Name and Date: _________________
Grammar: English 2H
Mrs. DeMella
Subject-Verb Agreement
Pronoun (and Noun) Number Agreement Errors (Error #3) and Subject-Verb Agreement Errors
(Error #4) are the most commonly tested errors on the S.A.T. These errors are related, and often
occur simultaneously.
Subject verb agreement errors happen when you have to make a choice between words like:
is/are
runs/run
throws/throw
consists/consist
Remember that the verb that ends in S is the singular form!! (He throws vs. They throw)
These errors usually occur:



when the subject and the verb are separated by a number of words (especially by
prepositional phrases).
when the subject is an indefinite pronoun (each/everyone/anyone/etc…).
When the subject consists of more than one noun (compound subjects) or of a collective
noun (group/family/committee/majority).
Example: Choose the correct word forms:
Each of the many boys in the classroom after school (knows/know) how to button (his/their)
(coat/coats).
In order to avoid making this kind of error, you need to follow these STEPS:
1) Be able to recognize the SUBJECT of a sentence by crossing out
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES and other “extras”. This means you must be
able to recognize prepositions!! (See your grammar handout on ‘Parts of
Speech’ and memorize the list of prepositions).
2) Be able to recognize INDEFINITE PRONOUNS (See your “cheat sheet” on
pronoun number agreement errors and memorize the list of indefinite
pronouns) and remember that they are mainly SINGULAR. Exceptions are
‘all’ and ‘both’, which are plural.
3) Study the rules for compound subjects (on this paper!) and for collective
nouns.
Examples for steps one and two:
1. Each of the boys (is/are) smart.
2. All of my friends (is/are) always on time to class.
3. Everybody in the room always (leaves/leave) (his or her/their) (coats/coat) on the table.
4. Neither of my friends (seems/seem) to like my cousin very much.
5. A pile of ragged suitcases (was/were) waiting for us on the dock.
6. Every one of the many rooms in the house (has/have) air conditioning.
7. Anyone with a head for numbers (seems/seem) able to work with us on the project.
8. Either of my friends from upstate near the border (is/are) planning to arrive later today.
9. All of the people on my favorite baseball team since I was a little boy (plays/play) very
well.
10. Everybody applying for college at the end of the year (needs/need) to work hard on his
college essays.
Step Three: Compound and Collective Nouns:
Memorize these rules:
1) If the subject is a two word subject (compound) connected by the word ‘and’, that subject
is considered to be plural:
Example: Karl, who is expert in cooking Hunan spicy duck, and George, who is expert in eating
Hunan spicy duck, (has/have) combined their expertise to start a new restaurant.
N.B. The following connecting words DO NOT make a plural subject:
Along with, as well as, besides, in addition to, together with
Example: The chairman, along with the treasurer and the secretary, (is/are) misinformed.
2) When the subject consists of two or more nouns connected by ‘or’ or ‘nor’, the verb
agrees with the closest noun.
Example: Either the senators or the president (is/are) misinformed.
Example: Either the president or the senators (is/are) misinformed.
3) Collective nouns (group/audience/committee/majority) usually take a singular verb
(unless you really want to emphasize the individuals forming the group). The word
‘number’ takes a singular verb when preceded by ‘the’, and a plural verb when preceded
by ‘a’.
Example: A majority of the jury (thinks/think) that the defendant is guilty.
Exception: A majority of the committee (has/have) signed their names to the report.
Example: A number of fans (hopes/hope) for a mere glimpse of his handsome face .
SOME SPECIAL ASPECTS OF THIS RULE:
1) Watch out for sentences where the subject comes AFTER the verb:
Example: (There is/There are) only twenty three dollars left in the treasury.
Example: (Here is/Here are) the ice skates that you asked me to buy for you.
2) Watch out for “who” clauses attached to prepositional phrases. These should be
considered to be part of the prepositional phrase when deciding on verb agreement.
Example: A group of jockeys who (has/have) already finished the first race and who
(wishes/wish) to have their pictures taken (is/are) blocking my view of the horses.
Example: Tom is one of the many boys who (likes/like) to put mustard on (his/their
hamburger/hamburgers).
3) Use SUBJUNCTIVE mood correctly. The subjunctive is used for expressing a wish, a
doubt, a supposition, or a condition that does not actually exist. In the subjunctive, use
were instead of was and use had instead of has, have or would have.
Examples:
If I (was/were) in charge, we would not move to China.
She wishes her grandmother (was/were) still alive.
If I (would have/had) thought things through, I might have agreed.
Suppose he (would have/had) come to the party.
He acts as if he (has/had) all the time in the world.
MORE PRACTICE: Underline all prepositional phrases AND correct incorrect verbs and/or
pronouns.
1. The logical structure of his complicated and rather tortuous arguments is always the
same.
2. The majority of the organization’s members believe in God.
3. Both the young child and her grandfather was saddened for months after discovering that
the oldest ice cream parlor in the city had closed its doors forever.
4. Hartz brought the blueprints and the model that was still on the table instead of the ones
that Mackenzie had returned to the cabinet.
