This document provides guidelines on subject-verb agreement in English. It discusses various grammatical rules such as: - Subjects joined by "and" are usually plural and take a plural verb. - Singular subjects joined by "or", "either/or", or "neither/nor" take a singular verb. - Collective nouns can take either a singular or plural verb depending on whether they refer to the group as a whole or individuals. - Prepositional phrases and clauses between the subject and verb do not affect the agreement. - Infinitives and gerunds are considered singular subjects.

1. Subject - Verb Agreement
 ประธานเอกพจนเชื่อมดวย and
o โดยทั่วไปความหมายเปน พหูพจน
Jack and Jill are moving back to Australia.
o อาจมีความหมายเปน เอกพจน ถาผูพูดหมายความวาเปนอันหนึ่งอันเดียวกัน
Bread and butter has been my breakfast for years.
Honesty and truth is the best policy.
o ถา ไมมี article หลัง and ถือวาเปนสิ่งเดียวกัน จึงเปน เอกพจน
The manager and owner of this restaurant is my friend.
The manager and the owner of this restaurant are my friends.
 ประธานที่มี phrase หรือคําขยายตอไปนี้ตอทาย จะใชกริยาตามประธานตัวหนา
accompanied by ( พรอมดวย ) in company with ( พรอมดวย )
along with ( พรอมดวย ) including ( รวมทั้ง )
as well as ( เชนเดียวกับ ) like ( เชนเดียวกับ )
besides (นอกจาก ) not ( ไมใช )
but ( ยกเวน ) plus ( รวมทั้ง )
except ( ยกเวน ) together with ( พรอมดวย )
excluding ( ไมนับ ) with ( พรอมกับ )
in addition to ( นอกจาก )
John together with his colleagues has agreed to work late tonight to get the job finished.
The explanation in addition to the rules is very clear.
ประโยค (clause)หรือวลี (phrase) ที่ขยายประธาน ไมมีผลตอการใชกริยาของประธาน
John, with all his players, was on the field. ( with all his players ขยายประธานคือ John )
Mr. Clark, like our other neighbors, is very helpful.
 คําตอไปนี้ถือเปน เอกพจน
anybody everybody someone
anyone everyone somebody
anything everything something
anywhere everywhere somewhere
each + นามเอกพจน์ either + นามเอกพจน์ neither +นามเอกพจน์
each of + นามพหูพจน์ either of + นามพหูพจน์ neither of +นามพหูพจน์
nobody every + นามเอกพจน์ nothing
Neither of my sisters is married.
Each of the lessons takes an hour.
None จะถือเปนเอกพจนหรือพหูพจนกอได
None of us is elected.
I have checked your answer. None are correct.

2.  ประธานซึ่งเชื่อมดวยคําตอไปนี้ กริยาถือตามประธานตัวหลัง
or neither… nor
either….or not only……but (also)
Either the teachers or the principal is to blame for the accident.
Neither Dang nor his friends are to be promoted.
 คําตอไปนี้ถาใชแทนนามนับได ถือเปน พหูพจน เสมอ
all both (a) few many several some
All were ready to leave the party by midnight.
 Relative pronoun (who, which, that, what) มีพจนเหมือนคําที่มันแทน
It is I who am wrong.
This is the only book that has been written especially for Thai students of English.
 การใช phrase บอกปริมาณ
o ถือตามนามที่ตามหลัง
a lot of plenty of most of some of half of
lots of all of none of …percent of heaps of
Some of my jewelry is missing.
Some of my friends were at the airport to see me off
Ten per cent of the men have lung problems.
Ten per cent of the money is yours.
o ใชกับนามนับไดที่เปนพหูพจน กริยาตองเปน พหูพจน
a number of many
a large number of a good many
a great number of a great many
A number of students are playing football.
**The number of (+คําพหูพจน) เปน เอกพจน
The number of students playing football is twenty – two.
o ใชกับนามนับไมได กริยาตองใชรูป เอกพจน
much a large number of
a great deal of a large amount of
a good deal of a large quantity of
Although a great deal of progress has been made in the development of spoken communication with
computers, there are still a large number of problems to be solved.

