Verbal Ability

How will
What key these
points do I become
need to useful
know? to me?
Agreement in a Nutshell

The elephant wants a

peanut.
elephant = singular subject
wants = singular verb

The elephants want

peanuts.
elephants = plural subject
want = plural verb
 In the present
tense, singular
verbs end in s;
plural verbs do not.
 A phrase or clause
that interrupts a subject and
a verb does not affect
subject-verb agreement.

Nonsense Intervention!!

The decision of the board of judges is final.

The families whose town was flooded during
 The antecedent of a relative
pronoun determines its
agreement with the verb.

Roger is the only one who is listening

to the lecture.
Roger is just one of the boys who are listening
to the lecture.
That’s the Team Spirit!!
A collective noun takes a singular verb
when the group it names
acts as a single unit.

A collective noun takes a plural verb when

the group it names
acts as individuals
with different points of view.

The team has won the cheerdance

competition.

The team have shown their stunts

during the cheerdance competition.
 Certain nouns that look
plural
but singular in meaning
agree
For example: with singular verbs.
BRANCHES OF
KNOWLEDGE:
economics, physics, athletics, politics, ethics,
mathematics, etc.
But when the words, politics and ethics, denote
characteristics or qualities, their meanings are
plural.
The mayor’s politics have affected the income
of the city.
Two [or more] singular nouns joined
by and make a plural subject.

The chicken wing and pork rib sit

untouched on Logan’s plate.

Compound
subjects linked
with AND need a
Plural verb..
When each or every precedes two [or
more] singular nouns joined by and,
you have a singular subject.

Every chicken wing and pork rib sits

untouched on Logan’s plate.

Because of the word

“Every”, a singular
verb is used.
In this situation, no matter how many
singular nouns you join with and, the
subject is still singular.
Every chicken wing, pork rib, slice of pepperoni pizza,
hotdog, hamburger, and fried shrimp sits untouched on
Logan’s plate.

X X
X X
I’m a

X
vegetarian!

X
Use caution with these three
conjunctions: either … or, neither … nor,
and not only … but also.

Not only the boys but also the girl want

to play basketball.

If you flip the two subjects,

so that boys is next to the
verb, then want will work!
These indefinite pronouns are
always singular [even when they
seem plural].

• Each, either, neither

• Anyone, anybody, anything
• Everyone, everybody, everything
• No one, nobody, nothing
• Someone, somebody, something
Everyone on Earth =
more than one person
—billions of people, in
fact.
The word everyone,
however, is still
singular.
 Beware of interrupting phrases.

• As well as • Including
• Along with • In addition to
• Together with • Especially

Bad
kitty!
Beware of inverted word order.
Here is the candles you need for the cake. In
the refrigerator is the sugar flowers you might
want to add.

Here and The real subject

there are is usually found
never the after the “be” verb!
subjects.
 Defractionalize the Fractions
Fractional expressions such as half of,
a part of, a percentage of, a majority of
are sometimes singular and sometimes
plural, depending on the meaning.
(The same is true, of course, when all,
any, more, most and some act as subjects.)
•Some of the voters are still angry.
•A large percentage of the older population is voting.
•Two-fifths of the troops were lost in the battle.
•Two-fifths of the field was destroyed by fire.
•Eighty percent of the students are in favor of a 1-hr.
recess.
 MIRROR IMAGE

Plural nouns but singular in meaning

take plural verbs.
scissors pliers pants

shorts shades

eyeglasses
Sums and products of mathematical
processes are expressed
as singular and require
singular verbs.

•Two and two is four.

•Four times four divided by two is eight.
If your sentence compounds a
positive and a negative subject
and one is plural, the other
singular, the verb should agree
with the positive subject.
•The department members but not the
president have decided to have a field
trip.
•It is not the faculty members but the
president who decides this issue.
•It was the speaker, not his ideas, that
has provoked the students to protest.
 101 Dalmatians is my all time
favorite Disney movie.

Phineas and Ferb has cool musical

numbers which I like very much.

