Subject-Verb Agreement

CSSCCommunication

s Student

Support Center

… w h a t S u b j e c t - Ve r b A g r e e m e n t i sTell me:

…w h a t t h e r u l e s a r e… t h e “ W h a t - i f s ”… h o w t o d e a l

w i t h p r o n o u n

s

For more help…

What Is Subject-Verb Agreement?

When subjects and verbs agree, they match in number and person.

In other words, singular subjects require singular verbs and plural subjects require plural verbs.

Third-person subjects require the third-person form of the verb.

The purpose is a singular subject, therefore, it requires a singular verb-- is.

Example: The purpose of a writer is to keep civilization from destroying itself.

— Albert Camus, French writer, philosopher, and founder of existentialism

Rules of Subject-Verb Agreement In English, regular verbs take the same form for singular and plural except for the third-person singular form of the verb. Typically, a singular present tense subject requires an (s) or (es) at the end of the verb.

Example: Maria loves to sing.The exception to this is: I/you Example: I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

— Douglas Adams. British author of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Rules Review:Subject Verb Example

Singular subject = no (s) Singular verb = (s) Helicopter lands

Singular personal pronoun = no (s)

Singular verb = no (s) I/you land

Plural or Compound subject = (s)

Plural verb = no (s) Helicopters land

The “What ifs” of Subject-Verb Agreement

What if the subject and the verb do not appear together in the sentence?A subject agrees with its verb no matter how far apart the two are. Do not

be distracted by nouns or pronouns placed between the subject and the verb.

Example: The basic tool for manipulation of reality is the manipulation of words. If you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use the words.

—Philip K. Dick, American science fiction writer, author of A Scanner Darkly

What if the sentence contains more than one subject?When a sentence contains more than one subject, that subject is known as a

compound subject. A compound subject that is linked by the conjunction “and” functions the same way as a plural verb.

Continue…

“What ifs” Examples

Both the college newspaper and the literary magazine fail to attract experienced staff.

Greta and Andrew both enjoy spelunking during autumn months.

A compound subject linked by the conjunction “or” or “nor” requires a single verb.Either the dean or his assistant addresses the freshman class.Neither geology nor astronomy is required for my major.

Continue…

“What ifs” Continued What about words like “species” which sometimes refer to one

thing or a group?o If a collective noun acts as a single unit, it takes a singular verb. o We are a species that needs and wants to understand who we are. Sheep

lice do not seem to share this longing, which is one reason why they write so little.

—Anne Lamott, novelist and nonfiction writer, author of Bird by Bird.

What about when the normal order of words, subject then verb, is switched around?o When the normal word order is inverted and the subject follows the verb,

the subject and verb must agree in number, still.o There is no such a thing as writer’s block. That was invented by people in

California who couldn’t write.—Terry Pratchett, English fantasy author

Singular Indefinite Pronouns:

another, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, little, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, other, somebody, someone, something

Plural Indefinite Pronouns: both, few, many, others, several

Both: all, any, more, most, none, some

Pronoun Reference Chart

What About Those Pronouns?0 What are indefinite pronouns and how do they affect

subject-verb agreement?0 Indefinite pronouns refer to nonspecific persons or things0 Singular indefinite pronouns take singular verbs.

0 Each of the members has one vote.0 The subject “each” is singular, so “has” is the singular verb.

0 Plural indefinite pronouns take plural verbs.0 A few of the justices voice their opposition.0 The subject “few” is plural, so “voice” is the plural verb.0 Indefinite pronouns can be singular or plural depending on what they

refer to.0 All of the people clapped their hands.0 The subject “all” refers to people which is plural. “Clapped” is the plural verb.0 All of the newspaper was soaked.0 The subject “all” refers to “newspaper” which is singular. “Was” is singular verb.