SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

                                                 

SUBJECT: which performs set of the action or of what is said in a sentence
VERB      :  Which helps the subject in performing some action in a sentence; termed as action words     
Example She smiles; He is clever
Here She & He are subject of which is talked about in the sentence and verbs smiles & it helps the subject in performance and is singular because it acts according to the subject (in person & number)
This means Subject and Verb agrees with one another in number (singular or plural) which we often define as SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT. Thus, if a subject is singular, its verb must also be singular; if a subject is plural, its verb must also be plural.
In present tenses, nouns and verbs form plurals in opposite ways:  
NOUN ADD an s to the singular form,

BUT

VERBS REMOVE an s from the singular form.

Basic Rule

The basic rule states that a singular subject takes a singular verb, while a plural subject takes a plural verb.

NOTE: The trick is in knowing whether the subject is singular or plural. The next trick is recognizing a singular or plural verb.

Hint: Verbs do not form their plurals by adding an s as nouns do. In order to determine which verb is singular and which one is plural, think of which verb you would use with he or she and which verb you would use with they.

Example:
talks, talk
Which one is the singular form?
Which word would you use with he?
We say, "He talks." Therefore, talks  is singular.
We say, "They talk." Therefore, talk is plural.

Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb usually do not affect agreement.

Example:
The colors of the rainbow are beautiful.

Rule 1

Two singular subjects connected by or or nor require a singular verb.

Example:
My aunt or my uncle is arriving by train today.

Rule 2

Two singular subjects connected by either/or or neither/nor require a singular verb as in Rule 1.

Examples:
Neither Juan nor Carmen is available.
Either Kiana or Casey is helping today with stage decorations.

Rule 3

When I is one of the two subjects connected by either/or or neither/nor, put it second and follow it with the singular verb am.

Example:
Neither she nor I am going to the festival.

Rule 4

When a singular subject is connected by or or nor to a plural subject, put the plural subject last and use a plural verb.

Example:
The serving bowl or the plates go on that shelf.

Rule 5

When a singular and plural subject are connected by either/or or neither/nor, put the plural subject last and use a plural verb.

Example:
Neither Jenny nor the others are available.

Rule 6

As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected by and.

Example:
A car and a bike are my means of transportation.

Rule 7

Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by words such as along with, as well as, besides, or not. Ignore these expressions when determining whether to use a singular or plural verb.

Examples:
The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly.
Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking.

Rule 8

The pronouns each, everyone, every one, everybody, anyone, anybody, someone, and somebody are singular and require singular verbs. Do not be misled by what follows of.

Examples:
Each of the girls sings well.
Every one of the cakes is gone.

NOTE: Everyone is one word when it means everybody. Every one is two words when the meaning is each one.
The words mentioned in the table below, if are used as main subject always take singular verbs.
EVERYBODY           EVERYONE              EVERYTHING
NOBODY                  NO ONE                     NOTHING
SOMEBODY             SOMEONE                SOMETHING
ANYBODY               ANYONE                   ANYTHING
Rule 9
If no comes before the subject, the verb is singular.

Examples:
No smoking or drinking is allowed.

Rule 10

With words that indicate portions—percent, fraction, part, majority, some, all, none, remainder, and so forth —look at the noun in your of phrase (object of the preposition) to determine whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the object of the preposition is singular, use a singular verb. If the object of the preposition is plural, use a plural verb.

Examples:
Fifty percent of the pie has disappeared.
Pie is the object of the preposition of.
Fifty percent of the pies have disappeared.
Pies is the object of the preposition.
One-third of the city is unemployed.
One-third of the people are unemployed.

NOTE: Hyphenate all spelled-out fractions.

All of the pie is gone.
All of the pies are gone.
Some of the pie is missing.
Some of the pies are missing.
None of the garbage was picked up.
None of the sentences were punctuated correctly.
Of all her books, none have sold as well as the first one.

Rule 11

The expression the number is followed by a singular verb while the expression a number is followed by a plural verb.

Examples:
The number of people we need to hire is thirteen.
A number of people have written in about this subject.

Rule 12

When either and neither are subjects, they always take singular verbs.

Examples:
Neither of them is available to speak right now.
Either of us is capable of doing the job.

Rule 13

The words here and there have generally been labeled as adverbs even though they indicate place. In sentences beginning with here or there, the subject follows the verb.

Examples:
There are four hurdles to jump.
There is a high hurdle to jump.

Rule 14

Use a singular verb with sums of money or periods of time.

Examples:
Ten dollars is a high price to pay.
Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense.

Rule 15

Sometimes the pronoun who, that, or which is the subject of a verb in the middle of the sentence. The pronouns who, that, and which become singular or plural according to the noun directly in front of them. So, if that noun is singular, use a singular verb. If it is plural, use a plural verb.

Examples:
Salma is the scientist who writes/write the reports.
The word in front of who is scientist, which is singular. Therefore, use the singular verb writes.
He is one of the men who does/do the work.
The word in front of who is men, which is plural. Therefore, use the plural verb do.

Rule 16

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 determines the form of the verb.(If it is singular then followed by singular verb ; if plural then they stand singular for uncountable nouns and stand plural for countable noun.)

All of the chicken is gone. All of the chickens are gone.

Group Nouns

Rule 17

Collective nouns such as team and staff may be either singular or plural depending on their use in the sentence.

Examples:
The staff is in a meeting.
Staff is acting as a unit here.
The staff are in disagreement about the findings.
The staff are acting as separate individuals in this example.
The sentence would read even better as:
The staff members are in disagreement about the findings.

 Note: Some nouns which denote groups can be either singular or plural depending upon their meaning in individual sentences as to whether it conveys the difference in idea, opinion and action

   

Because they can describe either the individuals in the group (more than one – plural), or the group as a single entity (one only – singular), these nouns pose special problems.

However, there are some guidelines for deciding which verb form (singular or plural) to use with one of these nouns as the subject in a sentence.

If  we refer to the group as a whole and, therefore, as a single unit, we consider the noun singular.  In this case, we use a singular verb.

If, on the other hand, we are actually referring to the individuals within the group, then we consider the noun plural.  In this case, we use a plural verb.

Group nouns, like other nouns, can also appear in plural forms (with an s).

Thus, there are three important subject – verb agreement rules to remember when a group noun is used as the subject:

1.      Group nouns can be considered as a single unit, and, thus, take a singular verb.

2.      Group nouns can be considered as individual members within a single unit and, thus, take a plural verb.

3.      Group nouns can be given plural forms to mean two or more units and, thus, take a plural verb.

Rule

When a plural subject is contrasted with a singular subject, the verb agrees with the subject being emphasized.

Examples:

The students, not the principal, have decided to participate in the fund drive.

The principal, not the faculty members, has decided on the dates for spring break.

Plural Form / Singular Meaning Nouns

Some nouns are regularly plural in form, but singular in meaning.

Even though these nouns APPEAR to be plural because they end in s, they actually refer to only one thing made up of smaller, uncounted parts.  Therefore, they are considered singular.