SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

BUT FIRST…A REVIEW Pronoun: Takes the place of a noun. She, it, they, them, he, our, etc. Example: David read his book. Pronoun: his Antecedent: The noun that the pronoun takes place of. Example: David read his book. Antecedent: David

I. NUMBER AGREEMENT This music (has, have) elements of harmony that are very complex. Before they leave for vacation, the women (ask, asks) their neighbors to look after their house.

II. PHRASE AND CLAUSE INTERRUPTERS Subjects are NEVER found in the prepositional phrase The last people off the ship (carry, carries) their own luggage. Songs about love (make, makes) me cry.

III. INDEFINITE PRONOUNS Memorize the following poem: Each, either, neither, body, thing, and one are always singular. Neither of the movies (is, are) good. Each of the whale shark’s eggs (is, are) quite large.

EITHER/OR; NEITHER/NOR Neither the girls nor the boy (likes, like) cake. Neither the boy nor the girls (likes, like) cake. Either the girls or the boy (sing, sings) at the end of the play. Either the boy or the girls (sing, sings) at the end of the play.

FEW “Few” is always plural Few of the world’s sharks (grow, grows) to be sixty feet long. Few of us (has, have) seen a giant jelly fish before.

THE “NONE RULE” Look in the prepositional phrase to figure out if “none” is singular or plural. None of the students (has, have) done their homework. None of you (claims, claim) responsibility for the incident?

SUBJECTS FOLLOWING THE VERB “Here” and “there” can never be the subject Here (is, are) the books you requested. There (is, are) many reasons you should read those books.

COLLECTIVE NOUNS army audience board cabinet class committee company corporation council department faculty family firm group jury majority minority navy public school senate society team troupe

Because people behave as both herd animals and solitary creatures, collective nouns can be either singular or plural, depending on context. In writing, this double status often causes agreement errors. How do you tell if a collective noun is singular or plural? What verbs and pronouns do you use with the collective noun?

Here is the key: Imagine a flock of pigeons pecking at birdseed on the ground. Suddenly, a cat races out of the bushes. What do the pigeons do? They fly off as a unit in an attempt to escape the predator, wheeling through the sky in the same direction.

People often behave in the same manner, doing one thing in unison with the other members of their group. When these people are part of a collective noun, that noun becomes singular and requires singular verbs and pronouns. As you read the following examples, notice that all members of the collective noun are doing the same thing at the same time: Every afternoon the baseball team follows its coach out to the hot field for practice. Team = singular; follows = a singular verb; its = a singular pronoun. All members of the team arrive at the same place at the same time.

Today, Dr. Ribley's class takes its first 100-item exam. Class = singular; takes = a singular verb; its = a singular pronoun. All members of the class are testing at the same time. The jury agrees that the state prosecutors did not provide enough evidence, so its verdict is not guilty. Jury = singular; agrees = a singular verb; its = a singular pronoun. All members of the jury are thinking the same way.

Now imagine three house cats in the living room. Are the cats doing the same thing at the same time? Not this group! One cat might be sleeping on top of the warm television. Another might be grooming on the sofa. A third animal might be perched on the windowsill, watching the world outside. There is one group of animals, but the members of that group are all doing their own thing.

Members of collective nouns can behave in a similar fashion. When the members are acting as individuals, the collective noun is plural and requires plural verbs and pronouns. As you read these examples, notice that the members of the collective noun are not acting in unison:

After the three-hour practice under the brutal sun, the team shower, change into their street clothes, and head to their air-conditioned homes. Team = plural; shower, change, head = plural verbs; their = a plural pronoun. The teammates are dressing into their individual outfits and leaving in different directions for their individual homes. After the long exam, the class start their research papers on famous mathematicians. Class = plural; start = a plural verb; their = a plural pronoun. The students are beginning their own research papers—in different places, at different times, on different mathematicians.

The jury disagree about the guilt of the accused and have told the judge that they are hopelessly deadlocked. Jury = plural; disagree, have told = plural verbs; they = a plural pronoun. Not everyone on the jury is thinking the same way.

AMOUNTS AND MEASUREMENTS Although they sometimes appear to be plural, many amounts and measurements express single units. A noun expressing an amount or measurement is usually singular and requires a singular verb.

Examples: Seventy-nine cents is the price for two. Four feet was the height of the chain link fence. Three quarters of the bushel of fruit was wasted. Explanation: Seventy-nine cents is one sum of money. Four feet is a single measurement. Three quarters is one part of a container.

But Half of the chickens were sold. Half refers to a number of individual chicken and therefore takes plural verb.

+/- If your sentence compounds a positive and a negative subject and one is plural, the other singular, the verb should agree with the positive subject. The department members but not the chair have decided not to teach on Valentine's Day. It is not the faculty members but the president who decides this issue. It was the speaker, not his ideas, that has provoked the students to riot.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS A relative pronoun, like who, which, or that, takes a verb that agrees with the pronoun’s antecedent.

Wrong: He is one of the employees who works overtime regularly. Right: He is one of the employees who work overtime regularly. (In this example, the antecedent of who is employees, and therefore the verb should be plural.)