This document provides rules for subject-verb agreement in English. It explains that verbs must agree with their subject in number, either singular or plural. It gives 10 rules for subject-verb agreement, including that compound subjects joined by "and" are plural, subjects joined by "or" take a verb agreeing with the last subject, and collective nouns can be either singular or plural depending on their intended meaning in the sentence. The document includes exercises for readers to practice identifying the correct verb form based on the subject.

1. COUNTING NOUNS (NOUNS AND
SUBJECT-VERB-AGREEMENT)
Do youknowthat fans addheat to a room?One way to thinkabout
it islike this:if youhave a perfectlyinsulatedroomandyouput an
electricfaninit,thenthe room will getwarmer.All the electricity
that isdrivingthe fanturns directlyintoheat.
So a fan doesnotcool the roomat all.Whatit doesisto
create a windof chill effect.Byblowingairaround,the fanmakesit
easierforthe air to evaporate sweatfromthe skin.The more
evaporation,the cooleryoufeel.
*Underlinethe countablenounsanduncountablenouns.
COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
 Countable nounsare thingswhichcanbe counted,e.g. tree.
man,pencil, box.
 Uncountable nounsare thingswhichcannotbe counted, e.g.
flour,sand,goodness,sadness.
 As countable nounscanbe counted,theyappearinsingularor
plural formswitharticle ornumberplacedbefore them,asin:
 Singularcountables –
Articles:abox,the cat, an owl.
 Plural countables –
Numbers:five boxes,twodogs.
 Whenreferringtoa group of thingsingeneral,noarticle isused
(zeroarticles)
Examples:Crowshave become anuisance
 Uncountable nounscannotbe precededby a or an butthey
may have the and some placedbefore them.
Examples:
 Healthiswealth
 The healthof the people isimportant
 Some people are special
 Uncountable nounscanbe made countable if placedin
containersorpackets,as in: a bagof rice, a tin of paint,two
bagsof rice, several tins of paint.
 Some isquantifierwhichcanbe usedbefore aplural countable
nounand an uncountable noun.
Examples:
 Countable –
some friends,some girls,somemovies
 Uncountable –
some rice,some hope,some baggage,some advice,
some furniture
 Otheramountwordsspecifymore preciselythe meaning
‘some’
Withcountable
nouns
Withuncountable
nouns
A large amount many,a lot,a
large number
much,a lot,a great
deal
A small amount a few,a small
number
a little
Nota large
amount
not many,few not much,little

