{"id":74330,"date":"2020-04-28T06:44:05","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T06:44:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/?p=74330"},"modified":"2020-09-20T03:53:44","modified_gmt":"2020-09-20T03:53:44","slug":"sentence-agreement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/sentence-agreement\/","title":{"rendered":"Sentence Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Subjects must agree with verbs and pronouns must agree with antecedents. The basic rule of sentence agreement is really quite simple: A subject must agree with its verb in number. (The number can be singular or plural.) Here&#8217;s how it works. Watch our <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/6YiCd46Wsvc\">Youtube video for easy explanations of subject-verb agreement rules<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Singular Subjects and Verbs<\/h2>\n<p>In grammar, number refers to the two forms of a word:\u00a0<b><a href=\"http:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/singular-and-plural-2\/\">singular<\/a>\u00a0<\/b>(one) or\u00a0<b>plural\u00a0<\/b>(more than one). A singular subject takes a singular verb.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The boy sings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The singular subject\u00a0<b>the boy\u00a0<\/b>agrees with the singular verb\u00a0<b>sings.<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>He likes coffee.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The singular subject\u00a0<b>he<\/b>\u00a0agrees with the singular verb\u00a0<b>likes.<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>He is the oldest man to climb Mt Everest.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The singular subject\u00a0<b>he\u00a0<\/b>agrees with the singular verb\u00a0<b>is.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Plural subjects that function as a single unit take a singular verb.<\/p>\n<p>Examples are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Age<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0<b>experience brings\u00a0<\/b>wisdom.<br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Slow\u00a0<\/b>and\u00a0<b>steady wins\u00a0<\/b>the race.<br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Bread\u00a0<\/b>and\u00a0<b>butter is\u00a0<\/b>what they want.<br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Ham\u00a0<\/b>and\u00a0<b>eggs was\u00a0<\/b>the breakfast of champions in the 1950s.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Titles are always singular. It doesn&#8217;t matter how long the title is, what it names, or whether or not it sounds plural. As a result, a title always takes a singular verb.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>The Crusades is\u00a0<\/b>a book that comes in two volumes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The singular title\u00a0<b>The Crusades\u00a0<\/b>agrees with the singular verb\u00a0<b>is<\/b>\u00a0\u2014 even though the title appears plural, it is singular. That&#8217;s because all titles are singular.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Bombay Times is<\/b>\u00a0my favourite newspaper.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The singular title\u00a0<b>Bombay Times<\/b>\u00a0agrees with the singular verb\u00a0<b>is<\/b>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The Valachi Papers is a good read.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The singular title\u00a0<b>The Valachi Papers\u00a0<\/b>agrees with the singular verb\u00a0<b>is<\/b>\u00a0\u2014 even though the title appears plural, it is singular.<\/p>\n<p>Other examples are given below.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Memories of the War is\u00a0<\/b>worth reading.<br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Moby Dick is\u00a0<\/b>the tale of a whale.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Singular subjects connected by\u00a0<b>or, either\/or, neither\/nor,\u00a0<\/b>and\u00a0<b>not only\/but also\u00a0<\/b>require a singular verb.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Neither John nor Peter has\u00a0<\/b>any right to the property.<br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Either the witness or the defendant was<\/b>\u00a0lying.<br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>No prize or medal was\u00a0<\/b>given to the boy, though he stood first in the examination.<br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>An apple or a pear contains\u00a0<\/b>about 75 calories each.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Sentence Agreement: Collective nouns<\/h2>\n<p>A <a href=\"http:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/verbs-with-collective-nouns\/\">collective noun<\/a> denotes a collection of individual persons or objects.<\/p>\n<p>Examples are: crowd, mob, team, flock, herd, army, fleet, jury, nation, family, committee, government etc.<\/p>\n<p>In British English, a collective noun may be treated either as singular (if the whole group is being thought of as a unit) or as plural (if the group is being regarded as a collection of individuals).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The\u00a0<b>committee has\u00a0<\/b>announced its decision. (The committee is regarded as a unit.)<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0<b>committee are\u00a0<\/b>divided on this issue. (The committee is regarded as a group of individuals.)<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0<b>team is\u00a0<\/b>on the field.<\/li>\n<li>The<b>\u00a0team are\u00a0<\/b>changing.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0<b>class is\u00a0<\/b>a bright one.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0<b>class are\u00a0<\/b>a mixed lot.<\/li>\n<li>His<b>\u00a0family is\u00a0<\/b>living in that house.<\/li>\n<li>His\u00a0<b>family are\u00a0<\/b>living in various parts of Sydney.<\/li>\n<li>The\u00a0<b>jury is\u00a0<\/b>in the courtroom.