Presentation on agreement of verbs and subjects

An overview of the presentation 1.Introduction 2.Different rules and examples 3.Exercises on

Introduction In English, subject-verb agreement is very important. The verb must agree with its subjects to construct a grammatical sentence. Here are some rules to remember.

Rule 1 Uncountable nouns such as ‘news’, ‘advice’, ‘information’ ‘knowledge’, ‘rubbish’, ‘furniture’, etc, must be followed by singular verbs. e.g. The furniture is made in England.

Rule 2 A verb should agree in number and person with the main subject of the sentence. We should use a singular verb for a singular subject while a plural verb is used for a plural subject. e.g. 1.The owner of these two houses is a man. 2.The first three chapters in this book are about animals

Rule 3 After the words ‘each’, ‘one’, ‘every’, ‘everyone’, ‘everybody’, ‘someone’, ‘somebody’, ‘anyone’, ‘anybody’, ‘no one’, ‘nobody’, a singular verb is used. e.g. Somebody is knocking at the door.

Rule 4 Both singular and plural verbs can be used for collective nouns like ‘family’ ‘staff’ etc. e.g.1.The family is going to have a picnic this Sunday. 2. The staff work efficiently. ( ‘staff’ in this case involves every member of the group. )

Rule 5 When two subjects are connected by ‘or’ ‘either….or’, ‘neither…nor’ the verb should be in agreement with the second subject. e.g. Neither you nor I am the winner.

Rule 6 The following words are some examples that must be followed by a plural verb: ‘clothes’, ‘goods’ ‘glasses’ etc. e.g. The glasses are broken carelessly

Rule 7 When two subjects are connected by a conjunction to express one idea, a singular verb is used. e.g.Bread and cheese is my favourite for breakfast. ( bread and cheese belong to food )

Rule 8 In a relative clause, the verb must agree with the subject that the relative pronouns refer to. e.g.David, who likes basketball, is one of the school team members.

Exercises on WWW. For further practice, you can click on the educational courseware : You can download the related exercises for further practice.

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