Selasa, 13 Maret 2012

Subject and Verb Agreement

In order to decide correct subject verb agreement, one must first examine the following important elements in sentences. (For more information on verbs, subjects, nouns, verbals, pronouns, and prepositions, please visit the links on the back page.) 

Verb identification.  First, find the verb that identifies when the main action or actions occur.  Some examples are walk, talk, sleep, and eat. The forms of the infinitive to be, such as is, are, was and were are used as verbs even though they do not tell action. The infinitive form of any verb is not used as a verb in a sentence.  

Subject identification.  Determine what is the subject of the verb.  Subjects in sentences can be nouns, verbals or pronouns. The answer to the questions “who or what” is another way to find the subject. Nouns that are objects of prepositions are never subjects.

If you have a singular subject, then you must have a singular verb which in the third person present tense usually ends in an “s.” 
Example:  The new car runs smoothly.
 
If you have a plural subject, then you must have a plural verb which in the third person present tense usually does not end with an “s.” 
Example:  The new cars run smoothly. 
                Both the car and the truck run smoothly.

An easy reminder: In the present tense, if the singular noun has no “s” the singular verb usually does.  


                                                 Matching Subjects with Verbs

Compound subjects joined by and: Compound subjects connected by and usually require a plural verb.

     
Examples:  Where are her books and papers?  
                 Cats and dogs are loved equally by many people.

Exception: When nouns are thought of as a unit, even though joined by and, the verb is
normally singular.   

Example:  My friend and coworker, John Jones, has (not have) gone out of town.

Compound Subjects with Either/Or and Neither/Nor: Singular subjects modified by either/neither and joined by or/nor take a singular verb. If one subject, however, is singular and one is plural, the verb agrees in number with the noun closest to the verb.
 

Examples:  Neither the cat nor the kitten has been fed. Neither the cat nor the  
                 kittens have been fed. Neither my brothers nor Joe is going.

                 Either the coach or the player was at fault. Either a cake or chocolate   
                 candies are a delicious dessert.

Subject and Complement of the verb to be: When using a form of the verb to be, the noun performing the action is the subject of the sentence. A complement can be needed by the verb to make the sentence complete. The first noun is the subject and the second is the complement. The verb agrees with the subject and not with the complement even if the complement is different in number.

 Examples:  The only fruit (subject) on the market is peaches (complement).
                  Peaches (S) are the only fruit (C) in the stores now.

Collective Nouns: These nouns are singular in form but plural in meaning and include such words as team, class, committee, crowd, crew. These nouns may take either a singular or a plural verb. If the group is thought of as a unit, a singular verb is used; if individual members of the group are being used, a plural verb is usually used.

 Examples:  The crew is striking for higher pay. (The crew is acting as a unit.)
                  The crew are writing reports of the wreck. (The individual members   
                  of the crew are writing different reports.)

Plural Form Nouns: Use a singular verb with nouns that are plural in form but singular in meaning. They use a singular verb. Some of them are news, economics, ethics, physics, mathematics, gallows, mumps, measles, shambles, whereabouts.
 
Examples:  The news was eagerly received.  Measles is a contagious disease.

The following nouns are usually considered plural and take a plural verb: gymnastics, tactics, trousers, scissors, athletics, tidings, acoustics, riches, barracks.
 
Examples:  Athletics attract him. The scissors are sharp.

Plural nouns describing a mass, a quantity, or a number require a singular verb when the subject is regarded as a unit.

Examples:  Five dollars is too much for her to pay. Fifty bushels was all the bin would hold.


                                          Other Useful Subject Verb Agreement Information

Indefinite Pronouns: Words like either, neither, and each, as well as compounds such as everybody, anybody, everyone, and anyone, are always singular. None may be singular or plural although the singular usage is more common.

 Examples:  Each of the plans has its advantages.
                  Everyone who heard the speech was not impressed by it.
                  Every bud, stalk, flower, and seed reveals a workmanship our power.
                  None of the three is ready to go. None of the men has (or have)
                  brought water.

Relative Pronouns used as subjects: When a relative pronoun (who, which, or that) is used as the subject of a clause, the word (antecedent) to which the pronoun refers is used to determine whether the verb is singular or plural. 
 
Examples:  This is the student who is to be promoted. (singular)
                 She is one of those irresponsible persons who are always late. (plural)

* In sentences such as the last example, it may be easier to make the proper
decision about agreement if the reader rearranges the words: 
Of those irresponsible persons who are always late, she is one.

Part, some, all:  When using these words, the choice of a singular or plural verb is determined by the number of the noun in the prepositional phrase that follows the word.

 Examples: Some of the pie is missing. (singular) 
                 Some of the pies are missing. (plural)

Numbers used as nouns:  In sentences when number names are used to explain addition, multiplication, subtraction, and division, singular verbs are usually used.
 
Examples: Two and two is four. Twelve divided by six is two.

The subject of a sentence or clause will not immediately follow a preposition (of, about, across, on, to, from, with, in).

 Examples:  One (subject) of the boys is (verb) bad.
                  The pictures (subject) across the room are (verb) beautiful.

When the words there, here, and where begin a sentence, the subject is after the verb.
 
