Rules for Subject-Verb Agreement: Singular Subjects
1. When the following words are used as subjects, they are always singular. Some of these words are plural in meaning, but they always require singular verbs.
Everyone Someone Anyone No one
Everybody Somebody Anybody Nobody
Everything Something Anything Nothing
Each Every Either Neither
Examples:
- Everyone is in the classroom.
- Neither of these English dictionaries is mine.
- Every student makes the task at home.
- Each teacher comes to the class on time.
2. When each and every comes before singular subjects joined by and, a singular verb is required.
Examples:
- Every man and woman is eligible to vote.
- Each student and teacher is very discipline.
3. Introductory it is singular and always followed by a singular verb.
Examples:
- It was I who opened the door.
- It was they who came to campus yesterday.
4. Words that come between a subject and its verb do not change the number of the subject. Prepositional phrases often have this position.
The examples of prepositional phrases are: together with, in addition to, along with, as well as, except, etc.
Examples:
- The woman (subject) together with her five children is going to the market.
- Mr. Komara ( subject) as well as his wife is a teacher.
- Aditya Pratama (subject) in addition to his three sisters speaks English everyday.
- Everyone (subject) except Nelson understands Indonesian very well.
- The man (subject) along with his four brothers is visiting
5. When a sentence begins with there and here, the subject comes after the verb.
Examples:
- There is a book on the desk.
- There are many pencils in my bag.
- There is much money in the bank.
- Here is the result of the examination.
- Here are the results of the experiments.
- Here is the money you need.
Note: The underlined words or phrases are subjects of the sentence.
6. Subjects joined by and or both …. and…… take a plural verb.
Examples:
- Mutia Adnina and Nadia Syafira are diligent.
- English and German are important to understand.
- Both Fadila Fahira and Aditya Pratama study English diligently.
- Both
7. Several, many, both, some, and a few are plural words and always take plural verbs.
Examples:
- Several doctors are observing the patients in the ICU room now.
- Many students speak English well.
- Both are going to attend the
- Some tourism objects are situated in
- Only a few have passed the exam.
8. Some nouns are always plural in form and always take plural verbs.
Examples: clothes : trousers, pants, jeans, sunglasses
tools : scissors, pliers, tweezers
abstract : riches, thanks, means
- His pants are still at the cleaners
- Your thanks are enough for me.
However, some of them are followed by a singular verb when used in expressions such as a pair of ……, a word of ……….
- That pair of pants is dirty.
- A word of thanks is enough.
9. When subjects are joined by the following structures, the verb must agree with the closer subjects.
Examples:
- Neither the students nor the teacher is allowed to smoke in the classroom.
- Either Mrs. Santi or her children like English very much.
- Not only the lecturers but also the students come to the class on time.
10. Many words may be singular or plural depending on what they refer to: none, all, some, any, majority, most, half, etc. when these words are followed by a prepositional phrase, the number of the object of the preposition will determine whether the words are singular or plural.
Examples:
- All of the rice is imported from
- All of the English books are in the library.
- Some of the money is given to my friend.
- Some of the English dictionaries are sold in the bookstore.
11. The expression a number of is plural, and the expression the number of is singular.
Examples:
- A number of Indonesian students understand English.
- A number of people are attending the international seminar.
- The number of American people comes to
- The number of foreign visitors in Bali is from
12. Expressions stating one amount of time, money, weight, volume, etc are plural in form but take a singular verb.
Examples:
- Six months is enough to study English at the English course.
- Ten thousand dollars is your monthly salary in this company.
- Ten extra pounds is a lot to lose in a week.
- Fifty gallons of gasoline costs a lot of money.
13. Some words are always plural in form but singular in meaning. These words require singular verbs.
Academic subjects : mathematics, economics, statistics, civics, etc.
Diseases : measles, mumps, herpes, etc.
Abstract nouns : news, ethics, politics, etc.
Examples:
- Statistics is a difficult subject for many people.
- The news was very good.
- Measles is a harmful disease.
14. Titles of books and movies, even if plural in form, take singular verbs.
-
Examples:
- The New York Times is a good newspaper.
- Star Wars was a good movie.
15. Collective nouns are usually singular, but may be plural if the members are functioning independently. Some of these words are class, team, police, committee, audience, family, faculty, etc.
Examples:
- That class has its final test on Friday.
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