Exercise : Subject and Verb
Agreement Exercise
Choose the correct
form of the verb that agrees with the subject.
1.
Annie and her brothers (is, are)
at school.
Answer : Annie
and her brothers are at school.
2.
Either my mother or my father
(is, are) coming to the meeting.
Answer : Either my
mother or my father is coming to the meeting
3.
The dog or the cats (is, are)
outside.
Answer : The dog
or the cats is outside.
4.
Either my shoes or your coat (is,
are) always on the floor.
Answer : Either
my shoes or your coat is always on the floor.
5.
George and Tamara (doesn't,
don't) want to see that movie.
Answer : George
and Tamara (doesn't) want to see that movie.
6.
Benito (doesn't, don't) know the
answer.
Answer : Benito (don't) know the answer
7.
One of my sisters (is, are) going
on a trip to France.
Answer : One of
my sisters (is) going on a trip to France.
8.
The man with all the birds (live,
lives) on my street.
Answer : The man
with all the birds (live) on my street.
9.
The movie, including all the
previews, (take, takes) about two hours to watch.
Answer : The
movie, including all the previews, (takes) about two hours to watch.
10. The players, as well as the captain, (want, wants) to win.
Answer : The
players, as well as the captain, (want) to win.
11. Either answer (is, are) acceptable.
Answer : Either
answer (is) acceptable.
12. Every one of those books (is, are) fiction.
Answer : Every
one of those books (is) fiction.
13. Nobody (know, knows) the trouble I've seen.
Answer : Nobody
(knows) the trouble I've seen
14. (Is, Are) the news on at five or six?
Answer : (Are) the news on at five or six?
15. Mathematics (is, are) John's favorite subject, while Civics (is, are)
Andrea's favorite subject.
Answer : Mathematics
(is) John's favorite subject, while Civics (is, are) Andrea's favorite subject.
16. Eight dollars (is, are) the price of a movie these days.
Answer : Eight
dollars (is) the price of a movie these days
17. (Is, Are) the tweezers in this drawer?
Answer : ( Are)
the tweezers in this drawer?
18. Your pants (is, are) at the cleaner's.
Answer : Your
pants (are) at the cleaner's.
19. There (was, were) fifteen candies in that bag. Now there (is, are) only one
left!
Answer : There
(was) fifteen candies in that bag. Now there (is) only one left!
20. The committee (debates, debate) these questions carefully.
Answer : The
committee (debates) these questions carefully.
21. The committee (leads, lead) very different lives in private.
Answer : The
committee (leads) very different lives in private.
22. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, (greets, greet) the press
cordially.
Answer : The
Prime Minister, together with his wife, ( greet) the press cordially
23. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, (is, are) in this case.
Answer : All of
the CDs, even the scratched one, ( are) in this case.
At this meeting
could not attend an early miss and hell lessons we have learned in meeting the future.
SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
Which
one is the correct sentence?
- One of my sisters are going on a trip to United States.
2.
One
of my sisters is going on a trip to United States
What is Subject?
Subject is the
person/people/thing(s) that do the activity.
I,
you, they, we, she, he, it, my dad and my mom, Linda, Sussi, Linda and Sussi,
the bank, the flight schedule, etc
What is VERB?
Verb is a word used to describe
an action, state, or occurrence, and forming the main part of the predicate of
a sentence.
Kinds
of VERB
·
ACTION VERBS
·
LINKING VERBS
·
LINKING VERBS
ACTION VERB
• Also known as MAIN
VERB.
• Action verbs are words
that express action (give, eat, walk, etc.) or possession (have, own, etc.).
• Action verbs can be
either transitive (with object) or intransitive (without object).
Example:
1.
Laurissa raises her hand. (kkt)
2.
Abdus
gave Becky the pencil. (kkt)
3.
Laurissa
rises slowly from her seat. (kki)
4.
He
was pontificating about art and history. (kki)
LINKING VERBS
A
linking verb connects the subject of a sentence to a noun or adjective that
renames or describes the subject.
To Be: is, am, are, was, were
Example:
Lisa
is in love with Jason.
We
were there!
