Subject-Verb Agreement

Front

What is subject-verb agreement?

Back

Subject-verb agreement is the grammatical rule that the subject of a sentence must agree in number (singular or plural) with its verb.

Front

When using 'neither...nor', how should the verb be conjugated?

Back

The verb should agree with the nearest subject. For example, in 'Neither the coach nor the players are ready', 'are' agrees with 'players'.

Front

How does 'either...or' affect verb agreement?

Back

The verb should agree with the nearest subject. For example, in 'Either the bus or the taxis leave', 'leave' agrees with 'taxis'.

Front

What is the rule for compound subjects joined by 'and'?

Back

When subjects are joined by 'and', they typically take a plural verb. For example, 'My dog and the neighbor's cat act like friends'.

Front

What is the verb form used with collective nouns?

Back

Collective nouns can take either singular or plural verbs depending on whether the group is acting as a single unit or as individuals.

Front

What is an example of a singular subject with a plural verb?

Back

An example is 'The team are winning', where 'team' is a collective noun treated as plural.

Front

What is the rule for subjects separated by 'as well as'?

Back

The verb should agree with the main subject, not the subject that follows 'as well as'. For example, 'The dog, as well as the cats, is hungry'.

Front

How do you determine the correct verb form with 'none'?

Back

'None' can be singular or plural depending on the context. For example, 'None of the cake is left' (singular) vs. 'None of the cookies are left' (plural).

Front

What is the rule for subjects that are indefinite pronouns?

Back

Indefinite pronouns like 'everyone', 'someone', and 'nobody' are always singular and take singular verbs.

Front

What is the effect of a prepositional phrase on subject-verb agreement?

Back

A prepositional phrase does not affect subject-verb agreement. The verb should agree with the subject, not the object of the preposition.