Subject and Verb Agreement

1. A singular subject uses a singular be verb.

Ex. Europe is named after Europa, a princess in ancient Greek mythology.
2. A singular subject uses the s-form of an action verb.
Ex. The Great Rift Valley cuts through Eastern Africa as a result of enormous
volcanic movement.
3. A plural subject uses a plural be verb.
Ex. Sapphire and ruby, on the other hand, are precious stones generally valued
as gems.
4. A plural subject uses the base form of an action verb.
Ex. Caspian Sea, Ural River, and Ural Mountain separate Europe and Asia.
5. A phrase or clause that interrupts a subject and its verb does not affect S & V
Agreement.
Ex. The actor most admired by the students is on stage.
Restaurants in this city open early for the customers.
6. Two or more plural subjects joined by and must have a plural be verb/base form
of verb.
Ex. Fruits and vegetables are healthy food.
Ex. Fruits and vegetables provide minerals needed by the body.
7. Two or more singular subjects joined by or or nor must have a singular be
verb/s-form of verb.
Ex. A car or a bus is the only means of travel upstate.
Ex. A car or a bus comes to pick up the passengers.
8. Subjects of mixed number joined by or or nor. The subject closest to the verb
determines the agreement.
Ex. Neither David nor my parents are going with us.
Ex. Neither my parents nor David is going with us.
9. If singular and plural subjects are joined by either –or, neither –nor, the verb
agrees with the subject nearest to it.
Ex. Uranium or other chemical elements contain atoms.
Other chemical elements or uranium contains atoms.
10. If the parts of a compound subject add up to one thing, the compound subject is
singular and takes a singular be verb/s-form of verb.
Ex. Ham and eggs is a hearty breakfast.
11. A singular be verb/s-form is also required if the word every or each precedes the
compound subject.
Ex. Every guest and speaker is given a prize.
Ex. Each guest and speaker receives a prize.
12. A subject that comes after its verb must still agree with it in number.
Ex. At the bottom of the hill are two nipa huts.
13. A collective noun takes a singular be verb/s-form of verb when the group it
names acts as a single unit.
Ex. The orchestra is playing a wonderful piece.
14. A collective noun takes a plural when the group it names act as individuals with
different points of view.
Ex. The faculty have been discussing the new policy.
15. Nouns that are plural in form but singular in meaning agree with singular be
verb/s-form of verb. Examples of these nouns are mumps, measles, news,
molasses, physics, statistics etc.
Ex. Mathematics is an interesting subject.
News spreads rapidly.
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Subject and Verb Agreement
16. When words such as ethics, politics, civics, do not name branches of knowledge
but rather indicate characteristics, their meanings are plural.
Ex. The senator’s ethics have been questioned.
The acoustics in the auditorium are bad.
17. Similarly, such words as eyeglasses, pliers, scissors, trousers, goods, ashes,
proceeds, pants etc., though are single items, they are plural in form and
generally take plural be verb/base form of verb.
The scissors are in the top drawer.
Proceeds of the party were greater than they had expected.
18. Singular Indefinite pronouns take singular be verb/s-form of the verb.
Ex. One of the players was cited for excellence.
Ex. Everyone on the team has given their best effort for the game.
19. Plural Indefinite pronouns take plural be verb/base form of the verb.
Ex. Both of the students were reprimanded.
Ex. Many of the performers try their luck in the competition.
20. The pronouns all, any, more, most, none, and some take a singular be verb/s-
form of verb if the antecedent is singular and plural be verb/base form of verb it
its antecedent is plural.
Ex. Some of the sugar is used.
Ex. None of the participants are interested.
21. Titles in any form always take a singular be verb/s-form of verb.
Ex. The Hunger Games was an interesting film.
22. Amounts and measurements are always singular in form and take a singular be
verb/s-form of verb.
Ex. One million is a huge sum of money.
Four feet is the height of the fence.
23. A noun introduced by a fraction or percent may take either a singular be verb/s-
form or plural be verb/base form depending on the “of phrase”.
Ex. One-half of the entries were submitted to the academic board.
One-half of the entry was revised by the committee.
Three-fourths of the cake was eaten.
24. Parenthetical expressions or intervening words do not affect the verb. If the
subject is singular, the verb must use singular be verb/s-form. If the subject is
plural, the verb must use plural be verb/base form. These expressions include
with, along with, together with, as well as, in addition to, including, and
accompanied by.
Ex. The delightful climate, as well as the exotic places and wildlife in Palawan
accounts for its extensive tourist industry.
25. The phrase “a number” requires plural be verb/base form, while “the number”
means singular and requires singular be verb/s-form.
Ex. The number of enrollees is increasing every year.
A number of suggestions were taken by the speaker wholeheartedly.
26. When positive and negative subjects are used, the verb agrees with the
affirmative subject.
Ex. Diamonds not gold are mostly mined in Africa.
You not she have to be in the meeting.

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