Subject Verb Agreement

Sakshi Education

A sentence is commonly defined as "a complete unit of thought”. Normally, a sentence expresses a relationship, conveys a command, voices a question, or describes someone or something. It begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation mark.

The basic parts of a sentence are the subject and the verb. The subject is usually a noun-a word that names a person, place, or thing. The predicate (or verb) usually follows the subject and identifies an action or a state of being. See if you can identify the subject and the predicate in each of the following short sentences:

The eagle soars.
The children weep.
My daughter is a swimmer.
The players are tired.

In each of these sentences, the subject is a noun: eagle, children, daughter, and players. The verbs in the first two sentences 'soars and weep' show action and answer the question, "What does the subject do?" The verbs in the last two sentences 'is and are' are called linking verbs because they link the subject with a word that renames it (daughter) or describes it (tired).
For a sentence to be correct the Subject and the Verb should be in agreement, this agreement is governed by some rules which are as follows :

1. If the subject is singular (refers to one person or thing) the verb will be singular
Examples:

The girl walks home.
He kicks the ball.
The dog plays.

2. If the subject is plural (refers to more than one person or thing). the verb will be plural
Examples:

The students write short essays.
The typewriters work well.
The children practice cricket after school.

3. The pronouns each, either, neither, one, everyone, no one, nobody. Anyone, anybody, someone, everybody, and much are singular and will require a singular verb
Examples:

Everyone in the school is going on the trip.
Neither teacher plans to cover the entire syllabus.
Someone living in our neighbourhood is building a new office.

4. The pronouns several, few, both, many, and others are plural and require a plural verb.
Examples:

Several of his students work in the company.

Many girls study long hours.

5. The pronouns some, any, none, all, and most may be either singular or plural
Examples:

Some of the pastry was eaten.
All of the candidates were present.

6. When a sentence has two or more subjects joined by and, a plural verb is needed.
Examples:

Students and teachers park in front of the auditorium.
Pizza, cake and ice cream have always been his favorite foods.

7. When a sentence has two or more subjects joined by ‘or’, ‘nor’, choose a verb that agrees with the subject closest to it.
Examples:

Cake or pastries are a good choice for dessert.
Neither Nikhil nor his sister likes to travel.

8 (i) Collective nouns such as team, family, jury, faculty and committees are singular when considered as a unit. These will take a singular verb
Examples:

My family drives to Noida each summer.
The faculty recommends that the new syllabus be approved,

(ii) If individual members or parts of a group are considered separate, a plural verb is needed.
Examples:

The cricket team buy their own costumes.
The police wear separate uniforms

9. When every or many a comes before a subject, the verb should be singular.
Examples:

Every man, woman and child remembers that cold winter.

Many a woman chooses motherhood over a career.

10. There and here are never subjects when they appear at the beginning of a sentence. The subject will come later in the sentence. Make certain to identify the correct word as the subject before choosing a verb.
Examples:

There is the jacket I lost.
Here are the library books you needed.

Often the subject of a sentence will be delayed. The subject may come after the verb or after a prepositional phrase.
Examples:

Through the gate ran the dogs of the police.

In the lake swim five large fish.

11. Often the subject of a sentence will be delayed. The subject may come after the verb.
Examples:

Through the gate ran the dogs of the police.
In the lake swim five large fish.

Assignment -1

Direction Q 1-15: In each sentence below, circle the verb that correctly completes each sentence.
1. A black cat (bring, brings) bad luck, according to an old superstition.
2. Young boys often (protest, protests) when bedtime (roll, rolls) around.
3. My thoughts often (become, becomes) confused when I write an essay.
4. When it is humid, my clothes (stick, sticks) to me.
5. A person (need, needs) to set goals if he or she wants to succeed.
6. The damages (were, was) not serious, but the cost of repairs was over a thousand dollars.
7. My head (feel, feels) as if it is about to burst.
8. Joseph (have, has) two sisters, one brother, and several pets.
9. When a tree (fall, falls) in a forest and no one is present, does it make a sound?
10. The food containers (is, are) stacked in the lower cabinet.

