Subject & Verb Agreement

Grammar with Kathy Wang

Subject-Verb Agreement

★Step One: Find out the subject in the sentence. ★Step Two: Is the subject singular or plural? (Ask yourself!!) ★Step Three: Make subject and verb agree.

1. and As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected by and.

2. either…or…/neither…nor…/not only…but also…/or When subjects are joined by or, either…or…, neither…nor… or not only…but (also)…, the verb agrees with the subject which is nearer to the verb.

＊ Neither Mrs. Wang nor the students _________ (be) late for class yesterday.

＊ Either Susan or her parents ________ (need) to cook the dinner.

＊ Not only Lisa but also King________ (know) the answer. 3. Collective nouns such as team, group, class and family may be either singular or plural depending on their use in the sentence.

4. The pronouns each, either, neither, everyone, every one, everybody, anyone, anybody, someone, somebody, and no one are singular and require singular verbs.

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Grammar with Kathy Wang

Subject-Verb Agreement

5. What are the subjects of the following sentences? The teacher, together with all his students, is going to have a picnic this weekend.

1. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school. 2. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the meeting. 3. Deer (is, are) beautiful animals. 4. Benito (doesn't, don't) know the answer. 5. One of my sisters (is, are) going on a trip to France. 6. The man with all the birds (live, lives) on my street. 7. The movie, including all the previews, (take, takes) about two hours to watch. 8. The players, as well as the captain, (want, wants) to win. 9. Either answer (is, are) acceptable. 10. He never made me feel like I (was, were) special. 12. (Is, Are) the news on at five or six? 14. (Is, Are) the trousers in this drawer? -2-

Grammar with Kathy Wang

Subject-Verb Agreement

15. One Thousand And One Nights (tell, tells) people lots of mysterious stories. 16. The teacher and writer (is, are) from China. 17. The teacher and the writer (is, are) from China. 18. Juice [contains, contain] many vitamins.

 Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject. 1. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school. 2. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the meeting. 3. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside. 4. Either my shoes or your coat (is, are) always on the floor. 5. George and Tamara (doesn't, don't) want to see that movie. 6. Benito (doesn't, don't) know the answer. 7. One of my sisters (is, are) going on a trip to France. 8. The man with all the birds (live, lives) on my street. 9. The movie, including all the previews, (take, takes) about two hours to watch. 10. The players, as well as the captain, (want, wants) to win. 11. Either answer (is, are) acceptable. 12. Every one of those books (is, are) fiction. 13. Nobody (know, knows) the trouble I've seen. 14. (Is, Are) the news on at five or six? 15. Mathematics (is, are) John's favorite subject, while Civics (is, are) Andrea's favorite subject. 16. Eight dollars (is, are) the price of a movie these days. 17. (Is, Are) the tweezers in this drawer? 18. Your pants (is, are) at the cleaner's. 19. There (was, were) fifteen candies in that bag. Now there (is, are) only one left! -3-

Grammar with Kathy Wang

Subject-Verb Agreement

20. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, (is, are) in this case. 21. There (is, are) twenty students in the room. 22. Neither my brothers nor my father (has, have) attended college. 23. Each of my sons (wear, wears) a baseball cap. 24. The fans at the back of the theatre and that woman in front (was, were) making too much noise.

Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject. SCORE: __________/10

1. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside.

2. Mathematics (is, are) John's favorite subject, while Civics (is, are) Andrea's favorite subject. 3. George and Tamara (doesn't, don't) want to see that movie. 4. There (was, were) fifteen candies in that bag. Now there (is, are) only one left! 5. Your pants (is, are) at the cleaner's. 6. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, (is, are) on his desk. 7. Reading often (mean, means) learning. 8. To read English aloud every morning (are, is ) a good way to practise. 9. Guns and Roses (is, are) my favorite rock group. 10. Either my shoes or your coat (is, are) always on the floor.

Grammar with Kathy Wang

Subject-Verb Agreement

Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject. SCORE: __________/10

1. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside.

2. Mathematics (is, are) John's favorite subject, while Civics (is, are) Andrea's favorite subject. 3. George and Tamara (doesn't, don't) want to see that movie. -4-

Grammar with Kathy Wang

Subject-Verb Agreement

4. There (was, were) fifteen candies in that bag. Now there (is, are) only one left! 5. Your pants (is, are) at the cleaner's. 6. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, (is, are) on his desk. 7. Reading often (mean, means) learning. 8. To read English aloud every morning (are, is ) a good way to practise. 9. Guns and Roses (is, are) my favorite rock group. 10. Either my shoes or your coat (is, are) always on the floor.

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