All languages have grammatical rules rules, which govern the way we speak and write. Mastering all these rules can be difficult, notes Adam Simpson, even for a native speaker of the language.
One of the most challenging aspects of the English language is the list of rules relating to subject-verb agreement. Subjects and verbs agree with each other numerically. When a subject is singular, its verb will be singular; if a subject is plural, its verb is also plural. Nevertheless, there are exceptions, which make subject-verb agreement hard to perfect.
Firstly, follow the rule that singular subjects need singular verbs, while plural subjects need plural verbs. For example: My brother is a farmer. My sisters are dancers. Recognize that regular present tense verbs in third person singular end in -s or -es. Other regular verb forms do not end in -s or -es.
Remember that indefinite pronouns, such as anyone, everyone, someone, no one, none and nobody, are always singular and require third person singular verbs. For example: Everyone likes movies. Somebody thinks this film is boring.
Understand that indefinite pronouns, such as all and some, can be singular or plural depending on what they refer to. Decide if the thing they refer to is a countable noun or not. If it is countable, use a plural verb. If it is not countable, use a singular verb. For example: Some of the cars are red. Some of the water is gone. In these examples, “cars” are countable, and “water” is uncountable.
Use the pronouns ‘’neither’’ and ‘’either’’ with third person singular verbs even though they appear to refer to two things. For example: Neither of the two traffic lights is working. Either the steak or the chicken is fine with me.
Focus on the way that the conjunction “or” differs from “and.” It does not conjoin in the way that “and” does. When “nor” or “or” is used, the subject closest to the verb determines what form of the verb is used. It does not matter if the subject comes before or after the verb; the proximity determines the number. For example: Either my father or my brothers are going to buy the car. Neither my brothers nor my father is going to eat the banana.
Learn that the words “there” and “here” are never subjects. For example: There are two reasons for this behavior. There is no reason for this behavior. In these constructions, the subject follows the verb but still determines the number of the verb.
Notice that some nouns that end in -s seem to be plural but are singular and require third person singular verbs. For example: The news from Africa is bad. Physics is a boring subject. However, some words ending in -s refer to a single thing but are regarded as plural and require a plural verb. For example: My assets are growing every day. The average worker’s earnings have gone down during the last six months.
Skill
Tips
Ignore modifiers that appear between a subject and its verb. These modifiers do not affect the agreement between the subject and its verb.
Remember that quantifiers can change a plural noun to a singular noun. “Glasses,” “pants” and “scissors” are plural and require third person plural verbs unless they are preceded by the phrase “a pair of.” In this case, the word “pair” becomes the subject.
Note that fractional expressions, such as half of, a part of, a percentage of and a majority of, can be singular or plural depending on their meaning. Sums and products of mathematical processes are expressed as singular nouns.
Warnings
Avoid making mistakes with “everyone,” “everybody” and “each.” “Everyone” and “everybody” clearly refer to more than one person, so use a plural verb. “Each” is always singular and requires a third person singular verb. Beware that even when “each” is followed by a prepositional phrase ending in a plural word, the verb is still singular.
About the author
Adam lives and works as an English teacher in Istanbul, Turkey. He is the author of the blog Year in the life of an English teacher.
