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1. If a subject ends in an s, the verb will not. If a subject does not end in an s, the verb will. 2. Even when words come in between the subject and verb, they should both agree. 3. When joining two or more subjects with and, use a plural verb. 4. When joining two or more subjects with neither/nor, either/or, or, and nor, use a verb that agrees with the nearer or nearest subject. 5. Collective nouns (a group of individuals or things) use either singular or plural verbs depending upon the context. 6. Even if a sentence is inverted, the subject should agree with the verb.
Definitions
Subject The
word/s that name the topic of the sentence The word/s that the sentence is about
Verb The
word that states the action or state of the subject appropriate pairing of subject and verb based on whether the subject and verb are plural or singular and whether the person is first, second, or third.
2.
3.
4.
Identify the verb (action or state of being word) Identify the subject (who or what the sentence is about) Check whether the subject is plural or singular or special. Then check whether is it first, second, or third person. Based on your findings about the subject, make sure the verb fits.
dog jumps over the fence. Stephanie and Bethany have names that rhyme. Everybody came to JoAnns party. Did you see the shirt she wore? That house is so dilapidated.
Conjugating a verb
For present tense, generally add an s or es for third person singular. Otherwise, add nothing to the verb.
Singular First Person Second Person Third person I eat. You eat. S/he eats. Plural We eat. You eat. They eat.
Singular
First Person Second Person Third person I talk. You talk. S/he talks.
Plural
We talk You talk. They talk.
Special verbs
BE First person Second Person Third Person HAVE First person Singular I am You are S/he is Singular I have Plural We are You are They are Plural We have
dog jumps over the fence. Stephanie and Bethany have names that rhyme. Everybody came to JoAnns party. Did you see the shirt she wore? That house is so dilapidated.
Rule # 1
1. If a subject ends in an s, the verb will not. If a subject does not end in an s, the verb will. Im Sally
Hi Sally. Im Vernon Verb, and I am single.
Subject, and Im single.
I eat. You eat. She eats. You have ears. She has ears. The dog has ears.
We eat. They eat. The dogs eat. We have ears. They have ears. The houses do not have ears.
My hair suffer/suffers from the terrible humidity. Their hairstyles look/looks the same. Jodi is/are my closest confidant. The FACET Center is/are my favorite place to be. Fast food employees smile/smiles when they see me coming.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Some words that end in s are plural because they have more than one part.
The
Ex. Everyone, anyone, each, either, everybody, someone, nothing, one, nobody, neither, anything
Always singular
Anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, none, nothing, one, somebody, someone, something
Both, few, many, several Some, any, all, most
Always plural
Rule #2
2. Even when words come in between the subject and verb, they should both agree.
Please dont separate us!
The subject and verb should always agree, no matter how many words are separating them!
Billy,
Billy,
Did
you know that Billy, my best friend ever of all of my carpenter friends, doesnt charge me at all?
Billy
Rule #3
When joining two or more subjects with and, use a plural verb.
Hey Sally! Meet my sister, Stephanie Subject.
A compound subject occurs when two or more subjects are grouped using a conjunction (such as and, nor, or). Usually compound subjects are plural.
Tom
and Sally eat food. Neither the horse nor the mule want to graze on muggy days.
NOT My most stable friend and my only means to independence are my car.
Rule #4
When joining two or more subjects with neither/nor, either/or, or, and nor, use a verb that agrees with the nearer or nearest subject.
No, Stephanie. Vernon and I agree. Heswill closer to me. Either Sally or Stephanie agree with Vernon, whoevers closest.
But Vernon
Neither the counselor nor the parents know what to do with Billy Bob.
know
Either the dogs or the cat defend the house when the humans are away.
Defend
Rule #5
Collective nouns (a group of individuals or things) use either singular or plural verbs depending upon the context.
Rule #6
Even if a sentence is inverted, the subject should agree with the verb.
When the subject follows the verb, the two must still agree.
There are many food items under my bed. Waiting on the Dr. Phils desk to be graded was a stack of papers ten feet high.
Waiting on Dr. Phils desk to be graded were papers stacked ten feet high.
Practice!
The dogs howl/howls at night. The desk stay/stays messy, despite how much we hope it will clean itself. The students who always wear sunglasses in class smell/smells like sunscreen today. Melissa and Joan love/loves watching Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. The blank worksheets and the teachers edition remain/remains in my bag at all times.
More Practice!
Neither the math tutor nor the English tutors want/wants to play in the puddle today. Either the English tutors or the math tutor play/plays hopscotch on the weekends. The team win/wins every game. The family speak/speaks in turn as each name is called. Open the door, say/says Timmy every time he comes near an automatic door. Off fly/flies the papers as the door swooshes open.