2. Subject-Verb Agreement

3. General rule: subject must agree with its verb in number Pl. N + pl. V Sing. N + Sing. V Ex: She and her friends are at the fair. Oil and water do not mix. A list of phone numbers is available.

4. Subject-verb agreement: Initial task Both John and I am / are happy on the wedding day. Half the apple is / are rotten. Two-thirds of his face is / are painted. The police is / are investigating.

5. Not only the man but also his two wives is / are miserable. The Japanese likes / like drinking tea. Statistics is / are so difficult to study. Subject-verb agreement: Initial task

6. Subjects followed by singular verbs Use a verb ending in –s if your subject is a he, she, or it. Singular nouns: Gerunds / to infinitives Subjects preceded by Singular indefinite pronouns each, every, many a, more than one, the number of Ex: Many a child dreams about becoming famous one day. Learning English is easy Every man, woman, and child participates in the lifeboat drill. The number of volunteers grows each year. Each boy and girl was given a flag

7. Either, Neither Everyone, everything, everywhere Someone, something, somewhere + Sing. V No one, nothing, nowhere Anyone, anything, anywhere Who/what/when…. Ex: Either is correct. Everybody knows Mr. Jones Nobody has arrived yet. Who knows? What is happening? One of my friends is a journalist.

8. SINGULAR NOUNS ENDING IN –S + SINGULAR VERBS News A disease (measles, mumps, shingles, rabies) A city (Paris) A sport (billiards, darts, draughts = checkers, bowls, dominoes) A subject (mathematics, statistics, linguistics, politics, economics, physics) A distance (2 kilometers)A weight (20 kilos) A sum of money (50 dollars)A period of time (5 years) Ex: The news is on at six. Generally measles lasts about two weeks. Let’s take a taxi. 2000 meters is too far for me to walk. 5 years is a long time to wait. 1 million dollars is the prize of the competition

9. Plural-Only Nouns The police are looking for the robbers. I like these pants / jeans / shorts. Use either scissors or nail clippers. Binoculars are stronger than any glasses. Other nouns ending with s only have a plural form only with certain meanings. customs (at the airport, not practices), guts (courage, not intestines) quarters (lodgings, not 1/4s), clothes (garments, not fabrics) goods (merchandise, not the opposite of bad), arms (weapons, not limb)

10. A number of + noun+ plural V The number of + noun + singular V Ex: - The number of students in a class at this school is always kept under 20. – A number of students work their way through college. The mayor and the governor hope that the bill will soon become a law. The mayor and governor hopes that the bill will soon become a law. There + be + Noun There is a guest in the hotel. There are 2 guests in the hotel

11. S + prepositional phrases + S + V along with together with with accompanied by as well as Ex: I, as well as her brothers, am coming to the party. A woman with her dog is crossing the street

12. or EitherS+or+S + V Neithernor Not only but also Ex: Neither he nor I have money to spare for this. Either you or John has to take the lead in this matter. All Most Half Some % X:Y of + the + NOUN + V Half of the teachers in this school is / are trained abroad.

13. A collective noun may be treated either as singular (if the whole group is being thought of as a unit) or as plural (if the group is being regarded as a collection of individuals). Ex: crowd, mob, team, flock, herd, army, fleet, jury, nation, family, committee, government The committee has announced its decision.  The committee are divided on this issue The team is on the field.  The team are changing. The class is a bright one.  The class are a mixed lot. His family is living in that house.  His family are living in various parts of Vietnam

14. exercise

15. The sheriff along with two of her deputies (were, was) checking licenses at the North Road exit. WAS Some of the lots in our subdivision (was, were) not for sale. WERE Here (is, are) the transistors and diodes that you purchased for your repair shop. ARE Genetics (is, are) very difficult for beginning students to understand. IS

16. The number of girls in my football club (was, were) surprising. WAS A number of the swimmers (is, are) going to the state competition. ARE There (is, are) some error messages showing up in my program. ARE Neither Betty nor Jane (type, types) more than fifty words per minute. TYPES

17. The women's courage during the flood (was) (were) exceptional. The majority of the TOEFL tests (is) (are) difficult. There are two evening flights to Atlanta that (leaves) (leave) before 7:00. Local news (is) (are) on TV every night at 5:30.

18. Small amounts of poison (was) (were) found in the coffee cup. There (was) (were) much discussion about salary raises. Both the table and the chair (looks) (look) uncomfortable. A number of sheep (has) (have) died from a strange illness.

19. That the houses are being put up for sale (is) (are) indicative of the economic situation. The rock singer, along with his bodyguard, (was) (were) rushed away from the theater. Only one of the fifty states in the United States (is) (are) an island. The boat with 300 men, women, and children (was) (were) rescued by the Coast Guard.

20. 1. Emily and Greg (comes, come) to my house every Friday for lunch. 2. There (is, are) time to watch the movie. 3. My friends who are in the band (wants, want) me to play a musical instrument. 4. My father or my brothers (is, are) coming with me to the ball game. 5. Everyone (needs, need) time to relax. 6. That bag of oranges (looks, look) fresh. 7. The lacrosse team (hopes, hope) to win the tournament next week. 8. Your trousers (needs, need) to be cleaned. 9. Some of the books on the shelf (is, are) dusty. 10. Even though the students like the class, a few (thinks, think) that it is too complicated.

21. 1. Mumps (is, are) not common among adults. 2. Viruses from third world countries (is, are) a major concern. 3. Most of the sand (is, are) wet from the high tide. 4. Either the two kittens or the puppy (sits, sit) in my lap while I watch television. 5. A subject of great interest (is, are) rainforests. 6. Hansel and Gretel (is, are) a famous children's story. 7. The team members (is, are) arguing over the defense tactics. 8. The economics of the trip (was, were) pleasing. 9. Why (is, are) your parents going to Africa for a vacation? 10. The mayor and the governor (hopes, hope) that the bill will soon become a law.

22. 1. You can use ___ this computer ___ the other one. Someone must fix them first a.Neither/nor b.Neither/or c.Either/or d.Either/nor 2. My mother can ___ read ___ write. She is illiterate. a.Either/or b.Neither/or c.Either/nor d.Neither/nor

23. Test Your Knowledge 3. The girl was ____happy_____sad about her grade. She was content. a.Either/nor b.Neither/or c.Either/or d.Neither/nor 4. She had to choose to eat _____ the pizza __ pasta. a.Neither/or b.Either/nor c.Neither/nor d.Either /or