1. Subject-Verb Agreement
UWF Writing Lab Grammar Skills Series #4
From Real Good Grammar, Too by Mamie Webb Hixon
PowerPoint Created by Rebecca Juntunen
Last Updated Spring 2017

2. “There’s a million things I haven’t done But just you wait.”
-- Lin Manuel Miranda, “Alexander Hamilton” from the musical Hamilton
What is wrong with this line?

3. Let’s break it down “There Is a Million Things”
Verb Subject
Let’s break it down
“There’s a million things I haven’t done
But just you wait.”
There’s = There Is =
“There Is a Million Things”
Neither “here” nor “there” can serve as the subject of a sentence. When these words open a sentence, look for the subject to follow the verb.

4. Thus, the correct statement would be as follows:
“There are a million things I haven’t done, but just you wait.”

5. Basic Rules of subject-verb agreement
Tip:
Plural verbs have no “s” on the end
Singular verbs have an “s” on the end
When two subjects are joined by “And,” use the plural verb
When two subjects are joined by “Or” or “Nor,” use the singular verb
The band goes on tour this month.
The bands go on tour this month.
The complaints and questions are frustrating.
A pen or pencil is in the drawer.
Neither the employee nor the
customer is happy.

6. Joining a singular and a plural
The host or her guests are expected to leave the tip.
The guests or the host is expected to leave the tip.
When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by OR or NOR, the verb should agree with the subject that is CLOSER to the verb.
Tip: Cover the subject farthest from the verb
The host or her guests are expected to leave the tip.
The guests or the host is expected to leave the tip.

7. Disruptive word Groups
•The team captain, as well as his players, is anxious.
•The book, including all the chapters in the first section, is boring.
•Every resident in three counties was affected by the storm.
•The people who listen to that music are few.
Tip:
When a word group splits a subject from a verb, cover up the confusing word group to ensure that you choose the correct verb.

8. Generally, Use singular verbs with indefinite pronouns.
•Each of these students is receiving a trophy.
•Everybody loves a winner.
•Neither of the teams has ever won a championship game.
•Either answer is correct.
•Someone appreciates your efforts.
Tip:
Generally, Use singular verbs with indefinite pronouns.
Good, give explanation as well as examples.

9. NUmbers •A number of Florida vacationers are young people.
Subjects preceded by “a number of” or “a percentage of” always require a plural verb.
•A number of Florida vacationers are young people.
•However, a percentage of the vacationers are senior citizens.
However, Subjects preceded by “The number of” or “THe percentage of” always require a Singular verb.
•The percentage of affected employees has doubled this year.
• The number of employees affected by the budget cut is still rising.

10. Amounts as Subjects Ten dollars is, unfortunately, not a lot of money.
Dollars are the national currency.
Twenty miles is quite a distance to run daily.
Kilometers are a part of the metric system.
Five hundred pounds is heavy.
Pounds are an accurate measurement of weight.
When referring to an amount of money, distance, or time, use a singular verb.
When referring to physical dollars or units of measure themselves, use a plural verb.

11. Collective Nouns Collective Nouns-
Nouns that include or imply more than one person but act as a unified group.
Examples: group, team, class, family, committee, herd, jury, faculty
If the persons in this collective noun are working together, or are being referred to as a whole, they take a singular verb.
Collective nouns call for plural verbs when the group members are not acting together, or when you are referring to individual efforts within the group.
The band take their places and start tuning their instruments.
The band plays for the audience

12. Gerunds as Subjects Appositives
Ignore the object of the gerund
and make your verb agree with
the gerunds “regretting” and “finding.”
When the subject of a sentence has been renamed by another word or description [an appositive], the word or phrase that renames it can be ignored.
They each have a ticket
The novel, all three volumes, was written by a local author.
•Regretting your mistakes is often useless.
•Finding honest people seems difficult.

13. Subjects that follow verbs
When the structure of a sentence is inverted and the subject comes after the verb, the verb should agree with the subject that follows it.
Tip: To test your subject- verb agreement, switch the sentence around so that the subject is at the beginning of the sentence.
Posted among the flyers was a sign warning skiers not to cross ski area boundaries.
At the bottom of the slope sits a car.
A car sits at the bottom of the slope

14. Subjects Ending in “ICS” or “S” Foreign words
•The news is on at six.
• Statistics is a difficult class.
•AIDS is an epidemic.
Tip:
These words imply a unified group, body or collection of information or study Therefore, they are singular.
Singular Plural
•Criterion •Criteria
•Medium •Media
•Datum •Data
The media are not invited.
No new data are available
•The statistics reveal a tremendous decline in sales.
• Gloria’s politics involves are
left of the center.
Tip:
Some of these verbs, however, can require plural verbs.

15. Inclusion and exclusion
Tip:
Cover up the preposition phrases-- e.g. “of the millions”-- and read the sentence without it.
Inclusion and exclusion
The verb is plural because its subject (girls) is plural.
Tip: Rearrange the sentence
Of the girls who cheer on Friday nights, she is one.
INCLUSION – use a plural verb:
She is one of the girls who cheer on Friday nights.
EXCLUSION – use a singular verb:
She is the only one of the cheerleaders who has a broken leg.
When you add “only,” the verb is singular because its subject (she) is singular.
Tip: Rearrange the sentence
Of the cheerleaders, she is the only one who has a broken leg.
Get other labbies’ opinions about how to sum up this rule.

16. Subject Complements Plural Singular
When a subject is plural, even if its subject complement is singular, the verb should be plural
Singular
When a subject is singular, even if its subject complement is plural, the verb should be singular
His sole support is his parents.
His main source of nutrition is ramen noodles.
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