C2 Grammar Focus: Subject -Verb Agreement

Making Subjects and Verbs Agree

1. When the subject of a sentence is composed of two or more nCIuns or
pronouns connected by amd, use a plural verb.

She and her friends are at the fair"

2. When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by or or nar,
use a singular verb.

The haok or the pen is in the drawer.

3. When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or
pronoun joined by or or rrer, the verb should agree with the part of the subject
that is nearer the verb^
The boy or his friends run every day.
His friends ar the hoy runs every day.

4. Don't be misled by a phrase that come$ between the subject and the verb.
The verb agrees with the subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase.
One af fhe boxes is open
The peaple who listen to that music are few.
The team captain, as wellas hr's players, is anx.ious.
The book, including allthe chapters in the first sectian, is boring.
The woman with all the neighborhoad dogs walks down my street every day.
5. The words eacfi, eaeh one, either, neither, everye{re, everyhody,
anybody, anyorre, nobody, somebody, saffieone and no orle are singular
and require a singular verb.

Each of these hof dogs is juicy

Everybody knows Mr. Jones.
Either is correct.
6. Nouns such as civics, mathematics, dollars, measfes, and news require
singular verbs.

The news is

om

at six.

Note: the nouns dollars, pounds, etc. are a special case. When talking about
an amount of money, it requires a singular verb, but when referring to the
dollars or pounds themselves, a plural verb is required.

Five dollars r.s a lot of money.

Pounds are stillused in the UK.

?. Nouns such as scissors, tweezers, frousers, 3'eans, sforfs and pliers

require plural verbs. (There are two parts to these things.)
These scr'ssors are dull.
Ihose trousers are made of woal.

il. ln sentences beginning with "there r.s" or "the{e are" the subject follows
the verb. Since "there" is not the subject, the verb agrees with what follows.

There are many questions.

There is a question.
8. Collective nouns are words thai imply more than one person but that are
considered singular in American English and take a singular verb. Collective
nouns are nouns such as group, team, committee, band, class, and family.
The team runs during practice.
The committee decides how to praceed.
Thefamily has a long history.
My family has never been able to agree.
The crew is preparing to dock the ship.
This sentence is refenring to the individual efforts of each crew member.
However, particularly in British English, the same nouns are often used with
a plural verb.
The team have wan lhe game.

ts. Expressions such as with, together with, including, accompanied by,

in addition to, or as well do not change the number of the subject. lf the
subject is singular, the verb is too.

The President, accompanied by his wife, is traveling to fndia"

All of the books, inclading youts, are in that bax.
71, The numbervs. a number. Compare the examples:

*The numbcr i* s su&i*ct in {1}

*ln tzl: A number of -an et(pression
of quantffy = "a lot of*lt is followed by a Ftural noun and a
plur*l re'rb.

EXERCISE Subject-verbogreement,
Directions: Choose the correct answer in parentheses.

1. The extent of Jane's knowledge on various complex subjects

@astound) me.
2. The subjects you will be studying in this course (is,are) listed in the syllabus.
3. Letruce (is, are) good for you.
4. Oranges) tomatoes, fresh strawberries, cabbage, and lettuce (is, are) rich in vitamin C,
5. The professor and the srudent (agrees, agree) on that point.
6. Almost every professor and student at the university (a1ryroaes, approae) of the choice
of Dr. Brown as the new president.
7. Each girl and boy in the sixth-grade class (has, haae) to do a science project.
8. Making pies and cakes (ar, are) Mrs. Reed's specialry.*
9. Getring to know srlrdents from all over the world (is, are) one of the best parts of my job.
10. Annie had a hard time when she was coming home
from the store because the bag of groceries (was, taere)
too heavy for her to carry.
lWhere
(does, do) your parents live?
I i.
12, '\Vhy (was,were) Susan and Alex late for the meeting?
13. (Is,Are) having the responsibility for taking care of
pets good for young children?
14. AIex, as well as his two older brothers, (hasrhaae) a
good full-time job.

