Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-Verb Agreement
Basics of Subject-Verb Agreement
Singular Verbs
Agreement with One of
Agreement with There in the Subject
Position

May2011
Basics of Subject-Verb Agreement

Present simple tense

Verb +-s/-es with a third person singular
(it, he, she) subject:
The PDA plans his schedule for him.
The student hopes she will do well in the exam.

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Basics of Subject-Verb Agreement
Do not use -s/-es with:
first person singular (I):
I plan to do my PhD after 2 years of work.
second person singular and plural (you)
third person plural (they):
The team try hard to meet their deadlines.

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Basics of Subject-Verb Agreement

Auxiliary verbs (be/do/have) must agree with

their subjects.

Singular: is/was/does/has Plural:

are/were/do/have
Does the university accept mature students?
The administrators have informed all the staff about
the new policy.

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Basics of Subject-Verb Agreement

A compound subject (more than one

subject) takes a plural verb.

The engineer and the architect work on the

different aspects of the building.

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Basics of Subject-Verb Agreement

The verb must agree with the head word

of a noun phrase or clause.

The assistant assigned to this job has received a raise.

The assistants assigned to this job have received a raise.

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Basics of Subject-Verb Agreement

The modal auxiliaries do not have an -s or (e)d

form.
The programme may work.
The programme may works. X
The programmers cannot ascertain the damage.
The programmers cannot ascertained the damage. X

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Singular Subject

Use the singular verb for collective nouns

when they refer to a group of people.
For example:

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Singular Subject

Use singular verbs for uncountable nouns.

The information is updated every hour.
The equipment has just arrived.

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Singular Subject

Use the singular verb for certain

uncountable nouns ending with s as they
are singular in nature.
Physics/Economics/ Statistics is my favourite subject.
News about the country is currently unavailable
because of the communication breakdown.
Politics is a popular subject.

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Singular Subject

Use the singular verb for gerunds that

function as nouns.
Driving requires focus and quick reflexes.

Studying for exams is tedious but rewarding.

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Singular Subject

Use the singular verb with subject clauses

beginning with what.
What the experts have said has proven to be true.
What he is currently studying applies to the field
of bioengineering.

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Singular Subject
When the subject is joined by
eitheror / neithernor,
use the verb form that agrees with the
closest noun.
Either the manager or the team members are
present.
Neither he nor I am aware of the changes.

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Singular Subject

Use the singular or plural verb depending

on the noun used with the quantifying
words or phrases.

All of the students have been working on the project.

All of the money has been invested in a foreign bank.

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Agreement with One of ..

The noun phrase one of is used with a

plural noun. However, the subject is
singular and takes a singular verb.
One of my partners has not arrived.
One of the examples given does not show the
steps clearly.

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Agreement with There in Subject
Position

When the subject begins with There, the

verb agrees with the following noun.
There are some students who havent finished.
There is news of the latest cure for cancer.
(Uncountable nouns are singular).

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Sources
Lane, A. and Lange, E. (1999). Writing Clearly: An
Editing Guide (2nd ed.). Boston: Heinle and Heinle
Publishers.

Oshima, A. and Hogue, A. (2006). Writing Academic

English (4th ed.). New York: Pearson Education,
184-194.

Raimes, A. (2006). Grammar Troublespots: A Guide for

Student Writers (3rd ed.). New York: Cambridge
University Press, 90-97.

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