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Making
your subjects and verbs agree
Important
RULES to remember
Teacher
Presentation of Subject / Verb Agreement Rules: Click
to begin
Watch
and Learn: Click
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Rule #1
If there are two subjects joined by AND,
the verb is plural.
Jim and Maria
were
married in 1993.
Our daughter and her
friends are
playing
inside.
Both my
boss and
co-worker were at the conference.
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Rule #2
If there are two singular subjects joined
by OR or NOR,
the verb is singular.
The student
or
his friend is
in the cafeteria.
The book
nor the pen
is in the
drawer.
Either my husband or my mother
picks
up my daughter at school.
If there are two subjects
-- one is plural and one is singular -- the verb
should agree with the subject closest
to the verb.
The
students or the teacher
is in the
classroom.
The teacher nor the
students are in the
classroom.
Neither
the students
nor the teacher
writes
on the board.
**This rule is also for
not only –but also
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Rule #3
WATCH OUT for
phrases
and clauses
that separate the subject from the verb.
One
of the
students
is
sick today.
The people
who
listen to rap music
love
this artist.
The
instructor
with
all those grammar books
teaches
ESL.
The coach,
as
well as his players,
is
nervous about the game today.
The students,
in
addition to the teacher,
are
receiving awards for their work.
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Rule #4
The following words are always singular, so the verb must also be
singular:
each,
each one,
either,
neither,
everyone,
everybody,
anybody,
anyone,
nobody,
somebody,
someone, and
no one.
Each
of
these students has
done exceptionally well this quarter.
Everybody knows
her name.
Somebody from
one of these classrooms lost
a purse.
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Rule #5
Here
and There
CANNOT be subjects.
Look for the subject(s) after the verb.
Here
is
your coat.
There
are
your books.
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Rule #6
The following words almost always have a plural verb.
all, few,
some, many,
several, and some.
Some
people in my apartment building are
very loud.
Few untrained mountain
climbers have
successfully reached
the top of Mt. Rainier.
All
of the books are
on the shelf.
** If the subject is a non-count noun, then the
verb will usually be singular.
Some information
is
available in the office.
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