2. RULES FOR SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
 RULE 1 – A verb agreeswith its subjectin number.
Singular subjectstake singular verbs:
 The car stays inthe garage.
 The flowersmells good.
There isan old saying:“Oppositesattract.”The rule for singularand
plural verbsisjustthe opposite of the rule forsingularandplural
nouns.Rememberthiswhenyoumatchsubjectsandverbs.You
mightguessthat staysand smellsare plural verbsbecause theyend
ins. Theyaren’t.Both staysand smellsare singularverbs.
 RULE 2 – The numberof the subject(singularor plural) is
not changed by words that come betweenthe subject and
the verb.
One of the eggsisbroken. Of the eggs isa prepositional phrase.The
subjectone andthe verb isare bothsingular.Mentallyomitthe
prepositional phrase tomake the subject verb-agreementeasierto
make.
EXERCISE 1 - Direction:Circle the correctverbineach of the
sentencesbelow.Checkyouranswersonthe followingpage.
1. Your friend (talk-talks) too much.
2. The man with the roses (look-looks) like your brother.
3. The women in the pool (swim-swims) well.
4. Bill (drive-drives) a cab.
5. The football players (run-runs) five miles every day.
6. That red-haired lady in the fur hat (live-lives) across the
street.
7. He (cook-cooks) dinner for his family.
8. The boys (walk-walks) to school every day.
9. The weather on the coast (appear-appears) to be good this
weekend.
10. The center on the basketball team (bounce-bounces) the
ball too high
IT’S YOUR TURN! - Directions:Write foursentencesof yourown
illustratingthe firsttwo subject-verbagreementrules.
 RULE 1:
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 RULE 2:
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3.  RULE 3 – Some subjectsalwaystake asingularverbeven
thoughthe meaningmayseemplural.
These subjectsalwaystake singularverbs:
each someone
either anyone
neither nobody
one somebody
no one anybody
everyone everybody
 Someone inthe game was(notwere) hurt.
 Neitherof the menis(notare) working.
 RULE 4 – The followingwordsmaybe singularorplural,
dependingupontheiruse inasentence,some,any,all,
most.
 Most of the news isgood.(singular)
 Most of the flowers were yellow.(plural)
 All of the pizzawas gone.(singular)
 All of the children were late.(plural)
EXERCISE 2 - Directions:Circle the correctverbinthe sentences
below.Checkyouranswersonthe bottomof thispage.
1. Each of the girls (look-looks)goodonskis.
2. Everybody (was-were) asked to remain quiet.
3. Neither of the men (is-are) here yet.
4. Is-Are) each of the girls ready to leave?
5. Several of the sheep (is-are) sick.
6. Some members of the faculty (is-are) present.
7. Nobody in the class (has-have) the answer.
8. Each of the girls (observe-observes) all the regulations.
9. All of the milk (is-are) gone.
10. Most of the seats (was-were) taken.
IT’S YOUR TURN! - Directions:Write foursentencesof yourown
illustratingrules3and 4:
 RULE 3:
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 RULE 4:
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4.  RULE 5 – Subjectsjoinedby andare plural.Subjectsjoined
by or or Nor take a verbthat agreeswiththe lastsubject.
 Bob and George are leaving.
 NeitherBob norGeorge isleaving.
 NeitherBob norhisfriends are leaving.
 RULE 6 – There and here are neversubjects.Insentences
that beginwiththese words,the subjectisusuallyfound
lateron inthe sentence.
 There were five booksonthe shelf.(were,
agreeswiththe subject book)
 Here is the reportyouwanted.(Isagreeswith
subjectreport)
 RULE 7 – Collectivenounsmaybe singularorplural,
dependingontheiruse inthe sentence.
A collective nounisanounusedtoname a whole group.
Followingare some commonexamples:
army crowd orchestra
audience flock public
class group swarm
club herd team
committee jury troop
UnitedStates
 The orchestra isplayingahit song.(Orchestrais
consideredasone unit—singular.)
 The orchestra were askedtogive theirmusical
backgrounds.(Orchestraisconsideredas
separate individuals—plural)
EXERCISE 3 - Directions:Circle the correctverbineach of the
sentencesbelow.Checkyouranswersatthe bottomof thispage.
1. Margo and her parents (visit-visits) each other often.
2. Either the cups or the glasses (are-is) in the dishwasher.
3. Vern and Fred (need-needs) a ride to work.
4. There (is-are) a dog, a cat, and a bird in the garage.
5. Neither Matt nor his brothers (was-were) at the party.
6. Here into the main ring of the circus (come-comes) the
trained elephants.
7. Either the workers or the boss (deliver-delivers) the
merchandise.
8. The committee (work-works) hard for better schools.
9. There (is-are) many things to do before the holidays.
10. The jury (was-were) polled for their verdicts.
11. Here (is-are) the nails you need for the projects.
12. Either Joyce or Ellen (was-were) here.

