Agreement

Subject – Verb Agreement When we refer to subjects, they come in two numbers: Singular The person waits. Plural The people wait.

Some Common Rules With… Use a… I singular verb (no “s”) You plural verb (no “s”) He, She, It singular verb (“s”) We They

Agreement: The Basics With Subjects and Verbs: Singular subjects take singular verbs. My grandfather trains dogs. She owns the red car. Plural subjects take plural verbs. My grandparents train dogs. They own the red car.

Agreement: The Basics A pronoun should agree in number, gender, and person with its antecedent. **A pronoun usually refers to a noun or another pronoun, which is called the pronoun’s antecedent. Singular pronouns refer to singular antecedents. Plural pronouns refer to plural antecedents The hikers took their canteens with them.

Agreement: Indefinite Pronouns Some indefinite pronouns are singular or plural, as the SUBJECT of a sentence. ALWAYS SINGULAR (takes a singular verb and singular antecedent): anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, something ALWAYS PLURAL (takes a plural verb and plural antecedant): both, few, many, several

Agreement: Indefinite Pronouns All, any, most, none, more, and some can be either singular or plural as the subject, depending on their meaning in a sentence. They are a singular subject when referring to singular words and a plural subject when referring to plural words. All of the vegetable garden has been planted. (all refers to garden) All of the vegetables have been planted. (all refers to vegetables)

Agreement: Indefinite Pronouns Indefinite pronouns do not indicate gender. Often, the object in the prepositional phrase that follows such a pronoun indicates gender. Each of the boys brought his own mitt One of the girls left her sweater on the bus. If the antecedent may be either masculine or feminine, use both pronouns to refer to it. Anyone who is going on the field trip needs to bring his or her lunch.

Agreement: Compound Subjects Compound subjects joined by and take a plural verb or pronoun/ antecedent. Basil and thyme are plants of the mint family. If Jesse and Ben call, tell them that I will not be home until later. Subjects joined by and may refer to only one noun. Such compound subjects take a singular verb or singular pronoun/ antecedent. The secretary and treasurer is Gretchen. The corned beef and cabbage was delicious, so I ate two servings of it.

Agreement: Compound Subjects Singular subjects joined by or or nor take a singular verb or singular pronoun/antecedent Neither Jack nor Jill wants to see the movie. If a singular and a plural subject is joined by “or” or “nor” the subject closest to the verb is used in agreement. Neither Mrs. Smith nor the Jones’ want to see the movie. Either Keith or Kevin always finished his geometry homework in class.

Agreement: TO MAKE LIFE DIFFICULT: The following nouns take singular verbs and are singular antecedents: Civics, genetics, news, economics, gymnastics, molasses, physics, mathematics, summons, electronics, mumps, measles These take plural verbs and plural antecedents even when they are referred to as a singular item: Binoculars, pants, shears, eyeglasses, pliers, slacks, Olympics, scissors, trousers