3.  กลุมคํา infinitive (To + V) หรือ gerund (V. + ing) ถือวาเปน เอกพจน
To read is a good habit.
Winning the national championship is her most important achievement.
 กลุมคําที่เกี่ยวกับ วิชา โรค อาการเจ็บปวย และคํานามบางคํามีรูปเปนพหูพจน แตมีความหมายเปน เอกพจน
Politics(การเมือง) mathematics economics physics
ashes(เถาถาน) series(ชุด) measles(โรคหัด)
Sociology is easier than science.
 ชื่อหนังสือ หรือชื่อบทความ เปน เอกพจน
Gulliver’s travels was written by Swift.
 คําแสดงเวลา ระยะทาง จํานวนเงิน หรือมาตราตางๆ ถือเปน เอกพจน
Twenty thousand bahts is too high for this camera.
Two hundred miles is a long way.
Two weeks is enough for a holiday.
*** เศษสวนของคํานามพหูพจนเปนพหูพจน เศษสวนของคํานามเอกพจนเปนเอกพจน
Two-thirds of the boys are absent.
Two-thirds of the wall has been painted.
 นามบางคํามีรูปคลายเอกพจน แตมีความหมายเปน พหูพจน เสมอ
police people children cattle mankind vermin clergy
The police are arresting the robber.
**** คําพวก parent หรือ spouse เมื่อใชรูปเอกพจน (ไมมี s) หมายถึงคนใดคนหนึ่ง
His parent is going abroad next month.
His parents are back home.
 The + adjective มีความหมายถึงคน หรือสัตวที่มีคุณสมบัติเชนนั้น มีความหมายเปน พหูพจน
The poor the big the foolish the good
the rich the small the wise the bad
 Collective noun นี้ จะใชกริยาเปนเอกพจนหรือพหูพจนก็ไดขึ้นอยูกับความตองการของผูพูด
Class jury family cabinet government
Group fleet team crew committee
The jury is composed of twelve men.
The jury were unanimous in their verdict.
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4. Exercise : Subject - Verb Agreement
Quiz
1. Mother with her children ……………[ be ] cooking now.
2. My parents or my sister……………[ write ] this letter.
3. Not only my friends but also my brother ……………….[ want ] to go shopping.
4. Half of these books ……………….[ belong ] to me.
5. Bread and butter ………………[ be ] my breakfast.
6. One – third of salt …………….[ be ] sold yesterday.
7. Either you or she ……………[ be ] wrong.
8. Smith, accompanied by his wife and two children …………..[ have ] just left.
9. Three kilometers ………………[ be ] quite heavy for me to carry this bag.
10. It is only one of the dogs that …………….[ like ] to eat carrot.
11. Everything………………[ seem ] perfect.
12. Tim and Jane …………….[ be ] friends.
13. The horse and carriage ………………[ be ] at the door.
14. A white and a black dog …………….[ drink ] water in the sink.
15. My friends as well as I …………[ sing ] a song.
16. Each table and chair ………………[ lay ] at the corner.
17. All food …………..[taste] good.
18. The cattle ……………….[ be ] useful for farmers.
19. Drinking alcohol…………..[ be ] not good for your health.
20. The sound of drums, fifes and trumpets ……………….[ be ] heard.
Directions : Choose the correct verb in the following sentence.
1: The rhythm of the pounding waves is are calming. (Clue: Make the subject and verb agree when
words intervene between them.)
2: All of the dogs in the neighborhood were was barking. (Clue: Make the subject and verb agree
when words intervene between them.)
3: A high tax, not to mention unemployment, influence influences votes. (Clue: The grammatical
number of the subject does not change with the addition of expressions beginning with such words as the
following: accompanied by, along with, as well as, in addition to, including, no less than, not to mention,
together with.)
4: My friends and my mother like likes each other. (Clue: Subjects joined by and are usually plural.)
5: The team and the band was were on the field. (Clue: Subjects joined by and are usually plural.)
6: Building a good marriage and building a good log fire is are similar in many ways.
(Clue: Subjects joined by and are usually plural.)
7: John or Doris write writes to us regularly. (Clue: Singular subjects joined by or, either . . . or,
neither . . . nor take a singular verb.)
8: Either Patty or Tom was were asked to lead the meeting. (Clue: Singular subjects joined by or,
either . . . or, neither . . . nor take a singular verb.)
9: Neither Carol nor Ted is are excluded from the meeting.
10: Neither the basket nor the apples was were expensive. (Clue: If one subject is singular and one is
plural, the verb agrees with the nearer subject.)
11: Neither the apples nor the basket was were expensive.
12: Either Maria or you was were late for class. (Clue: The verb also agrees with the nearer subject
in person.)
13: Either you or Maria was were late for class.

5. 14: Hardest hit by the high temperatures and drought was were the farmers.
(Clue: Do not let inverted word order cause you to make a mistake in agreement.)
15: Neither of them like likes going to the show. (Clue: When used as subjects, such words as each,
either, one, everybody, and anyone regularly take singular verbs.)
16: Each of them has have a good seat.
17: Everybody in the class has have tickets.
18: Every silver knife, fork, and spoon has have to be counted. (Clue: Every or each preceding
singular subjects joined by and calls for a singular verb.)
19: Each cat and each dog has have its own toy.
20: The committee is are meeting today. (Clue: Collective nouns take a singular verb when they
refer to the group as a unit.)
21: Ten million gallons of oil is are a lot of oil. (Clue: Collective nouns take a singular verb when
they refer to the group as a unit.)
22: The jury vote votes today. (Clue: Collective nouns take a singular verb when they refer to the
group as a unit.)
23: The number is are very small. (Clue: Collective nouns take a singular verb when they refer to the
group as a unit.)
24: A number of students was were absent. (Clue: Collective nouns take a plural verb when they
refer to individuals or parts of the group.)
25: Ten million gallons of oil was were spilled.
26: The majority of us is are in favor. 27: Statistics is are an interesting subject.
(Clue: Some nouns (such as athletics, politics, series, deer, and sheep) can be either singular or plural
depending on meaning.)
28: Statistics is are often misleading.
29: The sheep stray strays when the gate is left open.
30: Sheep stray strays when the gate is left open.
1: Of all university courses, mathematics probably produce/produces the most fear.
2: Living in big cities almost always cause/causes stress because of traffic jams, too few parking spaces, and
too many people.
3: The way of life in small villages far from big cities is/ are mostly quiet because there are few people.
4: In many countries, governments control/ controls the mass media through censorship.
5: Sometimes a government covertly influence/ influences the general population by releasing
disinformation through the mass media.
6: President Obama, along with his support staff and news reporters, visit/ visits many key cities around the
world every year.
7: Least considered in the latest bombing campaign was/ were the innocent victims.
8: Each cat and each dog in this animal shelter is/ are evjentually placed in a good home.
9: The deer standing silently next to the large tree was/ were not seen by the two hunters.
10: Neither the students nor the teacher was/ were able to find the solution immediately.
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