SINGUI.ARYERB

PLURALVERB

(a)

(b)

Some oJ the booh rs good.

Some oJ the books

are

good.

(c) A lot of thc equi?meflt

(e)

new.
Two-third.s oJ the

i.s

rnoney is

mine.

(d) A lot of my friends

(f )

here.
Two-thirds of the

are

pennies

ane mine.

o/mke singular

Eoery one of rry friends is

one
each
etsetg one

here.

(i)
(l)

None of the brys rs here.

The nutnber of students in

the class rs fifteen.

is

determined by the noun (or pronoun) that

follows ol For example:
ln (a): Somc of + singular noun = singular oerb.
In (b): Sorne of + plural noun = plural wrb.

ExcErfIoNS: One of, each of, and eoery one

(e) One of my fri*zds ls here.

(h) Each of m9 ftiends is here.

(i)

In rnost expressions of quantiry, rhe verb

(k

Noze of the boys are here.

(inforrnal)

(m) A nurnber of

students

anerelate for class.

of
of
of

verbs.
\

t1

+ plural noun = singular aerb

Subjects with none o./are considered singular

in very formal English, but plural verbs are
often used in inforrnal speech writing"
coMpARE: ln (l): The number is the subject.
In (m): A nutnber o1f is an expression of
quantiry meaning "a lot of." k is followed by
a plural noun and a plural verb.

*Specialty

= American English; speciality = Brirish Engiish.

Sublect-Verb Agreement

tr EXERCISE Using expressions of quontity.

(Chort 6-3)

Directions: Choose the correct answer in parenfheses.

l.

Some of the fruit in this bowl (is, are) rotten.

2. Some of the apples in that bowl (ls, are) rotten.
3. Half of the students in the class (as, are) from Arabic-speaking countries.
4- Half of this money (israre) yours.
5. A lot of the students in the class (zs, are) from Southeast Asia.
6. A lot of clothing in those stores (is, are) on sale this week.
7. One of my best friends (is, are) coming to visit me nexr month.
8. Each boy in the class (has, haue) his own notebook.
9. Each of the boys in the class (has, haae) his own notebook.
10. Every one of the students (is, are) required to take the final test.
I l. None of the animals at the zoo (is, are) free to roam. Al1 of them (is, ar") in enclosures.
12. A number of students (is, are) absent today.
13. The number of employees in my company (is, are) approximately ten thousand.
14. One of the chief materials in bones and teeth (is, are) calcium.
15. (Does, Do) all of the children have their books?
16. (Daes, Do) all of this homework have to be finished by tomorrow?
17. Why (was, were) some of the students excused from the examination?
18. Why (was,were) one of the students excused from the examination?
19. What percentage of the people in the world (is, are) illiterate?
20. What percentage of the earth's surface (is, are) covered by water?
21. (Does, Do) any of you know the answer to that question?

(a) There are t:iilenty students in my class.

(b) There's a fly in the room.

In the structure there + be, there is called an

"expletive," It has no meaning as a vocabulary word.
It introduces rhe idea tleat something exisrs in a
particular place.

Pattern: there

(c) Therc are seven

continents.

some books

the shelf.

nm'onuar: There's

be + subject

expression of

plau

Sometimes the expression of place is omitted when

the meaning is clear. In (c): The implied expression
of place is clearly in the anrld.

(e) There are

(f)

some books

on the shelf.

on

The subject foilows be when ,Irere is used,

In (d): The subiect is book.
In (e): The subfect is books.

In very informal spoken English, some native speakers

use a singular verb even when the subject is plural,
as in (0. The use of this form is fairly frequent but is
not generally considered to be grammatically correct.

SINGUI-AR\rERB

(a)
(b)

(c)

The United States is big.

