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Are
either of the companies listed?
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5.
There and here
In sentence constructions starting with 'there' or 'here', the subject
determines whether the verb is singular or plural.
e.g.
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There
are two reasons for this. |
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There
is no reason for this. |
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Here
come the police. (uncountable noun) |
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Here
comes a policewoman. |
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There is a number of different possibilities.
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6.
Plural nouns
Some nouns are always plural and require plural verbs. These include glasses,
trousers, scissors, remains etc. However, if they are preceded
by 'a pair of', the verb is singular because the word
pair becomes the subject.
e.g.
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The
goods were found to be faulty. |
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His
remains were buried in the jungle. |
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My
trousers are too long. |
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That
pair of trousers is too long. |
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My glasses is broken.
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7.
Singular nouns ending in 's'
Conversely, some words end in -s and appear to be plural
but are really singular and require singular verbs.
e.g. |
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The
news is bad.
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Measles
is a dangerous disease for pregnant women. |
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Mumps aren't pleasant either.
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8.
All, any, more, most and some as subjects
When all, any, more, most and some act as subjects, the
verb can be singular or plural, depending on the meaning.
Fractional expressions such as half of, a part of, a percentage
of, a majority of are also sometimes singular and sometimes plural.
The expression
"more than one" takes a singular verb
e.g.
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Singular
verb:
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More
than one student has tried this. |
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50%
of the university was destroyed by fire. |
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A
large percentage of the police is in favour of carrying
guns. |
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Some girls likes to drive motor bikes, but not many.
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e.g |
Plural
verb: |
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Some
of the members are still waiting. |
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50%
of the parents were at the school Governors' meeting.
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More than one person have drowned there.
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Links:
This website gives a comprehensive explanation, 3 quizzes and an optional
PowerPoint tutorial on subject-verb agreement.
http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/sv_agr.htm
(Accessed 7 February 2003)
This website gives the Online Writing Lessons handout, with self-check
exercises.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslsubverb.html
(Accessed 7 February 2003)
This website gives 10 rules for subject-verb agreement, with examples.
http://www.asu.edu/duas/wcenter/subject.html
(Accessed 7 February 2003)
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