Subject-Verb agreement

1. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

2. 1. USE A SINGULAR VERB OF DOING/ACTION
(WITH -S) WITH A SINGULAR SUBJECT.
a) Amelia (live, lives) here.
b) The sun (rise, rises) early. It (shine, shines)
brightly.

3. 2. USE A PLURAL VERB OF DOING/ACTION
(WITHOUT -S) WITH A PLURAL SUBJECT.
a) The boys (watch, watches) TV. They (eat,
eats) their dinner.
b) We (sleep, sleeps) late at night. The
students (study, studies) for an exam.

4. 3. USE A VERB THAT AGREES WITH THE SUBJECT
RATHER THAN WITH SOME OTHER INTERVENING
WORD/MODIFIER THAT COMES IN BETWEEN.
a) Katrina, as well as her parents, (is, are)
arriving today. The plant in the pot on the
balcony of our house (need, needs) watering.
b.The mayor, who has been convicted along
with his bodyguards, (is, are) finally going to
jail.

5. 4. SOME NOUNS END IN -S AND APPEAR TO BE
PLURAL BUT ARE REALLY SINGULAR AND
REQUIRE SINGULAR VERBS.
a) The news from Dante (is, are) bad.
Mathematics (was, were) my favorite subject
in high school.
b) Measles (is, are) a dangerous disease for
pregnant women. Physics (is, are) among
the most difficult courses in our program.

6. 5. IF A SENTENCE BEGINS WITH THERE OR
HERE, DO NOT MISTAKE THERE OR HERE FOR
THE SUBJECT. FIND THE REAL SUBJECT AND
MAKE THE VERB AGREE WITH IT.
a) Here (is, are) two bananas, Elisa. There (is,
are) no reason for this.
b) There (is, are) unknown side effects to this.
Here (is, are) a social worker and volunteers
at the scene of the accident.

7. 6. MAKE THE VERB IN A QUESTION AGREE WITH
ITS SUBJECT. TO BE SURE, TURN THE QUESTION
INTO A STATEMENT.
a) (Is, Are) Pitoy’s mobile phone new? (Do,
Does) the editor and the publisher agree with
him?
b) (Has, Have) the teachers seen the student
exhibit? (Do, Does) Feliza know your
boyfriend?

8. 7. USE A PLURAL VERB WITH COMPOUND
SUBJECTS JOINED BY “AND”.
a) Gregorio and Gabriela always (go, goes) to
school together. My natural ability and desire
to help others (has, have) led to a career in
nursing.
b) Remember that your safety and welfare (is,
are) our concern. Ikang’s friends and
relatives (visit, visits) her often at the
cemetery.

9. 8. WITH COMPOUND SUBJECTS CONNECTED BY
OR OR NOR (EITHER-OR, NEITHER-NOR) MAKE
THE VERB AGREE WITH THE PART OF THE
SUBJECT NEARER THE VERB.
a) A driver’s license or two credit cards (is, are)
required. Neither the students nor the
teacher (was, were) able to find the
classroom.
b) A passport or a valid company I.D. (is, are)
needed.

10. 9. TREAT MOST INDEFINITE PRONOUNS (EACH,
EVERY, NONE, EITHER, NEITHER, EVERYONE,
SOMEBODY…) AS SINGULAR.
a) Everyone on the team (support, supports)
the coach. Each plate and glass (looks,
looks) new.
b) None of these jobs (require, requires) a
college education. Neither of those clothes
(fit, fits) Dabyana’s figure.

11. 10. A FEW INDEFINITE PRONOUNS (ALL, ANY,
SOME) ARE SINGULAR OR PLURAL DEPENDING
ON THE WORD THEY REFER TO.
a) Some of the orange juice (have, has)
spilled.
b) All of the oranges (is, are) ripe.

12. 11. TREAT MOST COLLECTIVE NOUNS (CLASS,
COMMITTEE, TEAM…) AS SINGULAR UNLESS THE
MEANING IS CLEARLY PLURAL.
a) The class respects the instructor. My family
(go, goes) on vacation every year.
b) The team (is, are) playing in the games next
week. The government (has, have) not
announced a new foreign policy.

13. 12. UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS (FURNITURE, MONEY,
EQUIPMENT, KNOWLEDGE…) DO NOT HAVE A
PLURAL FORM AND ARE ALWAYS SINGULAR.
a) Your advice (make, makes) me nervous.
Coffee (is, are) served to the guests.
b) The information in the press (is, are) not
always accurate. Roberta’s jewelry (is, are)
stolen.

