Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Subj Verb Agreement
Subj Verb Agreement
Subjects that are ALWAYS SINGULAR Subjects that are ALWAYS PLURAL
Percent/percentage: The percent of students in the room is 68. A The elderly/the young/the rich/the famous
large percentage of the population is Italian.
The police: The police are having a meeting about city security.
United States: The US is over 240 years old.
Cattle: The cattle are in the field.
Academic subjects like mathematics, economics, physics:
A number: A number of students are going on this tour.
Mathematics is hard for me.
Ethnic groups: The Japanese are hardworking people.
Any amount of time:
Scissors, pliers, trousers, pants, slacks, overalls, shorts, glasses,
Ten minutes is all he needs to get dressed in the morning. socks: My glasses are lost again. His pants are in the laundry.
News/data: The news is good for tomorrow’s weather. Most: Most of the students are qualified. Most of the cake is gone.
The data we have is not sufficient. A lot: A lot of the students are going. A lot of the class is qualified.
Pronouns: one, each, every, none, some- any- no- every- ending Fractions: Two-thirds of the students are qualified. Two-thirds of the class
with one, thing, body, place: is absent.
Everyone is going on the tour. Is anyone in the building? Either/or; Neither/nor: verb agrees with the closest subject – Either the
Each of the students is qualified. students or the teacher is going on the tour. Either the teacher or the
students are going on the tour.