4. Two or more plural subjects joined by or or nor must have a
plural verb.
e.g. The girls or the boys are going to win.
5. If one or more singular subjects are joined to one or more plural
subjects by or or nor, the subject closest to the verb determines
the agreement.
The verb in an or, either-or, or neither-nor sentence agrees
with the noun or pronoun closest to it.
e.g. Beth, Sam, or the twins are going to win.
Either the twins or Sam is going to win.
6. A compound subject joined by and is generally plural and must
have a plural verb.
e.g. Jenny and Rose are going to New York.
The boys and the girls perform on stage.
Exceptions:
If the parts of the compound subject are thought of as one item,
then a singular verb is needed.
e.g. Bacon and eggs is my favorite breakfast.
A singular verb is also needed if the word every and each
precedes a compound subject.
e.g. Every boy and girl in the class does volunteer work.
CONFUSING SUBJECTS
7. Hard to Find Subjects: A subject that comes after its verb must
still agree with it in number.
Inverted Sentence:
Under the table is the cat.
On top of the hill are two tractors.
Sentences with “Here” and “There”:
There is only one orange in the basket.
There are many projects to be made.
Here is a box of chocolate cake.
Here are my friends from the province.
8. Subjects of Linking Verbs: A linking verb must agree with its
subject regardless of the number of its predicative nominative.
e.g. Speeding cars are one reason for the high accident rate.
9. Collective Nouns: A collective noun takes a singular verb when
the group it names acts as a single unit. It takes the plural verb
when the group it names acts as individuals with different
points of view.
e.g. The jury orders a verdict.
The committee disagree on the issue
10. Plural-Looking Nouns: Nouns that are plural in form but
singular in meaning agree with singular verbs. (news, measles,
Mathematics, Physics, ethics, Social Studies)
e.g. Mathematics becomes my favorite subject.
Measles is a dangerous disease for unborn children.
11. Indefinite Pronouns: Singular indefinite pronouns take
singular verbs. Plural indefinite pronouns take plural verbs.
e.g. One of the paintings is missing.
Everyone is going to the trip.
Either of your plans is acceptable to me.
Both of the players were late.
The pronouns all, any, more, most, and some usually take a
singular verb if the antecedent is singular and a plural verb if it
is plural.
e.g. All of the soup is eaten.
All of the seats were taken.
12. Titles: A title of the book, story, novel, literature, or any work of
art is considered singular and takes a singular verb.
e.g. Wuthering Heights is a novel by Emily Bronte.
The Last Leaf is written by O. Henry.
13. Amounts and Measurements: A noun expressing an amount
or measurement is usually singular and requires a singular
verb.
e.g. Fifty pesos is more than enough.
40 feet is the length of the room.
10 kilometers is the distance of this school to his house.
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
14. In a sentence with a fraction and an “of-phrase” before the
verb, the verb agrees with the object of the preposition.
e.g. Half of the cupcakes are eaten.
Three fourth of the crop is rotten.
MISCELLANEOUS RULES
15. The pronoun “You” always takes the plural verb.
e.g. You are the best in the class.
16. Clausal subjects are singular even if the nouns referred to
are plural.
e.g. What we need is more reference books.
17. With “a number of” as a subject, use a plural verb. With “the
number of” as a subject, use a singular verb.
e.g. A number of students take the exam.
The number of students is 60.
18. With “none” as a subject, use a singular verb.
e.g. None of the magazines is here.
19. Subject nouns which are derived from adjectives and describe
people take plural verbs.
e.g. The rich are in favor of the tax cut.
The poor need the help of the government.
20. For items that have two parts, when the word pair is used, the
verb is singular. But without the word pair, the verb is plural.
(scissors, tongs, trousers, pants)
e.g. My scissors are lost.
A pair of scissors is needed for the activity.
Basic Rule
The basic rule in subject-verb agreement states that a singular
subject takes a singular verb, while a plural subject takes a plural
verb.
Hint: Verbs that end with s are singular. Verbs do not form their
plurals by adding an s as nouns do. In order to determine which
verb is singular and which one is plural, think of which verb you
would use with he or she and which verb you would use with they.
Example:
talks, talk
Which one is the singular form?
Which word would you use with he?
We say, "He talks." Therefore, talks is singular.
We say, "They talk." Therefore, talk is plural.
RULES IN SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
1. General Rule: A singular subject takes a singular verb. A plural
subject takes a plural verb.
e.g. Ann always tells the truth.
We are ready for lunch now.
2. Intervening words & phrases: A phrase or clause that
interrupts a subject and its verb does not affect the subject verb
agreement (of phrases, together with, as well as, with, in
addition to, accompanied by, etc.)
e.g. The captain of the guards stands at attention.
The troopers whom the captain put in charge
of the roadblock stand on either side.
The teacher, together with her students, visits the library.
COMPOUND SUBJECTS
3. Two or more singular subjects joined by or or nor must have a
singular verb.
e.g. Beth or Sam is going to win.