14. 13. FRACTIONAL EXPRESSIONS (HALF OF, A
PERCENTAGE OF, MAJORITY OF…) ARE
SINGULAR OR PLURAL, DEPENDING ON THE
MEANING AND THE WORD THEY REFER TO.
a) Forty percent of the students (is, are) in
favor of changing the policy. Majority of the
student body (is, are)against the policy.
b) A large percentage of Filipinos (live, lives)
below the poverty line.

15. 14. THE PHRASE THE NUMBER/ONE OF IS
FOLLOWED BY A PLURAL NOUN AND A
SINGULAR VERB. HOWEVER, WITH A NUMBER
OF, USES A PLURAL VERB.
a) The number of nursing board examinees (is,
are) growing. A number of nursing board
passers (is, are) second coursers.
b) A number of complaints (is, are) listed in the
petition. One of the petitioners (is, are) a
lawyer.

16. 15. WITH AN -ING VERB FORM USED AS A NOUN
SUBJECT (GERUND), ALWAYS USE A SINGULAR
VERB.
a) Playing the piano in front of a crowd (cause,
causes) stage fright. Skateboarding (is,are)
not a crime.
b) Respecting the pupil (is, are) the secret of
education. Teaching (is, are) a noble
profession

17. 16. TITLES OF WORKS AND WORDS MENTIONED
AS WORDS ARE SINGULAR.
a) “The Lost Boys” (is, are) a good movie.
Controlled substances (is, are) another term
for illegal drugs.
b) “Jaws” (is, are) a scary film about a killer
shark. Lost Cities (describe, describes) the
discoveries of ancient civilizations.

18. 17. QUANTITY WORDS (FEW, LESS, MUCH,
MANY…) CAN BE USED ALONE OR USED TO
MODIFY A NOUN. THEY MAY BE SINGULAR OR
PLURAL DEPENDING ON THE WORD THEY
REFER TO.
a. Much (has, have) been accomplished.
b. Few of his fans (is, are) buying his recent
book.

19. 18. IF A SENTENCE COMPOUNDS A POSITIVE
AND A NEGATIVE SUBJECT AND ONE IS PLURAL,
THE OTHER SINGULAR, THE VERB SHOULD
AGREE WITH THE POSITIVE SUBJECT.
a) It was the speaker and not his ideas that
(has, have) provoked the audience to riot. It’s
not the principal but the faculty members
who (decide, decides) on this issue.
b) The instructors and not the dean (has, have)
proposed not to teach on Valentine‘s Day. It’s
not Perlita but her sisters who (spread,
spreads) the gossip.

20. 19. WHEN A SENTENCE BEGINS NOT WITH THE
SUBJECT BUT WITH A PHRASE PRECEDING THE
VERB, THE VERB STILL AGREES WITH THE
SUBJECT, WHICH FOLLOWS IT.
a) In front of the library (sit, sits) two students.
At the back of the classroom (is, are) a small
aquarium and a bookcase.
b) Even more important (is, are) the chapter
dealing with English grammar. Seldom (has,
have) the children been scolded by their
parents.

21. 20. DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES (THIS, THAT,
THESE, THOSE) AND RELATIVE PRONOUNS
(WHO, WHICH, THAT) MUST AGREE IN NUMBER
WITH THE NOUN/PRONOUNS THEY MODIFY.
THEY MUST AGREE WITH THEIR ANTECEDENT.
a) The president is planning changes. These
(is, are) bound to be controversial. Take a
bag that (travel, travels) well.
b) Our ability to use language is one of the
things that (set, sets) us apart from animals.
c. Bakekang knew that Bentong was the only
one of her sons who(is, are) responsible
enough to sell balut at night.

22. 21. POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS (MINE, HIS, OURS,
YOURS…) CAN REFER TO BOTH SINGULAR AND
PLURAL ANTECEDENTS. THE ANTECEDENT
DETERMINES WHETHER THE VERB IS SINGULAR
OR PLURAL.
a) Her average grade is good, but mine (is,
are) better. His grades are good, but mine
(is, are) better.
b) My brother is big while yours (is, are) bigger
.

23. 22. WORDS STATING AMOUNTS OF TIME,
MONEY, MEASUREMENT, ETC. ARE USUALLY
SINGULAR. PHRASES INVOLVING ADDITION,
MULTIPLICATION, SUBTRACTION, AND DIVISION
OF NUMBERS PREFERABLY TAKE THE
SINGULAR.
a) Two and two (is, are) four. Seven pesos (is,
are) the jeepney fare for the first four
kilometers.
b) Four times four divided by two (is, are) eight.
Two hundred kilos (is, are) too heavy for the
weightlifter to “snatch.”