Subject-Verb Agreement: Nine Little Rules

Mr. Jones and Mr. Clark ____ hands. 1) shake 2) shook 3) shuck

*A singular subject demands a singular verb; a plural subject demands a plural verb. child (1) fox (1) Mathematics (1 subject) fish, hair, moose (1 hair, 1 fish, 1 moose) sugar sand wax water milk Children (more than one) Foxes (more than one) Mathematics classes fish, hair, moose (more than one) Cannot be counted.

The dog _________________ the cat. Easy enough? chase chases chasing The dog _________________ the cat.

The dog _________________ the cat. The dog chases the cat. Easy enough? chase chases chasing The dog _________________ the cat. The dog chases the cat. singular

The mice ___________ the elephant. Easy enough? chase chases chasing The mice ___________ the elephant. PLURAL

A can of lima beans sits on the shelf. *1) A phrase or clause between the subject and the verb does not change the number of the noun subject. A can of lima beans sits on the shelf. Simple subject? Do the subject and verb agree? Verb? Ignore the intervening phrase “of lima beans.” The subject is never in a prepositional phrase.

*2) Singular indefinite pronouns as subjects take singular verbs. has Each _________ a specific job on the team. (have, has) Singular: each one – as an individual Singular indefinite pronouns: each, either, neither, one, no one, Nobody, anyone, anybody, anything, someone, something, everyone, everybody, everything

Both ____ a specific job on the team. (do, does) Plural *Plural indefinite pronoun subjects take plural verbs: several, few, both, many Both ____ a specific job on the team. (do, does) do Some indefinite pronouns are singular or plural (some, any, none, all, most), depending upon the noun that follows. is Some of the sugar ______on the floor. Can sugar be counted? Some of the marbles ______ on the floor. are Can marbles be counted?

*3) Compound subjects joined by and are always plural. A pencil and an eraser _____writing easier. make are Mrs. Mathis and Ms. Frankfort _____ beast teachers. Do they teach beasts?

Neither E.J. nor Shapiro ____ paying attention. (Think: neither one ) *4) With compound subjects joined by or/nor , the verb agrees with the closest subject. Neither E.J. nor Shapiro ____ paying attention. (Think: neither one ) is are Either the boys or the girls _____ going to win the contest. *5) Inverted subjects must agree with the verb. How ___ the relatives taking the news? are singular or plural?

*6) Collective nouns may be S or P depending upon the meaning. The jury has awarded custody to the grandmother. (the jury is one unit, one group) The jury members have been arguing for days. (members are individuals)

Sports Illustrated is his favorite magazine. *7) Titles of books, organizations, countries, school subjects etc, are always singular. Sports Illustrated is his favorite magazine. Physics ____ Mr. Mattox’s major. is (Yes, physics ends in ‘s’, but it is one subject.) *8) Plural form subjects that take on one meaning are singular and take a singular verb. *9) Plural form subjects can take a singular or plural verb, depending upon the meaning. Mumps is contagious. Measles is, too. (8) are A pair of scissors ___ needed. The scissors ____ on the table. is

He doesn’t have (never he don’t got….). A couple of other rules... He doesn’t have (never he don’t got….). They don’t have (never they doesn’t got). Mine is already plural (never mine’s), as in, “Mine is the apple red Crossfire parked next to your pea green Pinto.”