Unit 10.2
Subject and Verb Agreement
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Introduction
The subject and verb agreement is a situation in which the subject and a verb accord in number.
Form
Subject verb agreement means the subject and verb must agree in number.
Singular verbs
If a subject is singular, its verb must be singular. We find:
- two singular nouns connected by or, nor, neither/nor, either/or;
- plural names of countries and plural names of organisations;
- collective nouns;
- amounts and quantities;
- expressions like: more than one, one of…;
- expressions joined by and when they refer to a single idea.
Plural verbs
If a subject is plural, its verb must be plural. We find:
- singular nouns connected by and;
- singular quantifying expressions: a number of, a group of, a lot of…
Example
Singular verbs:
- Two singular nouns connected by or, nor, neither/nor, either/or:
- Either Peter or Tom dislikes coffee.
- Neither my Mum nor my Dad wants to get a divorce.
- Plural names of countries and organisations
- The United States is anxious to improve its image in Latin America.
- Consolidated Fruitgrowers has just taken over Universal Foodstores.
- Collective nouns
- A herd of cows is grazing on the pasture.
- That group of friends always meets in this café.
- Amounts and quantities
- Twenty miles is a long way to walk.
- More than 41 inches of snow has fallen on the city this winter.
- Expressions like: more than one, one of…:
- More than one person is going to have to find a new job.
- One of my friends is getting married.
- Expressions joined by and when they refer to a single idea:
- This gin and tonic isn’t very strong, is it?
- Your toast and honey is on the table.
Plural verbs:
- Two singular nouns connected by and:
- My brother and his girlfriend live together.
- Lisa and Jack don’t like business dinners.
- Singular quantifying expressions with: a number of, a group of, a lot of…:
- A number of people have tried to find the treasure, but they have all failed.
- A group of us are going to take a boat through the Dutch canals.
- A lot of social problems are caused by unemployment.
Use
We use subject and verb agreement because the number of a subject in a sentence always agrees with the number of a verb.
Summary
Subject verb agreement means the subject and verb must agree in number.
If a subject is singular, its verb must be singular. We find:
- two singular nouns connected by or, nor, neither/nor, either/or;
- plural names of countries and plural names of organisations;
- collective nouns;
- amounts and quantities;
- expressions like: more than one, one of…;
- expressions joined by and when they refer to a single idea.
If a subject is plural, its verb must be plural. We find:
- singular nouns connected by and;
- singular quantifying expressions: a number of, a group of, a lot of…
For example:
— “Neither James nor Michael celebrates Christmas.” = James and Michael are two singular nouns and they are connected with neither… nor, we use the singular form of the verb.
— “July and her friends want to adopt children.” = The two nouns are connected by and, so we use a plural verb.
Let’s revise this content within the {Form} section. Take a look at the {Example} section that shows its use within a context.
Exercises
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