Subject-Verb Agreement

1
Subject-Verb Agreement

• (It seems as though it should be so obvious!)

2
THE RULES

• Every clause has a subject and verb.
• A verb must agree with its subject in person
  (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and in number.
• I swim.
• She swims.
• They swim.
• Only the subject affects the conjugation of the
  verb.

3
EXAMPLES

• The intelligence of the students (amaze/amazes)
  each teacher.
• The designs for the new Roessler (seem/seems)
  very outrageous.

4
Intervening Prep Phrases

• When a prepositional phrase intervenes between
  the subject and the verb, do not mistake an
  object of a preposition with a subject.

5
EXAMPLES

• Everyone (like/likes) strawberries with cream.
• None of the eggs (was/were) broken.
• None of his advice (make/makes) sense.

6
Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns

• Indefinite pronouns refer to nonspecific persons
  or things.
• Some of them are always singular, some are always
  plural, and some can be singular or plural
  depending on the context.
• Use logic when choosing a verb to go with an
  indefinite pronoun subject.

7
EXAMPLES!

• Kyla and Amanda (cause/causes) a lot of trouble
  in Spanish class.
• Macaroni and cheese (help/helps) me study late at
  night.
• Neither Chase nor Juan (know/knows) the
  perpetrator.
• Either the cheerleaders or Kristina (has/have)
  the most spirit.

8
Agreement with Compound Subjects

• Consider compound subjects joined by and or by
  both and to be plural unless they constitute
  one unit.
• With compound subjects joined by or or nor,
  make the verb agree with the subject nearer the
  verb.

9
EXAMPLES!

• The eagle is one of the many birds that (is/are)
  endangered.
• The eagle is the only one of the birds of prey
  that (is/are) recognized by most people.
• Gottlieb Daimler was one of two nineteenth
  century inventors who (was/were) successful in
  producing a working automobile.

10
Agreement in Adjective Clauses

• The verb in any clause must agree with its
  subject. Adjective clauses often have relative
  pronouns as their subjects. The verb in an
  adjective clause must agree with the antecedent
  of the relative pronoun.

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EXAMPLES!

• Holes (is/are) a favorite Middle School book.
• A major voice in school decisions (is/are) the
  students on the Academic Council.
• There (was/were) screaming fans when Teddy
  returned.
• Completing her assignments (has/have) been a
  problem for Andie.

12
Rare Problems

• Consider titles of works to be singular.
• Verbs agree with subjects, not always with
  predicate nominatives.
• Verbs agree with subjects, even when the subjects
  come afterward.
• Consider gerunds that are subjects to be singular.

13
REVIEW!

• Only the subject affects the conjugation of the
  verb, not an object of the preposition or a
  predicate nominative.

• Compound subjects affect a verb differently
  depending on the context.
• Verbs in dependent clauses must agree with the
  antecedent of the pronoun subject.