Agreement

Compiled by:
Aceng Ahmad, Hilda Zubaidah, Isma Nurulloh
 Copular be
Be is the most frequent verb in English

Present be

1 2 Are, Am, Is

Past be
3 Was/were
4
 Other types of copular
verb
Besides ‘be’

Perception copulas (mental or sensory)

1 2 Appear, seem, feel, look, smell, sound, taste

State copulas (tend to take participial adjectives)

3 Lie, remain, stand, rest
4

Change of state-copulas
Become, turn, grow, go, get
 Singular and plural

nouns verbs be
singular Noun Verb (s) Is,was
1 2
plural Noun (s) Verb Are,were

3
4
Inflection –s in plural noun is common in
English, for example book-books, but
there are some words do not carry
inflection –s, for example fish-fish, child-
children
Subject Verb subject Present Past be Present
be verb
Agreement (walk)
I Am Was Walk
You Are Were Walk
We Are Were Walk
They Are Were Walk
He Is Was Walks
Example
She Is Was Walks
1. I (am/is) a student it Is Was Walks
2. She (likes/like) banana Proper Is Was Walks
3. They (are/is) students noun
(singular)
Proper are were walk
noun
(plural)
 Your Picture Here

Subject Verb
The subjects are
Agreement separated by two things:
1. Preposition (of, on, in,
(subject at etc)
separated from 2. Some expressions
like: as well as, along
verb) with, together with,
accompanied by
Example

1. The book of three soldiers

(is/are) sold out
2. Danny as well as his twenty
friends (go/goes) to Jakarta

The underlined and italic words are

the main subject
Subject Verb
Agreement subject Verb

(words that always take some One, body,

singular verbs and pronouns) thing, singular
noun
Every One, body,
thing, singular
noun

Example
any One, body,
thing, singular Singular verb
1. Everything (is/are) going to
be OK noun
2. Somebody (need/needs) to
fix this TV
no One, body,
thing, singular
noun

each Singular noun

Subject Verb
Agreement subject verb
(None and No)
None of Singular Singular
noun verb
None of Plural Plural
noun verb
no Singular Singular
Example
noun verb

1. None of the example (is/are) no Plural Plural

correct noun verb
2. No examples (need/needs)
to fix this TV
Subject Verb
Agreement subject verb
(Either Neither)
Either + N + or Singular noun Singular verb

Either + N + or Plural noun Plural verb

Neither + N + Singular noun Singular verb

Example nor

1. Either twenty students or

Neither + N + Plural noun Plural verb
Andre (go/goes) to Jakarta
2. Either Andre or twenty
nor
students (go/goes) to Jakarta
 Your Picture Here

Subject Verb
Agreement
(Clausal and Phrasal
The phrasal and causal
Subjects)
subjects are considered as
singular

Example

1. That they want so many book

sources (is/are) surprising
2. Loving you (makes/make) to
Jakarta
 Your Picture Here

Subject Verb
Agreement
(Collective Nouns)
Many words indicating a
number of people or
animals are considered
singular

Exception:
Example Collective nouns may take
singular or plural verbs
1. The committee (have/has) depending on the meaning
met (The Grammar Book,
2. The crowd (was/were) wild Dianne Larsen-Freeman
with excitement Marianne Celce-Murcia)

1. Our school team (have/has)

won the game (the team as
whole)
2. Our school team (have/has)
won the game (individual
team members)
 Your Picture Here

Subject Verb
Agreement
(plural unit words)
Collective nouns indicating
time, money,
measurement, and
arithmetical operation
used as a whole are
singular (except they
Example encode more than one
entity)
1. Twenty minutes (is/are)
enough for me to do the test
2. Two plus two (is/are) four
Subject Verb
Agreement
(percentage and fraction)
Percentage and fraction
may take singular and
plural verb depend on the
nouns come after, they
take singular verb if they
subject verb modify non-count, and
Example percentage Non-count Singular verb they take plural verb if
nouns they modify plural noun
1. Twenty percent of water
(is/are) polluted fraction Plural noun Plural verb
2. Twenty percent of students
(is/are) choosing the right
answer
 Your Picture Here

Subject Verb
Agreement
(some proper nouns ended
Such words are always
with –s and ics)
considered singular

Example

1. Politics (is/are) the most

boring thing in the world
2. This series (is/are) very
interesting
Subject Verb
Agreement
(A number of/ the number of)
A number of = many
subject verb The number of = total
A number of + Plural Verb
plural noun
The number of + Singular verb
Example plural noun

1. A number of students (is/are)

going to campus
2. The number of days in a
week (is/are) seven
Subject Verb
Agreement
(nouns that are always plural)
In order to take the
Nouns singular verb, one must
say ‘ a pair of……..
pants scissors
shorts trousers
pliers tweezers A pair of pants (are/is) in
Example the drawer
tongs eyeglasses
1. The scissors (is/are) on the
table
2. The pants (is/are) in the
wardrobe
Subject Verb
Agreement
(there)

there verb
there Is, Singular
was,has nouns
been
Example there Are, Plural
were,have nouns
1. There (is/are) two books been
2. There (was/were) an
accident happened on the
bridge
 Reference

1. Freeman, D Larsen & Murcia M Celce.2016. The Grammar Book Form, Meaning, and Use for English
Language Teachers. Third edition. National Geographic Learning, Heinle Cengage Learning: Boston
2. Pyle, Michael.2006. Cliffs TOEFL Preparation Guide. Wiley India Pvt. Limited
Thank You