This document provides 15 rules for subject-verb agreement and examples of each rule. It explains that the subject and verb must agree in number, where a singular subject takes a singular verb and plural subject takes a plural verb. It discusses different situations that can cause confusion with subject-verb agreement, such as sentences beginning with "there" or compound subjects joined by "and". The document concludes with an activity asking the reader to choose the correct verb form for different subjects.

1. Grammar
Awareness
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT RULES

2. Grammar Awareness
Why is it important to study the correct
subject-verb agreement?
You may be knowledgeable about a certain area of
expertise, but if you cannot communicate
effectively, your ability to share that knowledge is
affected. Incorrect subject-verb agreement can
cause confusions to others.

3. Grammar Awareness
“If your subjects and verbs disagree, you does
not sound so good. In fact, a writer who do
not understand the elementary concepts of
grammar have no credibility.”
Was the sentence easy to understand? You
probably found it quite confusing. In this
lesson, you will learn how to determine
correct subject-verb agreement and correct
verb tenses.

4. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 1
Subjects and verbs must agree in number; whereas, a
singular subject (she, Bill, car) takes a singular verb (is,
goes, shines), and a plural subject takes a plural verb.
This is the cornerstone rule that forms the background
of the concept.
Examples:
The dog barks when it is angry.
The dogs bark when they are angry.

5. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 2
Don’t get confused by the words that come between the
subject and verb; they do not affect agreement.
Take note of the words like, together with, altogether with,
with, including, as well as, along with, and the like.
Examples:
Jose Rizal, like the other heroes, is brave.
Ana, together with her cousins, is going to the beach.
The talents, as well as their coach, are inside the room.

6. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 3
Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb
usually do not affect agreement. The subject will
come before a phrase beginning with of.
Examples:
The colors of the rainbow are beautiful.
A bouquet of yellow roses lends color and fragrance to the room.
The man between those girls is their cousin.

7. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 4
When sentences start with “there” or “here,” the
subject will always be placed after the verb, so care
needs to be taken to identify it correctly.
Examples:
There is a problem with the balance sheet.
Here are the papers you requested.

8. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 5
Subjects don't always come before verbs in questions.
Make sure you accurately identify the subject before
deciding on the proper verb form to use.
Examples:
Does Lefty usually eat grass?
Where are the pieces of this puzzle?

9. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 6
If two subjects are joined by and, they typically require
a plural verb form.
Examples:
The cow and the pig are jumping over the moon.
Mathematics and Science are my two favorite subjects.

10. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 7
The verb is singular if the two subjects separated
by and refer to the same person or thing.
Examples:
Red beans and rice is my mom’s favorite dish.
Ham and cheese is her family’s specialty.

11. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 8
If one of the words each, every, or no comes before the
subject, the verb is singular.
Examples:
No smoking or drinking is allowed.
Every man and woman is required to check in.
Each girl is given a free ticket.

12. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 9
The verb in an or, either/or, or neither/nor sentence
agrees with the noun or pronoun closest to it.
Examples:
Either the bears or the lion has escaped from the zoo.
Neither the lion nor the bears have escaped from the zoo.

13. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 10
The only time when the object of the preposition factors
into the decision of plural or singular verb forms is when
noun and pronoun subjects like some, half, none, more, all,
etc. are followed by a prepositional phrase. In these
sentences, the object of the preposition.
Examples:
All of the chicken is gone.
All of the chickens are gone.

14. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 11
The singular verb form is usually used for units of
measurement, distance, money, or time.
Examples:
Four quarts of oil is required to get the car running.
Two o’clock is their official time requirement.
Five hundred pesos is her daily allowance.
Three miles is too far to walk.

15. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 12
Collective nouns like herd, senate, class, crowd, family etc.
usually take a singular verb form.
Examples:
The herd is stampeding.
The crowd goes wild as the actor arrives.

16. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 13
Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as singular
and take a singular verb.
Examples:
The Fault in our Stars is a great novel.
Beauty and the Beast is the best film of the year.

17. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 14
Indefinite pronouns typically take singular verbs.
Examples:
Everybody is required to attend the program.
Any color is allowed except black and white.
Except for the pronouns (few, many, several, both, all,
some) that always take the plural form.
Examples:
Several pimples are popped.

18. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 15
Singular nouns that are plural in form take singular verb.
(e.g., Mathematics, Christmas, Philippines, etc.)
Examples:
Christmas is the best occasion of the year.
Philippines is such a beautiful country.

19. Grammar Awareness
Rule No. 16
A few words, though singular in nature, are made of paired
items and generally treated as plural take plural verbs.
(e.g., scissors, trousers, glasses, jeans, etc.)
Examples:
The scissors on the table are mine.
Your jeans are so worn out.

20. Grammar Awareness
ACTIVITY
Directions: Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees
with the subject.
1. Ron and Marsha (import/imports) data onto spreadsheets.
2. Students (create/creates) folders for their writing samples.
3. The system automatically (back up/backs up) files to protect data.
4. Julie and I (fix/fixes) errors in our classmates' rough drafts.
5. Neither John nor Carmel (is/are) available.

21. Grammar Awareness
6. Neither she, I, nor my friends (is/are) going to the festival.
7. The politician, along with the newsmen, (is/are) expected shortly.
8. A number of suggestions (was/were) made.
9. The movie, including all the previews, (take/takes) about two hours
to watch.
10. Nobody (know/knows) the trouble I've seen.
11. (Is/Are) the news on at five or six?
12. Eight dollars (is/are) the price of a movie these days.
13. The committee (leads/lead) very different lives in private.