Subject Verb Agreement

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Subject Verb Agreement
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Identify the subject and verb within each
sentence below.

• Today is a day to learn.
• Dr. Ash expects his students to do their best.
• Waiting during the storm was my sister.
• Ms. Basone hated that Georgia lost the SEC
  Championship.
• Winter break is in a week.

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How should the subject and verb agree?

• A verb should agree in number with its subject.

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Singular

• Singular subjects take singular verbs.
• Examples
• 1. The thunder sounds so loud tonight.
• 2. Ms. Basone begins her vacation in three weeks.

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Plural

• Plural subjects take plural verbs.
• Examples
• Cheetahs run like the wind.
• New students do not come to Central Magnet often.

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Be careful with INDEFINATE PRONOUNS

• ONE-BODY-THINGS
• The following indefinite pronouns are singular
• Anybody No one
• Anyone Nothing
• Anything One
• Each Somebody
• Either Someone
• Everybody Something
• Everyone Nobody
• Everything Neither

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The following indefinite pronouns are PLURAL

• Both
• Few
• Many
• Others
• Several

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Variable Indefinite Pronouns

• Some are singular and some are plural depending
  on what follows them in a prepositional phrase.
• Some
• Most
• All
• None
• Any

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Examples of Variable Indefinite

• 1.All of the students were present.
• All is plural because students is plural
• 2. All of the problem was of my own making
• All is singular because problem is singular

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Some subjects, while in plural form, function as
singular.

• Examples
• Measles is a contagious disease.
• The New York Times is a popular newspaper.

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Nouns that express quantities of amount require
singular verbs when thought of as a unit.

• Time
• Money
• Weight
• Length
• Example
• Twenty-four years is along time to work at a
  single job.

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Collective Nouns are considered singular

• Faculty Team
• Staff Jury
• Band Audience
• Committee Flock
• Congress Herd
• Example The band is playing great music tonight.
• There is one band and a singular verb.