The Chronicles of Narnia was

introduced to us by our grade
school teacher.
 Four tablespoons of sugar has made the
cake too sweet.
4 minutes is rather a short time.
Thirty-five degrees celsius was the
required temperature.
20 pesos nowadays is just a small amount.
The End.
 EXERCISES
I.
1. The piano as well as the guitars has / have to be tuned for the big concert.
2.The mayor together with his two brothers is / are going to be jailed for
corruption.
3. Neither of my two bags is / are adequate for this trip.
4. There was / were a list of committee members on the table.
5. Everybody in the class has / have done the homework well in advance.
6. The committee share / shares their suggestions about the case.
7. Neither the professor nor the students was/ were present in the classroom
8.Has / Have either my father or my brothers made a down-payment on the
house?
9. Malabon is one of those cities that easily get / gets flooded.
10. Some of the rice has/have become spoiled.
11. John or his brother is / are going to be responsible for this.
12. A few of the students is /are doing so well.
13.Either the Committee on Course Design or the Committee on College
Operations decide/decides these matters.
14.One of my instructors has / have written a letter of recommendation for me..
15. Dr. Fernandez is one of those professors who seem / seems distracted most
of the time. 
II.
1. Has / Have either Luis or his parents written to Angela?
2. Neither the son nor his parents is / are the least bit interested in keeping in
touch with her.
3. Everybody on this team tries / try really hard to please the new coach.
4.Because there is/are so many students in that class, I can sometimes sleep in
the back row.
5. Mr. Cruz, along with his two sisters, has / have lived in this city for thirty
years.
6. There is/ are no reasons for this horrible development that I can see.
7. Some of the water has/ have already been used.
8. One of these students has / have obviously cheated on the exam.
9. Carlos and his brother Raoul is / are traveling across the country next
summer.
10. Several of the students has/have decided to continue the course.
III.
1. Written on the paper is / are several reasons why you should reconsider your
decision.
2. Howard and Vincent, who run/runs a copy center in town, have decided to
expand their business.
3. Both of the statues on the shelf was / were broken.
4. The dog that has been tied up at the post for three days was / were finally
unleashed.
5. Not the chairman, but his two assistants, is / are attending the annual
convention.
6. The issues of inflation and tax reform is / are to be on everyone's mind.
7. Juan or Julian prepare/prepares the conference room each week.
8. Not one of the performers was/were at the party after the concert.
9. The results of the election was / were not available for two days.
10. The threat of thunderstorms has/have become alarming for the people.
IV.
1.Either the doctors in this hospital or the chief administrator is/ are going to
have to make a decision.
2. Is / Are my brother or my sisters in the union going to win this grievance?
3. Some of the votes seem/ seems to have been miscounted.
4.Everyone selected to serve on this team has/have to be willing to give up a lot
of time.
5. From the classroom come/comes Kara, together with her teammates.
6. He seems to forget that there is/ are everybody in the class.
7. There has / have to be some people left in that town after yesterday's flood.
8. Three-quarters of the students is / are against the tuition hike.
9. Three-quarters of the student body is/are against the tuition hike.
10. A high percentage of the population is / are voting for the new school.
11. A high percentage of the people is/are voting for the new school.
V.
1. Swimming in heated pools is/ are very common in this part of the province
during the semestral break.
2. Much of the machinery on these factories is/are unusable.
3. That Shakespeare is the greatest among all talented writers is/are believed by
those who are really familiar with the field of literature.
4. As most sports magazines can attest, playing sports such as tennis and basketball
require/requires not only mental ability but also physical strength.
5. Never has / have the weather been so bad in the months of June and July.
6. Several of my friends and someone you don't know is / are joining us for dinner.
7. On the wall at the end of the hall hang/hangs a formal portrait of the former
president and his family and an old map of Manila.
8. Out of everything on the menu, spaghetti and meatballs sound / sounds most
delicious.
9. Breaking and entering is/are against the law.
10. Not only two of my brothers but also each of my friends is / are joining the
singing competition.