Language Lesson

1. SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT

2. Plurals in English Grammar
• To make a noun plural, we add –s
• Singular: girl
• Plural: girls
• To make a verb plural, we take away the –s.
• Singular: he talks
• Plural: they talk

3. Watch the Verb Endings!
Singular
• I walk
• You walk
• He/She/It walk s
• Joe walk s
• The girl walk s
Plural
• We walk
• You walk
• They walk
• Joe and Maria walk
• The girls walk

4. Remember there are irregular verbs:
• DO
Singular Plural
• He does They do
• HAVE
• She has They have
• BE
• He is They are
• She was They were

5. Tip for Subject/verb Agreement
Generally, if the subject doesn’t
end in –S, the verb will.
If the subject does end in –S,
the verb won’t.

6. The girl dances.
No –S on
subject
-S on
verb

7. The girls dance.
-S on
subject
No –S
on verb

8. Multiple subjects joined by “and”
• If there are two or more subjects joined by and, the
subject must be plural, so the verb will not get an “s”.
Example
• The boy and the girl dance.
(= They dance.)
No –S on
verb

9. Multiple subjects joined by “or”
If there are two or more subjects joined by or, the verb agrees
with the part of the subject closest to it.
Examples:
• The professor or the students walk the halls.
• The students or the professor walks the halls.

10. Choose the verb that agrees with its
subject
• Macaroni and cheese (is, are) a favorite dish among
children.
• Neither Victor's sisters nor his brother (have, has)
visited Newfoundland and Labrador
• Rajeev's wife and soulmate (enjoy, enjoys) long walks
on the beach at sunrise.
• Both Shari and I (likes, like) watching old movie.

11. Choose the verb that agrees with its
subject
• Macaroni and cheese (is, are) a favorite dish among
children.
• Neither Victor's sisters nor his brother (have, has)
visited Newfoundland and Labrador
• Rajeev's wife and soulmate (enjoy, enjoys) long walks
on the beach at sunrise.
• Both Shari and I (likes, like) watching old movie.

12. Indefinite Pronouns
•Some indefinite pronouns are always singular. Here
are some examples: anyone, everyone, someone, no one,
nobody
•Others can be either singular or plural (all, some)
• Everybody loves grammar!
• Some people love grammar.

13. Intervening Phrase
If connectives/appositives like along with, together with, as well
as, accompanied by etc. are used to combine two subjects, the
verb agrees with the subject mentioned first.
For example: Mr. Ram, accompanied by his wife Sita and his brother, was
banished to the forest.

14. Intervening Phrase
Example: The student, as well as the committee members, is
excited.
Example: Strategies that the teacher uses to encourage classroom
participation include using small groups and clarifying
expectations.

15. Choose the verb that agrees with its
subject
• John along with his cousin often (help,helps) out on
his uncle’s farm.
• His father, as well as his uncle, (are,is) retiring at the
end of this year.
• The speaker, in addition to the guests, (have, has)
arrived.
• Mike, one of his brothers, (have, has) been selected
for the national team.
• The police inspector, together with an assistant, (is,
are) now at the crime scene.

16. Choose the verb that agrees with its
subject
• John along with his cousin often (help, helps) out on
his uncle’s farm.
• His father, as well as his uncle, (are, is) retiring at the
end of this year.
• The speaker, in addition to the guests, (have, has)
arrived.
• Mike, one of his brothers, (have, has) been selected
for the national team.
• The police inspector, together with an assistant, (is,
are) now at the crime scene.

17. Third Person Singular
The subject and verb in a sentence or clause must agree or match. If the
subject is singular, the verb must be singular; if the subject is plural, the verb
must be plural. If the subject is in the first person (I, we), the verb must be
in the first person (I am, we are). The same rule holds true for subjects in the
second person or third person (you are, he/she/it is, they are).
SINGULAR PLURAL
• FIRST PERSON I sing we sing
• SECOND PERSON you sing you sing
• THIRD PERSON he/she/it sings they sing

18. Helpful hints
Sometimes, several words come between the subject and the verb. Just
take out the phrase in the middle to see whether or not the subject
and verb agree.
 The student, though she had lots of problems in
other schools, finds/find (?) her new class easy.
 The student, though she had lots of problems
in other schools, finds her new class easy.
 The student finds her new class easy.

19. In the sentences below, do the
subjects & verbs agree?
• They goes to the gym after class to work out.
• Harry and his friends wants to see the new movie coming out
this weekend.
• The cat who is meowing at my door wants in.
• Neither the cat nor the dogs likes the new food.
• The mayor as well as his brothers are going to jail.
• Nobody wants to dance.
• The paper or the ruler are in the desk.