Medical Transcription 1

Agreement of Subject and Verb

Use a plural verb with a plural subject and a singular verb with a singular subject. If a
compound subject is joined by or the verb must agree with the subject nearest it. Delayed
subjects, as in sentences that begin with there, can be particularly tricky. Select
which verb is correct by highlighting in yellow. Submit in Blackboard.
1. There are/is three small ulcers on the anterior wall of the stomach.
2. On chest x-ray no new suspicious masses or change in old density of suspicious nature
has/have occurred.
3. There were/was copious amounts of urine draining from the vaginal vault.
4. Wound care instructions as well as a prescription was/were given to the patient.

When the subject is a word that indicates a portion---percent, fraction, part, majority, some, all,
none, remainder, portion, etc.you must look at the object of the preposition to determine
whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the object of the preposition is singular use singular
verb, if it is plural use plural verb.

1. Some stones was/were little more than gravel.

2. Some of the specimen were/was so friable, it could not be saved for frozen section.

Collective Nouns
All sources do not agree - Generally if the sense of the noun is plural, the verb will be plural.
1. The patients family understand/understands that the patients outlook is grim; they all
agreed with the Do Not Resuscitate order.
2. A majority of the healthcare team agree/agrees that further inpatient care is needed for
this patient.

Compound subjects joined by and

A plural verb must be used even if the word closest to the verb is singular.
1. Lab results and chest x-ray were/was both normal.
2. Febrile agglutinins and white blood count were/was elevated.
Compound subject joined by or
Make the verb agree in number with the closest noun.
1. No definite adenopathy or masses were/was felt.
2. No definite masses or adenopathy was/were____ felt.

Prepositions
The second most frequent occurrence of subject-verb agreement errors is the confusion of the
object of a preposition with the subject of the sentence.
1. A new interstitial infiltrate in both midlung zones with some shagging of the cardiac
borders is/are evident on chest x-ray.

Pronoun and its antecedent

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent (the noun or pronoun to which it refers) in person
(first, second, third), number, and gender.
1. A person with diabetes must be especially wary of non-healing ulcers on their/his/her
toes.
2. Patients with diabetes must be especially wary of non-healing ulcers on their/his/her
toes.

Sentences beginning with there

The most frequent subject-verb agreement errors occur when sentences or clauses begin with
there. Because the verb precedes the subject in this construction, care must be taken to
identify the correct subject(s). With compound subjects joined by or the subject closest to
the verb determines the number of the verb.
1. There is/are no thrush or oral lesions.
2. There is/are no oral lesions or thrush.
3. There is/are no stridors or meningismus.
4. There is/are no meningismus or stridors.

Subject farther from verb

The farther the subject is from the verb, the more difficult it is to identify.
1. There are/is , on examination of the skin over the abdomen, well-approximated incision
margins without erythema, crepitus, fluctuancy, or induration and mild inconsistent left
mid and lower quadrant tenderness without definite rebound.
2. No definite findings of egophony or rhonchi, wheezes, or rub was/were noted.

Verbal phrases as subjects

It may be difficult to identify the subjects of sentences if the subjects themselves are verb
forms. (such as in verbs ending in ing)
1. Driving or operating heavy machinery is/are to be avoided while on this medication.