5. A case of bananas have been sent to the local distributer in compensation for the fruit that
was damaged in transit.
6. Neither the shipping clerk who packed the equipment nor the truckers who transported it
admits responsibility for the dented circuit box.
7. A total of fifty editors read each article, a process that takes at least a week, sometimes
six months.
8. Either Georgette or Robespierre are going to be asked to dinner by the madcap Calvin. I
dread the result in either case.
9. I can never decide whether to eat an orange or a Belgian chocolate; each of them have
their wondrous qualities.
10. Everyone in the United States, as well as the Canadians, expect the timber agreement to
fall through.
The end 
Name and Date: _______________________
Mrs. DeMella: English 2H - 2013
GRAMMAR REVIEW FOR 2H MID-TERM: incorrect punctuation of adverbial subordinators and
conjunctive adverbials, run-ons, fragments, adjective and adverb confusion, errors in subject-verb agreement
and/or verb-tense, inappropriate use of slang/colloquialism, word usage/spelling errors, and pronoun
agreement errors (case or number).
Directions: Choose the correct answer and explain the error in the margin. For error
identification questions, correct the sentence as well.
1. Despite the countless hours that astronomers have spent observing the solar
A
system, surprising little is known about the mass and density of Pluto, the planet that
B
lies farthest from the sun. No error
C
D
E
2. Walter had initially derided the new energy-efficient automobiles on sale, then eventually
he was convinced of the value of a fuel economy.
(A) sale, then eventually he was convinced of the value
(B) sale, then eventually the value convinced him
(C) sale, but eventually convincing himself of the value
(D) sale, but eventually he was convinced of the value
(E) sale; however, eventually being convinced of the value
3. The national marine sanctuary known as The Flower Gardens, located in the Gulf of
Mexico, home to some of the most spectacular banks of coral and sponges to be found in
this part of the world.
(A) Gulf of Mexico, home to some of the most spectacular banks of coral and sponges to be
found
(B) Gulf of Mexico, home to some of the most spectacular banks of coral and sponges that
were found
(C) Gulf of Mexico, home to some of the most spectacular banks of coral and sponges we
found
(D) Gulf of Mexico, home to some of the more spectacular banks of coral and sponges found
(E) Gulf of Mexico, is home to some of the most spectacular banks of coral and sponges to
be found
4. The sighting of several previously unknown astral bodies in orbit beyond Pluto
A
B
have thrilled astronomers and science fiction writers alike. No error.
C
D
E
5. Although electronic voting technology may appear a quick and efficient way for
A
the federal government to hold elections, they may have drawbacks that could
B
C
D
undermine the democratic process. No error
E
6. The limerick, in contrast to various more demanding verse forms, are so simple
A
B
that even a child can write one. No error
C
D
E
7. Except for the night watchman and I, everyone had gone home for the day;
A
B
C
the two of us were the only persons left in the building. No error.
D
E
8. For most of American history, women lacked the right to vote: not until the early
A
B
twentieth century was the franchise granted to women. No error
C
D
E
9. Friends of the family constantly remark on the striking resemblance between my
A
B
C
daughter and I. No error.
D
E
10. Just as some people are exceeding fond of the taste of cilantro, so others detest it.
A
B
C D
No error
E
11. Today’s athlete may feel such great pressure to succeed at every level of
A
B
C
competition that they begin taking drugs at an early age. No error.
D
E
12. Many foreign electronics companies have learned to build machines at lower
A
B
cost by using inexpensive produced components. No error.
C
D
E
13. In James McBride’s critically acclaimed memoir The Color of Water, the
A
B
narrator’s mother’s values really rub off on her son James. No error.
C
D
E
14. One of the principle themes in Lord of the Flies relates to the exploration
A
B
of the origins of evil; Golding posits that the origins of evil are within the heart of man.
C
D
No error.
E
15. The wrestlers knew that fasting could be dangerous, but them and their
A
B
teammates were desperate to lose weight before the championship match. No error.
C
D
E
16. On the executive board of the publishing company sits five women
A
B
C
and four men. No error.
D
E
Continued …
17. Stephen King’s novel Pet Sematary was inspired by a misspelled sign on a real
A
B
pet cemetery near Orrington, where the King’s once are living. No error.
C
D
E
18. Thirty years ago, one could say that those who the president nominated
A
to serve on the Supreme Court were chosen not because of their political leanings,
B
C
but because of their fine legal minds and their judicial expertise. No error.
D
E
19. In The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, Holden Caulfield, the young
protagonist, struggles to overcome his obsession with the loss of childhood innocence
A.
B.
that accompanies growing up. In the end, he succeeded. No error.
C.
D.
E.
20. Also supported by the commission was the proposed health clinics and the
A.
B.
proposed center to distribute information on job-training opportunities. No error.
C.
D.
E.
21. George Thornton Emmons was one of a handful of ethnographers who committed
A.
B.
his life to studying the Tlingit culture of the Northwest Coast. No error.
C.
D.
E.
22. One of Confucius’ principal legacies will have been the notion of the enlightened
A
B
civil servant, a concept that centuries later would spawn the system of all-powerful
C
D
Mandarins. No error.
E