SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

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SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

• Rules and tips to remember for the TOEIC test

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Rule 1

• When one of the following words is used as a
  subject, it is always singular.
• Some are plural in meaning, but they always need
  a singular verb.

Everybody Somebody Anybody Nobody Each
Everyone Someone Anyone No one Either
Everything Something Anything Nothing Neither
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Rule 1 examples

• Neither of the managers has fulfilled the
  expectations of the firm.
• Everyone in the different departments is expected
  to work on Saturdays.
• Anybody is worthy of promotion if he or she
  merits it.

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Rule 2 and examples

• When each or every comes before a singular
  subject that is joined by and, use a singular
  verb.
• Every man and woman has the same salary according
  to the position held.
• Each student and teacher has a laptop.

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Rule 3

• Words that come between a subject and its verb do
  not change the number of the subject.
• Prepositional phrases often have this position.
• A noun that is part of a prepositional phrase is
  never the subject.
• The men in the restaurant are . . .
• Everyone, except for the CEOs, has

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Rule 3 examples of phrases

• together with
• in addition to
• along with
• as well as
• except
• except for

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Rule 3 examples

• Everyone except those two has a book.
• The teacher along with her students is viewing a
  film.
• One of the most enjoyable office parties was
  given last Christmas.

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Rule 4 and examples

• When a sentence begins with here, there or where,
  the subject comes after the verb.
• Here are the results of the survey we had last
  week.
• There is a link to a great website on this list.

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Rule 5 and examples

• Expressions stating one amount of time, money,
  weight, volume, distance, etc. are plural in form
  but take a singular verb.
• Two weeks is enough time for a nice vacation.
• Five hundred dollars is required as a down
  payment.
• Twenty gallons of gasoline costs a lot of money.

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Rule 6

• Some words are always plural in form but singular
  in meaning. Use singular verbs.
• Academic subjects mathematics, physics,
  economics, statistics, civics, etc.
• Diseases measles, mumps, herpes, diabetes, etc
• Abstract nouns news, ethics, politics, etc.

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Rule 6 examples

• Mathematics is a difficult subject for some
  people.
• The news about the merger was not very good.
• Some of the newer diseases, of which AIDS is one,
  are very hard to eradicate.

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Rule 7 and examples

• Titles of books and movies, even if plural in
  form, take a singular subject.
• The New York Times is a good newspaper.
• Jaws was one of the first blockbuster movies of
  the last century.

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Rule 8 and examples

• Subjects that are joined by and or both . . . and
  . . . take a plural subject
• if they dont begin with each or every
• A red Honda and a blue Ford are parked outside
  the bank.
• Both tigers and elephants are becoming extinct.

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Rule 9 and examples

• Several, many, both, few, etc., when they are
  used as pronouns, are plural and always take a
  plural verb.
• Both have been accepted to Baylor University.
• Only a few have passed the entrance exam.

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Rule 10

• Some nouns are always plural in form and always
  take plural verbs   
•  
• Clothes trousers, pants, jeans,
  sunglasses        
• Tools scissors, pliers, tweezers
• Abstract riches, thanks, means

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Rule 10 examples

• His pants are still at the cleaners.
• Your thanks are enough for me.
• The means used to take over the company were not
  the most ethical.
• The pliers were left too close to the gears and
  eventually cause the damage.

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Rule 11

• The verb must agree with the closer subject, when
  2 subjects are joined by the following
  structures
• either . . . or
• neither . . . nor
• not only . . . but also

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Rule 11 examples

• Neither the students nor the teacher is allowed
  to smoke in the classroom.
• Either the manager or the supervisors have your
  tools.
• Not only the nurses but also the doctor is coming
  soon.

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Rule 12 and examples

• Many words may be singular or plural depending on
  what they refer to
• none, all, some, any, majority, most, half, etc.
  
• All of the book has been destroyed.
• All of the books have been thrown away.
• All of the money is in the bank.

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Rule 13 and examples

• The expression a number of is plural, and the
  expression the number of is singular.
• A number of students were missing from class.
• The number of Japanese students is small.

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Rule 14

• Collective nouns are usually singular.
• They can be plural if the members are functioning
  independently.
• Check the corresponding pronouns, possessive
  adjectives or the idea of the sentence for clues
  to the singular or plural nature of the subject.
• Examples
• team, committee, class, audience, faculty,
  police, family, staff, etc.

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Rule 14 examples

• That class has its final test on Friday.
• The class are working on their individual
  projects today.
• The police are investigating different aspects of
  the crime. Why plural?
• The staff has decided to support the new company
  measures. Why singular?

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Rule 15

• Nouns for nationality that end with
• ese, -ch, or sh
• may be singular or plural depending on their
  meaning. Chinese, French, English, etc.
• When word refers to a language, it takes a
  singular verb.
• When the word refers to the people of the
  country, it takes a plural verb and has the
  article the before it.

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Rule 15 examples

• French is a Romance language.
• The French were reluctant to join the European
  Community.
• English is spoken in Malaysia.
• The English are helping the Americans in Iraq.

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Practice Activity

• Identify the subject in each of the following
  sentences and circle it. Then fill in the blank
  with IS if the subject is singular or with ARE if
  the subject is plural. See the example.
• Nylon, like orlon, _is_ a synthetic material
  frequently used in the manufacture of stockings.

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1. A number of new doctors ____ employed by the
   hospital that just opened.
2. All of the creeks in the surrounding area ____
   polluted by waste water.
3. All of the waste water ____ from the company
   located by the river.
4. Both the chair and the sofa ____ on sale at the
   furniture store at the new mall.
5. Due to the amount of work done, the committee
   ____ separated from their families for long
   periods of time.

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1. Either his children or his wife ____ arriving
   today from abroad.
2. English ____ still spoken in many of the former
   British colonies.
3. Every dog and cat ____ vaccinated against rabies
   during this campaign period.
4. Everyone in the group ____ working hard to get
   the project moving.
5. It ____ the bicyclists who endanger the joggers
   who come in for their early morning training.

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1. Mathematics ____ a science that I have always
   been fond of.
2. The committee ____ having its meeting to discuss
   this pollution problem.
3. The English ____ well known for their love of tea
   and crumpets.
4. The hypothesis he presents ____ supported by the
   accompanying data.
5. The New York Times ____ read by people all
   around the world.

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1. The number of female doctors ____ larger than
   that of male doctors.
2. The young sheep ____ getting closer to their
   mothers because of the approaching storm.
3. There ____ several universities located on the
   outskirts of this city.
4. Those species of fish ____ found in lakes as well
   as in rivers and ponds.
5. Two hundred dollars ____ a lot of money to lose
   on silly bets.