The Philippines consrsds of more than 7,000 islands.
The United Nations lras its headquarters in

NewYork City.
(d

Sears

(e

The

is a department
news

Sometimes a proper noun that ends in -s is singular, In

the examples, if the noua is changed to a pronoun, the
singular pronoun l't is used (not the plural pronoun
rlrqy) because the noun is singular. In (a): The Uniud

States =

store.

is interesdng.

it

(not the!).

Nerps is sing::iar.

(f )

Marhematics
too.

(g)

Diabetes rs an iilness.

Certain illnesses thar end in -s are singular: diabeus,

measles, lnumps, rabies, ritkex, shinglzs.

(h)

Eight hours of sleep zs enough,

Expressions of time, mon4), and distance usually require

a singular verb.

is

easy for

het.

Plqtsics

rs easy for her

( i ) Ten doilars is too much to pay.

( i ) Fiae thousand. miles is roo far to travel.

(k)
(l)

Two and rwo

Two and nlo
Two

Fixe

Fields of srudy that end in -r'cs require singular verbs.

Arithmetic expressions require singular verbs.

rs four.

equals four.
plus ruo islequals four.
rimes

five rs twenry-five.

PLURALVERB
(m)

(n)

(o)

Peoplc,* police, and, cdttlc do not end in -s, but are

plural nouns and require plural verbs-

Those people are from Canada.

The police hazte been called.

Canle are domesdc animals.

SINGUII\R VERB

PLLIRALVERB

(p)

English rs spoken in

(q) The English

(r)

many countries.
Chinese rs his native

(s)

language.

drink

tea.

The Chinese haue arr

inreresting history.

In (p): English = Ianguage. In (q): The English=

people from England. Some nouns of nationality that

end in -$ht -eset and -ch can mean either language
or people, e.9., English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese,
Vie mamese,

{t)
(u)

The poor hatse

maay

problems.
The

ich get richer.

Portu gles e, French.

A few adiecrives can be preceded by the and used as a

plural noun (without fural -s) to refer to people who
have that qualiry. Odrer examplesl- tfu young, the elder$t,
rfu hting,the deal,tfu blind,the deat, thz disabled

rThe word "people" has a final -s (peopks) only when it is used to refer to ethnic or nadonal groups:
z::orw dcsire peace,

ld

the peapks of

rfu

'

EXERCISE
lrregulorities in subieci-verb ogreement.
Directions: Choose the correct answer in parentheses.

(Chort 6-5)

l.

The United States (has, haae) a population of around 250 million.

2. Ttie news about Mr. Hogan (is, are) surprising.
3. Massachusetts (is, are) a state in the northeastern part.of the United States.
4. Physics (seeks, seek) to understand the mysteries of the physical world.
5. Statistics (is, are) a branch of mathematics.
6. The statistics in ttrat report on oil production (is, are) incorrect.*
7. Fifry minutes (is, are) rhe rnaximum length of dme allowed for the exam.
8. Twenry dollars (is, are) an unreasonable price for the necklace.
9. Six and seven (is, ere) thirteen.
10. Many people in the world (doeE do) not have enough to eat.
11. The police (is, are) prepared in case there is a riot.
12. Rabies (is, are) an infectious and often fatal disease.
13. The English (is, are) proud, independent people.
14. English (is, are) not my native language.
15- Many Japanese (commuus, commuu) to their places of work.
16. Portuguese (zb are) somewhat similar to Spanish, (isn't, aren't) it?
17. The poor (rs, are) helped by government programs.
18. Theeffectof ahoneybee'sstingonahumanbeing (depends,depend) onthatperson's
susceptibility to the bee's venom. Most people (is, are) not in danger if ttrey are snrng,
but there (has, haoe) been instances of allergic deaths from a single honeybee sting.

tr EXERCISE .

Review: subject-verb ogreement. (Chorts 6-2

Directinns: rVork in pairs, in groups, or as a class.
Speaker A: Your book is open. Read the cue.
Speaker B: Your book is closed. Respond with rs at are.