Examples:  There are (verb) no problems (subject).
                 Where are (V) my keys (S)?  Here is (V) your change (S).


The following rules/suggestions should help you determine correct subject-verb agreement

1. Connecting subjects with "and" usually makes them plural; therefore, to check for proper agreement you can substitute the pronouns "they" or "we" for plural subjects.  (Exceptions include pairs of words that are considered to be one thing.  Peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich.)  For example:

 Mary and Jack are friends.         The car and the truck run well.         He and I are friends.
        (They are friends)                                (They run well.)                       (We are friends.)

2. Connecting subjects with "or" or "nor" can require either a singular verb or plural verb; use the subject closer to the verb to decide which form is correct.  For example:

 Neither she nor I am going Neither Jack nor Mary is going            Joe or his brothers are on call.
 Either Jane, Maria, Anne, Cassandra, or Ann has the tickets.          His dog or my cats have to go!

3. Prepositional phrases never contain the subject of the sentence. In most cases, you should ignore the  prepositional phrase when trying to determine the correct verb form to use.  For example:

  One of the flowers is dying                          The coach, along with the players, is celebrating.
  Neither of those boys has graduated.          Either of those dresses looks fine.
  Both of the books were on sale.                  Every one of the glasses is broken.

4. Singular indefinite pronouns require singular verbs.  Examples of singular indefinite pronouns include the following:  one, anyone, everyone, someone, nobody, anybody, everybody, somebody, nothing, anything, everything, something, each, either, neither.

 Everyone is happy.      Each of the sacks was full.      Nobody was leaving.     That one costs too much.

5. A few indefinite pronouns can be singular or plural, depending upon their use in the sentence. Often information in a prepositional phrase can help you decide whether the pronoun is singular or plural. These "two-way" pronouns are as follows:  all, some, any, none, most, more, enough.

 All of the pie was eaten.            Most of the roof is finished.          None of the snow has melted.
 All of the pears were eaten.      Most of the trees are dying.          None of the boys have passed.

6. The words "here" and "there" are not used as subjects.  When they start a sentence, you must look elsewhere for the subject.  Also, you must be careful to find the correct subject when dealing with questions because the subject will often not be the first word of the question.  Study the following (subjects are underlined):

 There go my two best friends.           Where has she gone?               Here is your math book.
 Why are you doing this?                    What are their names?             There seem to be problems.
 

7. Some nouns that end in "s" are singular in meaning and require a singular verb.  Other nouns that end in "s"
are singular in meaning but require a plural verb.  Consider these examples:

 Mathematics is easy.                       Measles is a contagious disease.         Physics is complicated.
 The scissors are sharp.                    My pants need to be washed.              Those shorts are torn.

8. Collective nouns such as "class" or "team" may be singular or plural depending upon how they are used: emphasis on the group takes a singular verb; emphasis on members acting individually requires a plural verb.

 The class was dismissed.                  The class are presenting their reports this week.
 (The whole group as one.)                 (The class members individually will give the reports.)

9. In an adjective clause, the verb agrees with the antecedent of the relative pronoun (who, which, that), which is usually the nearest noun.  When "only one" is emphasized among a larger number, always use "one" as the singular antecedent.  Consider the following examples (the antecedents are underlined):

 I like a dog that is friendly.         I like dogs that are friendly.           One of the dogs that are sick is mine.
 Only one of the girls who is coming is single.                    That is the only one of the dogs that is still sick.

10. Weights, measures, time, and money can be either singular or plural.  If they are thought of as whole quantities, they are singular; if they are countable, separate units, then they are considered plural.

 Fifty feet of hose is enough.  (singular)                 Ten one-dollar bills are on the table.  (plural)



EXAMPLE : 

  1.  Joe and Jim (have, has) been friends for a long time.  They (is, are) neighbors and (play, plays) in a band.
  2.  Neither Jan nor I (were, was) able to attend the meeting.  We (were, was) sorry we had to miss it.
  3.  Each of the barrels (is, are) full.  Each one (need, needs) to be inspected.  They (is, are) from Italy.
  4.  There (has, have) been two tornadoes near here this year.  They (frighten, frightens) me.
  5.  The stories in this book (doesn't, don't) interest me, but my wife and son (enjoy, enjoys) them.
  6.  The nurse or the secretary (come, comes) in on Saturday.  Much work (needs, need) to be done.
  7.  One of those sentences (don't, doesn't) make sense to me, but my classmates (weren't, wasn't)
       confused by it.
  8.  None of the tests (has, have) been graded, but all of the homework (has, have) been checked.
  9.  Anyone who (want, wants) to try out (need, needs) to make an appointment.
10.  The doctor and her husband (take, takes) a trip to Mexico each year.
11.  This class, together with math and biology, (keep, keeps) me extremely busy.
12.  Here (come, comes) the meanest kids on the block.  Why (do, does) they act so bad?
13.  Every one of the shoes (seems, seem) to need a shine.  Neither of us (was, were) ready to do it though.
14.  Jason, Timothy, Sandra, or I (am, are) responsible for closing the store on the weekend.
15. Forty dollars (seem, seems) too high a price.  There (has, have) to be better bargains somewhere in town.