I
am happy J
Verb: seem, appear, become, grow, remain, get,
prove, turn, look, sound, smell, taste, feel.
Example:
She
looks pale.
I
feel happy
That
sounds great!
Your
cook smells good.
HELPING VERBS
Helping
verbs are used before action or linking verbs to convey additional information
regarding aspects of possibility (can, could, etc.) or time (was, did, has,
etc.)
MODALS
always function as Helping Verbs.
MODALS:
can, could, may, might, shall, will, ought to, should, would.
Examples:
1.
Tejo
is (helping verb) going (main verb) to Florida.
2.
The
trip might (helping verb) be (main verb) dangerous.
3.
Tanya
could learn to fly helicopters. (Could
helps the main verb, learn.)
4.
Janine
will drive to Idaho tomorrow. (Will
helps the main verb, drive.)
MAIN
RULE OF
“Subject Verb Agreement”
“Subject Verb Agreement”
Only the subject affects the verb!
RULE
1
Subjects
and verbs must agree in number. This is the cornerstone rule that forms the
background of the concept.
Examples:
The
dog growls when it is angry.
The dogs growl when they are angry.
RULE 2
Don’t get confused by the words that come between the
subject and verb; they
do not affect agreement.
Examples:
The dog, who is chewing on my
jeans, is usually very good.
RULE
3
Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb
usually do not affect
agreement.
Examples:
The colors of the
rainbow are beautiful
RULE
4
When sentences start with “there” or “here,” the
subject will always be placed after the
verb, so care needs to be taken to identify it correctly.
Examples:
There is
a problem with the balance
sheet. Here are the papers you requested.
RULE
5
If two subjects are joined by and, they typically
require a plural verb form.
Examples:
The cow and
the pig are jumping over the moon.
RULE
6
The verb is singular if the two subjects separated by and
refer to the same
person or thing.
Examples:
Red beans and rice is my
mom's favorite dish.
RULE
7
If one of the words each, every, or no comes before
the subject, the verb is singular.
Examples:
No smoking or drinking is
allowed.
Every man and woman is
required to check in.
RULE
8
If the subjects are both singular and are connected by
the words or, nor,
neither/nor, either/or, and
not only/but also the verb is singular.
Examples:
Jessica or
Christian is to blame for the accident.
RULE
9
The only time when the object of the preposition
decides plural or singular verb forms is when noun and pronoun subjects like some, half, none, more, all, etc.
are followed by a prepositional phrase. In these sentences, the object of the
preposition determines the form of the verb.
Examples:
All of the chicken
is gone.
All of the chickens are
gone.
RULE
10
The singular verb form is usually used for units of
measurement or time.
Examples:
Four quarts
of oil was required to get the car running.
RULE
11
If the subjects are both plural and are connected by
the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also, the verb
is plural.
Examples:
Dogs and cats are both
available at the pound.
RULE
12
If one subject is singular and one plural and the
words are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not
only/but also, you use the verb form of the subject that is nearest the
verb.
Examples:
- Either the bears or the lion has escaped from the zoo.
- Neither the lion nor the bears have escaped from the zoo.
RULE
13
Indefinite pronouns (everything, anything,
everyone, someone, somebody, nothing, etc) typically take singular verbs.
Examples:
Everybody wants to be loved.
Everything is gonna be
alright.
RULE
14
Except for the pronouns (few, many, several, both,
all, some) that always take the plural form.
Examples:
Few were left alive after
the flood.
Several students understand
the material
RULE
15
If two infinitives are separated by and they take
the plural form of the verb.
Examples:
To walk and to chew gum
require great skill.
RULE
16
When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence,
they take the singular verb form of
the verb; but, when they are linked by and, they take the plural form.
Examples:
- Standing in the water was a bad idea.
- Swimming in the ocean and playing drums are my hobbies.
RULE
17
Collective nouns like family, committee, herd, senate,
class, crowd, etc. usually take a singular verb form.
Examples:
- The herd is stampeding.
- Cooper family always attends the annual party.
RULE
18
Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as
singular and take a singular verb.
Examples:
- The Burbs is a movie starring Tom Hanks.
- Harry Potter has reached Top 3 Best Seller books.
