Sentence: Subject + Verbü
Example:
a. I work
b. She works
c. The car in the garage is mine
Basic Rule / Principle
Singular
subjects need
singular verbs
Plural
subjects need
plural verbs
ü
Example:
a. My brother is a nutritionist
b. My sisters are mathematicians
Tips and Tricks
1)
Rule 1. Indefinite Pronouns
The indefinite pronouns abyone,
everyone, someone, no one, nobody are always singular, and therefore, require
singular verbs. Example:
a.
Everyone has done his homework
b.
Nobody is in the room
A.
Exceptions
1: All and Some
Some
indefinite pronouns such as all, some are singular or plural depending on what
they’re referring to (is the thing reffered to countable or not) be careful
when choosing a verb to accompany such pronouns. Example:
a.
Some
of the books are missing
b.
Some
of the water is gone
B.
Exceptions
2: None
None
can be singular or plural depending on the npun that follows. Example:
a.
None
of the students are in the class
b.
None
of the food is fresh
C.
Special
Case: Each
Each
is always singular. Don’t be confused/distracted with the plural nouns
following it. Example:
a.
Each
of the students is responsible for
his homework
b.
Each
of the cars has different color
2)
Rule 2: together with, as well as, along with
Phrases such as together, as well
as, along with are not the same as and they don’t add or compound the subject. Example:
a.
The
mayor as well as his brother, is
going to prison
b.
The
mayor and his brothers are
going to jail
Additional
explanation
Sometimes the subject is
separated from the verb by word such as along with, as well as, besides, or
not. Ignore these expressions when detrmining whether to use a singular or
plural verbs. Example:
a.
The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly
b.
Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking
3)
Rule 3: Subject separated from the verb/apposivives
Sometimes modifiers will get
between a subject and its verb, but these modifiers must not confuse the
agreement between the subject and its verb. Example:
a.
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
4)
Rule 4: the pronouns of adjectives clause
Sometimes the pronouns who, that,
or which is the subject of a verb in the middle of the sentence. The pronouns
who, that, and which become singular or plural according to the noun directly
in front of them. So if that noun is singular, use a singular verb. If its
plural, use a plural verb. Example:
a.
Salma is the scientist who writes the
repots
b.
He is the one of the man who close the
work
5)
Rule 5: either + or
and neither + nor
Or doesn’t conjoin (as and does)
when nor or or is used the subject closer to the verb determines the umber of
the verbs. Whether the subject comes before or after the verb doesn’t matter. Example:
a.
Either my father or my brother are going
to the sell house
b.
Neither my brothers nor my father is going to
the sell house
Pronouns: either
and neither
The
pronouns neither and either are singular and require singular verbs even though
they seem to be reffering, in a sense, to two things. Example:
a.
Neither of the two traffic lights is working
Either of us is the capable of doing the job
b.
Which
shirt do you want for Christmas?
Either is fine with me
6)
Rule 6: Pseudo Sbuject There and here
the words ‘there’ and ‘here’ are
never subjects. The real subjects come after the verbs. Example:
a.
There are two reasons for this
b.
There is no reasons for this
c.
Here are two apples
d.
Here is the key
7)
Rule 7: third Party Singular (he, she, it, personal name)
Verbs in the present tense for
third person, a singular subject (he, she, it and anything those words can
stand for: rani, Dani, The cat, The table) have s-endings. Other verbs don’t
add s-endings. Example:
a.
She
teaches English
b.
Rani
teaches English
c.
It
eats fish
d.
The
cat eats fish
Add s/es only to present verbs,
not to past or past participle verbs. The past form of singular “be” is “was”. Example:
a.
Singular
present : She is her. She takes the
offer.
b.
Singular
past : She was her.
She took the offer.
8)
Rule 8: words end in –s
§
Singular
Some
words end in –s and appear to be plural but are really singular and require
singular verbs. Example:
a.
The
news from the front is bad
b.
Measies
is a dangerous disease for the pregnant women
§
Plural
But
some words end in –s and appear to be plural and require plural verbs. Example:
a.
My
assets were wiped out in the
depression
b.
The
average workers’s earnings have gone up dramatically
Another singular
words end in-s are costoms, clothes, arms, goods, etc
9)
Rule 9: fractional expressions (half or, a part of, a percentage
of, etc)
With words that indicate
portion-percent, fraction, part, majority, some, all, none, remainder, etc.
look at the noun in your phrase (object of the preposition) to determine
whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the object of the preposition is
singular, use a singular verb. If the preposition is plural, use a plural verb.
Example:
a.
fifty
percent of the pie has disappeared
b.
fifty
percent of the pies have disappeared
c.
one-third
of the city is unemployed
d.
one-third
of the people are unemployed
10) Rule 10: negative & positive subjects
If your sentence compounds a
positive and negative subject and one is plural, the other singular, the verb,
should agree with the positive subject.
a.
It
is not the faculty members but the president who decides this issue
b.
The
department members but not the chair have decided not to teach on valentine’s
day
c.
It
was the speaker, not hi ideas, that has provided the students to riot
11) Rule 11: sum of money or periods
Use a singular verb with sum of
money or periods of time. Example:
a.
Ten
dollars is a high price to pay
b. Five years is the maximum
sentence for that offens