<\/li>\n<li>The<b>\u00a0jury are\u00a0<\/b>still debating the case.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In American English, a collective noun is almost always treated as singular, and Americans say\u00a0<i>The committee is divided on this issue<\/i>.<\/p>\n<h2>Sentence Agreement: Indefinite pronouns<\/h2>\n<p><b><a href=\"http:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/indefinite-personal-pronoun-one-english-usage\/\">Indefinite pronouns<\/a>\u00a0<\/b>can be singular or plural. They do not refer to any person or thing is particular but are used in a general way.<\/p>\n<p>Singular indefinite pronouns (e.g. someone, anyone, everyone, one, somebody, anybody, everybody and nobody) take a singular verb; plural indefinite pronouns (e.g. both, few, many, others and several) take a plural verb. The indefinite pronouns all, any, more, most, none, and some can be singular or plural, depending on how they are used.<\/p>\n<p>Examples are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>One\u00a0<\/b>of my friends\u00a0<b>is\u00a0<\/b>a journalist.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The singular subject\u00a0<b>one\u00a0<\/b>requires the singular verb\u00a0<b>is.<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Nobody has\u00a0<\/b>arrived yet.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The singular subject\u00a0<b>nobody\u00a0<\/b>requires the singular verb\u00a0<b>has.<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Both boys were\u00a0<\/b>given scholarships.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The plural subject\u00a0<b>both\u00a0<\/b>requires the plural verb\u00a0<b>were.<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>All\u00a0<\/b>cheese\u00a0<b>contains\u00a0<\/b>fat.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When the indefinite pronoun\u00a0<b>all\u00a0<\/b>is followed by an uncountable noun, the verb is usually singular.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>All\u00a0<\/b>my friends<b>\u00a0like\u00a0<\/b>riding.<br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>All\u00a0<\/b>the lights\u00a0<b>were\u00a0<\/b>out.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When the indefinite pronoun\u00a0<b>all<\/b>\u00a0is followed by a plural noun, the verb is usually plural.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>None\u00a0<\/b>of his friends\u00a0<b>have\u00a0<\/b>come forward to help him.<br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>None\u00a0<\/b>of these conditions\u00a0<b>is\u00a0<\/b>acceptable to us.<br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>None\u00a0<\/b>means\u00a0<i>not one<\/i>. It may be followed by a singular or plural verb.<\/p>\n<p>Other examples are given below.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Some are<\/b>\u00a0lucky,\u00a0<b>others are<\/b>\u00a0not.<br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Many were<\/b>\u00a0killed in the accident.<br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>All were\u00a0<\/b>involved in the accident.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Sentence Agreement: Plural subjects and verbs<\/h2>\n<p>A plural subject takes a plural verb.<\/p>\n<p>Dogs make excellent pets.<br \/>\nThe plural subject\u00a0<b>dogs\u00a0<\/b>matches the plural verb\u00a0<b>make.<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>They like coffee.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The plural subject\u00a0<b>they\u00a0<\/b>matches the plural verb\u00a0<b>like.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Two or more singular nouns connected by\u00a0<b>and\u00a0<\/b>are normally followed by a plural verb.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>John\u00a0<b>and\u00a0<\/b>Peter\u00a0<b>are\u00a0<\/b>going to the movies.<\/li>\n<li>Oil\u00a0<b>and<\/b>\u00a0water\u00a0<b>do<\/b>\u00a0not mix.<\/li>\n<li>He\u00a0<b>and\u00a0<\/b>I\u00a0<b>were\u00a0<\/b>at Oxford together.<\/li>\n<li>Teddy Roosevelt<b>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/b>Abraham Lincoln\u00a0<b>were<\/b>\u00a0great presidents.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When the subjects connected by\u00a0<b>either\/or\u00a0<\/b>or\u00a0<b>neither\/nor\u00a0<\/b>are of different numbers, the plural subject should be written last and it should be followed by a plural verb.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Neither the chief minister\u00a0<b>nor his colleagues have\u00a0<\/b>visited the site.<\/li>\n<li>Neither the principal\u00a0<b>nor the lecturers were\u00a0<\/b>present at the meeting.<\/li>\n<li>Either John\u00a0<b>or his parents are\u00a0<\/b>responsible for this.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When the subjects connected by\u00a0<b>either\/or\u00a0<\/b>or\u00a0<b>neither\/nor\u00a0<\/b>are of different persons, the verb should agree in person with the subject nearest to it. The subjects should be arranged in the proper order \u2013 the person spoken to, first; the person spoken of, second; and the speaker, last.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Neither he\u00a0<b>nor I have\u00a0<\/b>money to spare for this.<\/li>\n<li>Either you\u00a0<b>or John has\u00a0<\/b>to take the lead in this matter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Subjects must agree with verbs and pronouns must agree with antecedents. The basic rule of sentence agreement is really quite simple: A subject must agree with its verb in number. (The number can be&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[251],"tags":[2815,173],"class_list":["post-74330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammar","tag-sentence-agreement","tag-subject-verb-agreement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74330"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74805,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74330\/revisions\/74805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}