SUBJECT - VERB AGREEMENT

* Subject + A Singular Verb: 1.Nouns ending in-s but always singular. 2. Uncountable Nouns 3. Phrase/Clause 4. Singular Pronouns * Subject + A Plural Verb: 5. Nouns that are always plural 6. Subjects joined by and or both 7. The words several, many, and few * Subject + Singular Verb or Plural Verb 8. There 9. Collective Nouns 10. Uncountable Nouns 11. A Number of and The Number of 12. Nouns for nationality 13. Neither...nor/Either...or/Not only...but also...

Nouns ending in-s but always singular. 1. Academic Subjects (mathematics, politics, physics, economics, civics, statistics, linguistics) e.g. Physics is a difficult subject. 2. Quantities/Amount (time, money, measurements) e.g. Two weeks is enough time to finish the report.

3. Group of animals (flock of birds, school of fish, pack of wolves, herd of cattle, swam of bees, colony of ants) e.g. The flock of birds is flying. 4. Abstract (politics, ethics, news) e.g. The news is very bad. 5. Title of books, film, magazines e.g. The new York Times is a good newspaper. 6. Diseases (measles, mumps, herpes, rickets) e.g. Measles is usually contracted during childhood.

Uncountable Nouns
1. Clothing, equipment, furniture, luggage, machinery, pottery e.g. Most of our clothing is in the basket 2. Music e.g. The music was very good. 3. Traffic, transportation e.g. There is usually a lot of traffic at this time of day 4. Homework, housework. e.g. The housework is difficult and boring.

5. Jewelry, Silver, gold e.g. Gold has recently risen in price. 6. Happiness, honesty, enjoyment, courage, intelligence, jealousy, luck, sadness, violence. e.g. Happiness is important in life. 7. Progress, knowledge, significance, evidence, information. e.g. The progress of project is good. 8. Money, poverty, postage. e.g. Money is not everything. 9. Air, scenery. e.g. The air is clean. 10. Bread, cheese, coffee, food, fruit, meat, paper, rice, salt, sugar, tea. e.g. Bread and butter is our daily food.

1. Nobody, no one, nothing e.g. No one was absent. 2. Somebody, someone, something e.g. Someone is knocking at the door. 3. Anybody, anyone, anything e.g. Is anybody home? 4. Everybody, everyone, everything e.g. Everything is in its place. 5. Each, either, neither e.g. Neither of the chairs is suitable for this room.

1. Scissors, binoculars, pliers, shears, scales, spectacles. e.g. Be careful. The scissors are very sharp. 2. riches, savings, earnings. e.g. His riches are great. 3. greens (vegetable), goods e.g. The greens are good for your body. 4. Police, arms (weapon) e.g. The police havent made any arrest lately. 5. Valuables, particulars. e.g. The stolen valuables are recovered. 6. Pants, breeches, pajamas, trousers, clothes, shorts. e.g. Those trousers are made of wool. 7. Outskirts, surroundings. e.g. The outskirts of Paris are very beautiful.

1. and, both e.g. John and Mary are going shopping together. 2. several, many, few. e.g. Several have already left the office. A few have failed the test. Many children are playing in the schoolyard now.

Assembly, committee, crowd, crew, class family, faculty, government, jury, organization, public. 1. Singular e.g. The committee is having a meeting (the committee as a group) 2. Plural e.g. The committee are going back to their homes by bus. (meaning individual members of the team)

Bread, cheese, coffee, food, fruit, meat, paper, rice, salt, sugar, tea, hair, experience, light, work.
Uncountable
e.g. I want to draw a picture.
Her hair is beautiful. Close the curtain. Theres too much light.

Countable
e.g. Have you got a paper to read? There is a hair in my coffee. There are two lights in our bedroom.

1. Singular (The number of + a singular verb) e.g. The number of people applying has increased this year.

2. Plural (A number of + a Plural Verb) e.g. A number of people have called about the meeting.

All, most, majority, some, any, no, none.

1. Singular (indefinite quantity + of + an uncountable noun + singular verb) e.g. Some of the rice is gone. 2. Plural (indefinite quantity + of + a plural noun = a plural verb) e.g. Some of the apples are missing.

1. Singular (fractions/percentage + of + an uncountable noun + a singular verb) e.g. A large percentage of the population speaks English. 2. Plural (fractions/percentage + of + a plural noun + a plural verb) e.g. Seventy-five per cent of the students speak English.

Along with, accompanied by, together with, as well as, in addition, among. e.g. The houses on that street are for sale. The houses with the broken steps is for sale. e.g. John together with Mary, is going shopping. John and Mary, along with Tom, are going shopping.