5. 13. The United States (is-are) a country of contrast.
14. A magazine and a book (was-were) lying on the floor.
IT’S YOUR TURN! - Directions:Write six sentencesof yourown
illustratingrules5,6 and7:
 RULE 5:
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 RULE 6:
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 RULE 7:
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 RULE 8 – Expressionsof time,money,measurement,and
weightare usuallysingularwhenthe amountisconsidered
one unit.
 Five dollarsis(notare) toomuch to ask.
 Tendays is(notare) notnearlyenoughtime.
On occasion,howeverthesetermsare usedinthe plural sense:
 There were thirtyminutestocountdown.
 RULE 9 – Some nouns,while pluralinform,are actually
singularin meaning.
 Mathematicsis(notare) an easysubjectforsome
people.
 Physicsis(notare) taught byProf,Baldwin.
mumps home economics social studies
measles calisthenics statistics
physics gymnastics phonics
acrobatics aesthetics thesis
 RULE 10 – Don’t andDoesn’tmustagree withthe subject.
Use doesn’tafterhe,she,it.
 Doesn’the (notdon’t) knowhowto sail?
 They don’t(notdoesn’t) make movieslike thatanymore.

6. EXERCISE 4 - Directions:Circle the correctverbineach of the
sentencesbelow.
1. Mumps (is-are) one of the most uncomfortable diseases.
2. One hundred dollars (is-are) not a lot of money to some
people.
3. She (doesn’t-don’t) look very well today.
4. Twenty minutes (is-are) the amount of time it takes me to
get home from work.
5. It (doesn’t-don’t) seem so cold today.
6. Gymnastics (is-are) easy for Angela.
7. Interesting news (is-are) what sells our paper.
8. A pound of cookies (cost-costs) about a dollar.
9. They (doesn’t-don’t) think they’ll win the game tonight.
10. He (don’t-doesn’t) speak very well.
IT’S YOUR TURN! - Directions:Write six sentencesof yourown
illustratingrules8,9 and10:
 RULE 8:
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 RULE 9:
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 RULE 10:
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7. PROGRESS CHECK ON SUBJECT-VERB-AGREEMENT
Direction:Write the correctverbin the blankspace to the leftof
each sentence.
1._________________ Everybody(was-were) askedtobe quiet.
2._________________ In a marathon,fewof the starters (finishes-
finish) the race.
3._________________ Sixtydays(is-are) notenoughtime to
complete the project.
4._________________ All of the workers(is-are) receivingtheir
bonus.
5._________________ On our street(is-are)manytall trees.
6._________________ It (don’t-doesn’t) make anydifference.
7._________________ The value of cars and motorcycles(has-
have) increased.
8._________________ The principal andher husband(is-are)
honoredguests.
9._________________ Eitherthe pitcheror the base runners(was-
were) caughtnapping.
10.________________ One of myfriends(believe-believes)in
E.S.P.
11._______________ Have you everheardthe expression,“No
new(is-are) goodnews?”
12.________________ There (was-were) several dentsinthe car.
13._______________ Louise (doesn’t-don’t) wanttodrive that
longdistance.
14.________________ EitherLuisor Horace (pay-pays) the billsin
our house.
15.________________ A boyand a girl (were-was) heretosee you.
16.________________ The box of apples(is-are) onthe porch.
17.________________ Some of the jobapplicants(is-are) expected
to pass the difficultscreeningtest.
18.________________ The army (is-are) conductingmaneuversin
March.
19.________________ Here (come-comes) the familynow.
20.________________ Neitherof us(is-are) goingtowork.
21.________________ (Doesn’t-Don’t) theyknowwhentoquit?
22.________________ Thirtyminutes (is-are) the time limitforthe
test.
23.________________ Measles(is-are) adiseasemostchildren
experience.
24.________________ The class (is-are) turningintheir
registrationformstoday.
25.________________ Beyondthe mountains(is-are) afertile
valley.

8. ANSWERS
EXERCISE 1:
1.talks
2.looks
3.swim
4.drives
5.run
6.lives
7.cooks
8.walk
9.appears
10.bounces
EXERCISE 2:
1.looks
2.was
3.is
4.is
5.are
6.are
7.has
8.observes
EXERCISE 3:
1.visit
2.are
3.need
4.are
5.were
6.come
7.delivers
8.works
9.are
10.were
11.are
12.was
13.is
14.were
15.are
EXEERCISE 4:
1.is
2.is
3.doesn’t
4.is
5.doesn’t
6.is
7.is
8.costs
9.don’t
10.doesn’t