Answers

1. Brings
2. protest, rolls
3. Become
4. Stick
5. Needs
6. Were
7. Feels
8. Has
9. Falls
10. Are

In the sentences in Exercise One, the subjects were immediately followed by the verbs. Often, however, you will find that a word or phrase that describes the subject comes between the subject and the verb. These words do not change the subject-verb relationship. To decide whether the verb should add an -s, look only at the subject, ignoring any words between the subject and the verb.

Examples:
1. Many readers of Shakespeare believe that King Lear is his best play.
2. The character who tells the stories in The Arabian Nights is a woman who is trying to save her life by entertaining the king.

Assignment - 2

Direction Q1-14: In each sentence below, circle the verb that agrees with its subject.
1. Marvin's excuses for not having completed his research paper (bore, bores) me.
2. Speeding in restricted zones, especially those near schools, (endanger, endangers) lives.
3. One computer for two or three students (seem, seems) inadequate.
4. The popularity of violent movies (reflect, reflects) the values of our society.
5. Honeydew, one of the favorite melons of consumers, (taste, tastes) clean and sweet.

Answers

1. Bore
2. Endangers
3. Seems
4. Reflects
5. Tastes

Error Spotting And Sentence Correction:
1. The resignation of (A)/ one of our directors (B) /have caused the price (C) / of shares to fall. (D) No error (E)
2. Majority of the banks (A)/ today use technology (B)/ to reach out to those (C)/living in rural areas(D) No error (E)
3. At present oil companies (A) / are making a loss of (B)/ rupees five on all (C) / litre of petrol that they sell. (D) No error (E)
4. (1) Neither of them (2) are coming here (3) to address this (4) large gathering. (5) No error.
5. Neither of the two candidates (l) who had applied (2) for admission to (3) the USA MBA course were eligible for scholarship. (4) No error. (5)
6. The central thesis of Ranade (l) were that we should introduce reform in such (2) a way that no violence (3) was done to ancient customs and traditions.(4) No error(5)
7. He cannot withdraw (1) / all his money (2) / unless he do not (3) / gives advance notice. (4) / No error (5)
8. The company is in debt (A) / and has been unable (B) / to pay their employees' salaries (C) / for the past six months. (D) No error (E)

Answers

Q.No	Ans	Remarks
1	C	Resignation is singular, so it should be followed by "has" and not "have"
2	B	"banks" is plural, "use" is singular, so should be replaced by "uses"
3	C	"each/every" litre instead of "all" litre, because litre is singular
4	2	"is" coming here because Neither is singular
5	4	"was" eligible because neither is singular
6	2	"was" because neither is singular
7	3	"unless he gives" advance notice
8	C	Company is singular, so "they" should be replaced by "It"

Correct the sentences given below:
1. Today management students itself have opted to work for NGOs even though salaries offered to them are low.
(A) student itself is (B) students themselves have (C) students have (D) students himself has (E) No correction required.
2. More than one minister have decided to resign from the union cabinet
(A) has decided (B) have been deciding(C) are deciding (D) were being decided (E) No correction required
3. The company has announced (A)/ a bonus for all (B)/employee who (C)/ achieve their sales targets. (D) No error (E)
4. In order to impart (A) / training to bank employees (B) / we are setting up (C) / centres at various location. (D) No error (E)
5. Indian peoples (A) invest (B) as much (C) in gold as in bank savings accounts (D)
All correct (E)
6. Throughout his tenure(A) / at the office he (B) / have proven himself to be a (C) / talented and hard-working employee. (D) No error (E)
7. He never remember (A) / to pick up the (B) / milk bottles while (C) / picking up the newspaper. (D) No error (E)

Answers

Q.No	Ans	Remarks
1	B	Students is plural so "themselves" is used
2	E	“have decided” more than one is plural
3	C	"employees", employee is singular, all is plural
4	D	"locations" as various is plural
5	A	"people" should replace "peoples"
6	C	"has" proven himself
7	A	"remembers" because he is singular.