Verb
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The key to subject verb agreement is to correctly identify the subject of the sentence and determine if it is singular or plural.
Then, match the verb to the subject.
A singular subject takes a verb that ends in s or es in the present tense.
The study shows that people laugh an average of fifteen times per day.
A plural subject takes a verb that does not end in s or es in the present tense.
People enjoy many health benefits from frequent laughter, including an improved immune system.

A subject is plural when two or more nouns or pronouns are linked with the word and .
Thomas Jefferson and Jimmy Carter were both peanut farmers before becoming President of the United States.
Exception:
If the nouns joined by the word and are a single unit, it is treated as a singular subject .
Peanut butter and jelly is the most popular sandwich among school children.

A subject is singular when two or more singular nouns or pronouns are linked with the words or or nor .
A cat or a fish is a more popular pet than a dog in the United
States.
If there is a combination of singular and plural subjects, the verb agrees with the closest subject .
One green pepper or eleven strawberries provide a day’s worth of vitamin C.

When the subject is a group that is acting as a single unit, use a singular verb .
A flock of geese flies up to three thousand miles during migration.
The world’s population gets 60 percent of its energy from corn, wheat, and rice, although there are 50,000 edible plants.
When the subject is a group with members acting independently, use a plural verb .
The jury are casting votes to see where they stand before beginning discussions.
The faculty are preparing their lesson plans.

Money, distance, and time can be singular collective nouns when they function as a single unit.
Sixty cents is the average price of a pound of bananas in the United
States.
One hundred and thirty five miles is the length of the Badwater marathon, which many consider the toughest footrace in the world.
Two weeks is how long a cockroach can live without its head.
If the amount is plural and does not function as a single unit, it takes a plural verb .
Over 2.6 billion dollar bills are destroyed by the federal government each year.

The indefinite pronouns anybody, anyone, each, either, everybody, everyone, neither, no one, nobody, somebody, and someone are singular.
No one knows the year Shakespeare was born.
Each of these plays is worth reading several times.
Neither penguin nor elbow has a rhyming word.

Use a singular verb with titles and company names even if they are plural.
All the King’s Men is a classic political novel.
Star Wars boasts the best-selling movie-related toy line of all time.
Procter & Gamble markets their products in more than 180 countries.

When identifying the subject , be sure to disregard phrases that come between the subject and the verb or in other parts of the sentence. The verb always agrees with the subject , not with a word in a phrase.
Each of the planets orbits the sun.
Constant noise in people’s environments sometimes causes stress and anxiety.
According to one study , the habit of biting fingernails increases a person’s immune system.
The Coca-Cola logo , which is recognized by 94 percent of people in the world , has not significantly changed since its original 1887 design.

In sentences that begin with there or here, or in sentences that are questions, the subject can come after the verb .
There is only one letter of the alphabet that is not used in the names of the fifty states.
There are twenty six letters in the alphabet.
What is the most efficient way to figure out which letter is missing?
What are the chances that we will guess right on the first try?
Here is the answer : the letter Q.

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