Subject-verb agreement

• [Subject-Verb Agreement Rules}

  1. Singular subjects joined by the word and are generally plural. a. Both the Art teacher and the students enjoy a student-centered approach.
• [Subject-Verb Agreement Rules}

  2. Indefinite pronouns (someone, anyone, no one, anybody, somebody, nobody, one, either, neither) usually take a singular verb. a. No one likes to fail at university.

  b. I will offer a gift card to everybody who participates in the study.
• [Subject-Verb Agreement Rules}

  3. Nouns used with a quantifier (some, any, all, most) can be singular or plural. This depends on whether the noun is countable or uncountable. a. Some of the policies were rejected whilst others were approved. (policies = plural countable noun)

  b. Some of the research was conducted at the University of Melbourne. (research = uncountable noun)
• [Subject-Verb Agreement Rules}

  4. After a subject joined by either ... or, neither ... nor, or not only ... but also, the verb agrees with the subject nearest to it. This is called rule of proximity. a. Neither the lecturer nor the students want to reschedule the class. (want agrees with students)
• [Subject-Verb Agreement Rules} 5. There is and there are agree with the noun that follows. a. There is flexibility in this kind of management structure.

  b. There are many advantages to this kind of management structure.
• [Subject-Verb Agreement Rules} 6. When there is one subject and more than one verb, the verbs throughout the sentence must agree with the subject. a. Interviews are one way to collect data and allow researchers to gain an in-depth understanding of participants.
• [Subject-Verb Agreement Rules}

  7. When a phrase comes between the subject and the verb, remember that the verb still agrees with the subject, not the noun or pronoun in the phrase following the subject of the sentence. a. The student, as well as the committee members, is excited.

  b. Strategies that the teacher uses to encourage classroom participation include using small groups and clarifying expectations.
• [Subject-Verb Agreement Rules}

  8. Collective nouns are words that imply more than one person but are considered singular and take a singular verb. Some examples are "group," "team," "committee," "family," and "class."

  a. The group meets every week.

  b. The committee agrees on the quality of the writing.