See the section on Plurals for
additional help with subject-verb agreement!
1.The indefinite pronouns anyone,
everyone, someone, no one, nobody are always singular and, therefore, require
singular verbs.
Everyone has done
his or her homework.
Somebody has left
her purse.
Some indefinite pronouns — such as
all, some — are singular or plural depending on what they're referring to. (Is
the thing referred to countable or not?) Be careful choosing a verb to
accompany such pronouns.
Some of the beads
are missing.
Some of the water
is gone.
On the other hand, there is one indefinite
pronoun, none, that can be either singular or plural; it often doesn't matter
whether you use a singular or a plural verb — unless something else in the
sentence determines its number. (Writers generally think of none as meaning not
any and will choose a plural verb, as in "None of the engines are
working," but when something else makes us regard none as meaning not one,
we want a singular verb, as in "None of the food is fresh.")
None of you
claims responsibility for this incident?
None of you claim
responsibility for this incident?
None of the
students have done their homework. (In this last example, the word their
precludes the use of the singular verb.
2. Some indefinite pronouns are
particularly troublesome Everyone and everybody (listed above, also) certainly
feel like more than one person and, therefore, students are sometimes tempted
to use a plural verb with them. They are always singular, though. Each is often
followed by a prepositional phrase ending in a plural word (Each of the cars),
thus confusing the verb choice. Each, too, is always singular and requires a
singular verb.
Everyone has
finished his or her homework.
You would always say,
"Everybody is here." This means that the word is singular and nothing
will change that.
Each of the students is responsible
for doing his or her work in the library.
Don't let the word
"students" confuse you; the subject is each and each is always
singular — Each is responsible.
3.Phrases such as together with, as
well as, and along with are not the same as and. The phrase introduced by as
well as or along with will modify the earlier word (mayor in this case), but it
does not compound the subjects (as the word and would do).
The mayor as well
as his brothers is going to prison.
The mayor and his
brothers are going to jail.
4.The pronouns neither and either
are singular and require singular verbs even though they seem to be referring,
in a sense, to two things.
Neither of the
two traffic lights is working.
Which shirt do
you want for Christmas?
Either is fine
with me.
In informal writing, neither and
either sometimes take a plural verb when these pronouns are followed by a
prepositional phrase beginning with of. This is particularly true of
interrogative constructions: "Have either of you two clowns read the
assignment?" "Are either of you taking this seriously?"
Burchfield calls this "a clash between notional and actual
agreement."*
5.The conjunction or does not
conjoin (as and does): when nor or or is used the subject closer to the verb
determines the number of the verb. Whether the subject comes before or after e
verb doesn't matter; the proximity determines the number.
Either my father
or my brothers are going to sell the house.
Neither my
brothers nor my father is going to sell the house.
Are either my
brothers or my father responsible?
Is either my
father or my brothers responsible?
Because a sentence like
"Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the house" sounds
peculiar, it is probably a good idea to put the plural subject closer to the
verb whenever that is possible.
6.The words there and here are never
subjects.
There are two
reasons [plural subject] for this.
There is no
reason for this.
Here are two
apples.
With these constructions (called
expletive constructions), the subject follows the verb but still determines the
number of the verb.
7.Verbs in the present tense for
third-person, singular subjects (he, she, it and anything those words can stand
for) have s-endings. Other verbs do not add s-endings.
He loves and she
loves and they love_ and
8.Sometimes modifiers will get
betwen a subject and its verb, but these modifiers must not confuse the
agreement between the subject and its verb.
The mayor, who has been convicted
along with his four brothers on four counts of various crimes but who also
seems, like a cat, to have several political lives, is finally going to jail.
9.Sometimes nouns take weird forms
and can fool us into thinking they're plural when they're really singular and
vice-versa. Consult the section on the Plural Forms of Nouns and the section on
Collective Nouns for additional help. Words such as glasses, pants, pliers, and
scissors are regarded as plural (and require plural verbs) unless they're
preceded the phrase pair of (in which case the word pair becomes the subject).
My glasses were
on the bed.
My pants were
torn.
A pair of plaid
trousers is in the closet.
10.Some words end in -s and appear
to be plural but are really singular and require singular verbs.
The news from the
front is bad.
Measles is a
dangerous disease for pregnant women.
On the other hand, some words ending
in -s refer to a single thing but are nonetheless plural and require a plural
verb.
My assets were
wiped out in the depression.
The average
worker's earnings have gone up dramatically.
Our thanks go to
the workers who supported the union.
The names of sports teams that do
not end in "s" will take a plural verb: the Miami Heat have been
looking … , The Connecticut Sun are hoping that new talent … . See the section
on plurals for help with this problem.
11.Fractional expressions such as
half of, a part of, a percentage of, a majority of are sometimes singular and
sometimes plural, depending on the meaning. (The same is true, of course, when
all, any, more, most and some act as subjects.) Sums and products of
mathematical processes are expressed as singular and require singular verbs.
The expression "more than one" (oddly enough) takes a singular verb:
"More than one student has tried this."
Some of the
voters are still angry.
A large
percentage of the older population is voting against her.
Two-fifths of the
troops were lost in the battle.
Two-fifths of the
vineyard was destroyed by fire.
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