* 6-5)

Examples:
srEAKER e, (book

open):

Some of my classmates . . .

sPEA.I(ER

(book clased): . . . are

srEAKER

(book

sPEAKER

open):

Some of that information . . .

(book clased): . . . is

1. His idea . . . .

2.Hisideas....
3. People....
4. Each of the students . . . .
5. Most of the fruit. . . .
6. Most of the students . . . .
7. The United States . . . .
8. The news in this morning's paper . . . .
9. One of the girls . . . .

10. French....
11. TheVietnamese....
12. Two-thirds of the food . . . .
13. The number of students . . . .
14. Some of the people. .. .
15. Ninety-three rnillion people . . . .
16. The story about his adventures . . . ,
17. Alot of the chairs . . . .
18" A lot of the furniture . . . .

*Suristits is singular when it refers to a feld of study: e.g., Stalrsf,r'cs is at interuting fuld of sudy. When it refers to
particular numbers, it is used as a count rorn: singular = one statktic (no final -s); pfural = run statistics,. For
example: This statistb is cmrect. Those stat*tics are incorrect.

Subject-Verb Agreemenl

15. Unless rhere are a

profound and extensive reform of government policies in tlle near

future, the economic conditions in that country will continue to deteriorate.

16.

Whiie I was in Paris, some of the best food I found were not at the well-known eating
places, but in small out-of-the-way cafes.

17. rJThere's my gloves? Have you seen them anywhere? I can't find them.
18. lWhere's Kenya? Can you find it for me on the map?
19. Approximately 80 percent of all the datar in computers around the world is in Engiish.

20.

tX/hy are the police here?

21. Studying a foreign language often lead students to learn about the culture of the
countries where it is spoken.

22. Turo hours is too long to wait, don't you think?

23. Some of the movie about the gangsters were surprisingly funny.
*Datais an irreguiar plural noun. (See Chart 7-1, p. 100.) Even rhough it is grammatically plural, it typically
takes a singular verb, but a plural verb is also used, especially in very forrna.l English:
The data in the census repmt, is atry interesting. clx The dats in the cerxus report ate oery interesting.

Subject-Verb Agreemeni

i9.

Everyone in the English classes. . .

20. Theclothesinthatstore....
21. Most of the information in those

books....

22- The news from home. . . .

23" Fitry percent of the people in

world....

the

24. FiW percent of the worid's

population....

25. The clothing in those stores . . . .

26. H.er husband's relatives . . . .

27. Over half of the books by that

author.'..
28. A million dollars . . . .
29. Therich....
30. His method of doing things . . . .
31. A number of people . . . .
?2. Mostof thesroresinthisciry....
33. Mathematic$ . . . ,
34. Thepolice....
35. Everybody in the whole world . . . .

Error cnolysis: subject-verb ogreement. (Chorts 6-2 -- 6-5)

Dir;;:tions: Correcr the errors in subject-verb agreernent. Some sentences contain no errors-

EXERCISE

AYE

1. The books in my office is very valuable to me.

2. Nl of the windows in our house were broken in the

3. Nl of the

earthquake

employees in that company is required to be proficient

(no errors)

in a second language.

4. A 1ot of the people in my class works during the day and attends class in the
5. Listening to very loud music at rock concerts
6. Many of the
7. The

evening.

have caused hearing loss in some teenagers.

satellites orbiting the earth is used for communications.

news about the long-range effects of air pollution on the development

of

children's lungs is disturbing.

B. Chinese have more than fifty thousand written characters.

9. About two-thirds of theVietnamese works in agriculture.

10. A number of planes were deiayed due to the snowstorm in Denver.
11. The number of passengers affected by the delays was great.

l2- More men than women

are left-handed.

13. Every girl and boy are required to have certain immunizations before enrolling in
public school.

14. Sevenry-five percent of the people in NewYork City lives in upstairs apartments, not
on the ground floor.