1. Subject-Verb Agreement Requires Balance Created by Georgia Clarkson Smith UWF Writing Lab Assistant 2009 Revised June 14, 2010, by Mamie Hixon, Writing Lab Director

2. Making Subjects and Verbs Agree Singular Subject = Singular Verb Plural Subject = Plural Verb Tip: Plural Verbs look singular (they have NO “s”). Singular Verbs look plural (they DO have an “s”). Tip: Plural Verbs look singular (they have NO “s”). Singular Verbs look plural (they DO have an “s”).

3. Balance Your Singulars and Plurals The film about the forties is... The films of the forties are... Singular Subject  verb with an s. Plural Subject  verb with No s.

4. Balanced Sentences “This presentation is boring”…Singular subject = Singular Verb “Perhaps, not all of the presentations are boring”… Plural Subject = Plural Verb Sounds Easy… Right?

5. Well, it gets a little complicated…

6. Key Rules to Subject-Verb Agreement

7. Look Out For… 1. “And” 2. “Or” and “Nor” 3. “Doesn‘t” and “Don’t” 4. Prepositional Phrases and “Disruptive” Word Groups 5. Indefinite Pronouns 6. Singular Nouns That “Look” Plural 7. Time, weight, distance, and Money 8. Pairs 9. “Here” and “There” 10. “It” 11. Collective Nouns

8. “AND” When several subjects are connected by AND, use a PLURAL verb. The complaints and questions are frustrating.

9. “Or” & “Nor” When singular nouns or pronouns are connected by OR or NOR, use a SINGULAR verb. Morgan or Jeni is scheduled to tutor today.

10. “Either... Or” and “Neither... Nor” When singular nouns or pronouns are connected by EITHER…OR or NEITHER…NOR, use a SINGULAR verb. Neither the airline nor the flight attendant is happy.

11. The rules get weirder… 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.

12. The host or her guests are expected to leave the tip. The guests or the host is expected to leave the tip. Tip: Just cover the “confusing” part of the sentence with your hand to simplify. Tip: Just cover the “confusing” part of the sentence with your hand to simplify.

13. “Doesn’t” & “Don’t” Doesn’t = Does not  this is a singular verb form. Don’t = Do not  this is a plural verb form.

14. The employee does not (doesn’t) agree with the decision. The employees do not (don’t) agree with the decision. Tip: Remember that though your verb phrase is “do like” OR “does like,” make your subject agree with the first verb in the phrase: “do” OR “does.” This helping verb is where we add or remove the “s” for balance. Tip: Remember that though your verb phrase is “do like” OR “does like,” make your subject agree with the first verb in the phrase: “do” OR “does.” This helping verb is where we add or remove the “s” for balance. Exceptions to this rule occur with “I” and “you.” With these pronouns, “do,” “do not,” OR “don’t” should be used.

15. So why all the Confusion?... Words between the subject and the verb are what trip up many people. Physics, along with calculus and chemistry, make up the “Monster Trio” of the sciences. “Along with calculus and chemistry” is a prepositional phrase between the subject “Physics” and the verb “make.” Ignore the prepositional phrase… “Physics makes up the ‘Monster Trio.’”

16. The people who listen to that music are few. 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. Disruptive Word Groups

17. Indefinite Pronouns… Oh MY! Any bodyonething Every bodyonething No bodyonething Some bodyonething Each Neither Either One

18. 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: All of these indefinite pronouns are in fact referring to a SINGLE (or potentially single) body or item. This is why they require a singular verb. Tip: All of these indefinite pronouns are in fact referring to a SINGLE (or potentially single) body or item. This is why they require a singular verb.

19. Nouns like civics, economics, AIDS, and news require singular verbs though the nouns themselves end in “s” and look plural. The news is on at six. Home economics involves more than sewing and cooking. AIDS is an epidemic.. Tip: These words imply a unified group, body or collection of information or study…this is why they are singular Tip: These words imply a unified group, body or collection of information or study…this is why they are singular

20. DOLLARS $$$ When referring to an amount of money, use a singular verb. When referring to physical dollars themselves, use a plural verb. One hundred dollars is, unfortunately, not a lot of money. Dollars are the national currency.

21. Time, Distance & Weight. -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.

22. Things With 2 Parts Like scissors, pants, eye glasses, tweezers … Plural Verbs. The safety scissors are ironically razor sharp. Her pants are outrageously tight.

23. “Here” & “There” There’s several brush fires in California. There are several brush fires in California. Here’s my reasons for quitting. Here are my reasons for quitting. Neither “there” nor “here” can serve as the subject of a sentence. When these words open a sentence, look for the subject to follow the verb.

24. Collective Nouns Nouns that include or imply more than one person but act as a unified group. group, team, class, family, committee, herd, jury, faculty

25. If the persons in this collective noun are working together, or are being referred to as a whole, they take a singular verb. The team runs during practice. My family goes to church.

26. Collective nouns call for plural verbs when the group members are not acting together, or when you are referring to individual effort within the group. The jury has reached a verdict. The jury have left the courthouse in separate cars. The crew is making its plans. The crew are preparing the ship. (This sentence refers to the individual efforts of each member)

27. Gerunds as Subjects Regretting your mistakes is often useless. Finding honest people seems difficult. Ignore the object of the gerund and make your verb agree with the singular gerunds “regretting” and “finding.”

28. Inclusion/Exclusion Rule EXCLUSION – use a singular verb: He is the only one of his classmates who drinks or smokes. INCLUSION – use a plural verb: He is one of the millions of Americans who drink.

29. A number of/A percentage of 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 large percentage of the vacationers are senior citizens.

30. The number of/The percentage of Subjects preceded by “the number of” or “the percentage of” always require a singular verb. The percentage of female college students has exceeded the percentage of male college students since the late 1970s. However, the number of women entering higher education is still rising.

31. Foreign Subjects SINGULAR Criterion Medium Datum Plural Criteria Media Data The media are not invited. No new data are available.