When is verb plural

If the subject is singular, the verb is too. General Writing Grammar. She and her friends are at the fair. The book or the pen is in the drawer. The boy or his friends run every day. His friends or the boy runs every day. The people who listen to that music are few. The team captain , as well as his players, is anxious. The book , including all the chapters in the first section, is boring. The woman with all the dogs walks down my street. Each of these hot dogs is juicy. Five dollars is a lot of money.

Dollars are often used instead of rubles in Russia. Those trousers are made of wool. The team runs during practice. Example: The committee participate in various volunteer activities in their private lives. Note that these videos were created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines.

Didn't find what you need? Search our website or email us. Read our website accessibility and accommodation statement. Grammar: Subject-Verb Agreement. Print Page Report a broken link. If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular too. If the subject is plural, the verb must also be plural.

Sometimes, however, it seems a bit more complicated than this. When the subject of the sentence is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by and , use a plural verb. When there is one subject and more than one verb, the verbs throughout the sentence must agree with the subject. When a phrase comes between the subject and the verb, remember that the verb still agrees with the subject, not the noun or pronoun in the phrase following the subject of the sentence.

When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by "or" or "nor," use a singular verb. When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by "or" or "nor," the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is closest to the verb.

This is also called the rule of proximity. The words and phrases "each," "each one," "either," "neither," "everyone," "everybody," "anyone," "anybody," "nobody," "somebody," "someone," and "no one" are singular and require a singular verb. Noncount nouns take a singular verb. Some countable nouns in English such as earnings, goods, odds, surroundings, proceeds, contents, and valuables only have a plural form and take a plural verb.

Have you ever wondered why we say, She looks very pretty and not She look very pretty? The answer lies in grammar rules on concord or subject-verb agreement. The basic rule is that singular verbs must agree with singular nouns, while plural verbs must agree with plural nouns. What is a noun? It is a word to name people, places, events, things or ideas.

A singular verb is one that has an s added to it in the present tense, such as writes, plays, runs, and uses forms such as is, was, has, does. A plural verb does not have an s added to it, such as write, play, run, and uses forms such as are, were, have and do.

In the case of pronouns, he, she and it take a singular verb while you, we and they take a plural verb. Problems also arise when the speaker or writer is faced with more than one noun or pronoun in the sentence. When a singular and a plural noun or pronoun subjects are joined by or or nor,the verb should agree with the subject nearer the verb. People often get confused when deciding whether a singular or plural verb should agree with some collective nouns. Well, it all depends on whether we are thinking of the team as a single collective unit or as individuals.

If it is the former, then the verb should be singular. However if we are considering the team as comprising individual members who are not acting as a single unit, then we use the plural verb.

A point to note is that American English almost always treats collective nouns as singular, hence a singular verb is used with it. There are some occasions when we should use singular verbs. Expressions such as each of, one of, anybody, each, every and nobody must be followed by a singular verb. A singular subject with attached phrases introduced by with or like or as well as is followed by a singular verb.

Two singular nouns or pronouns separated by either … or or neither … nor take a singular verb. Plural subjects separated by either…or or neither … nor,both …and, and all but take a plural verb. Another problem that users of English face is this: does the verb in a sentence agree with the noun subject before it or the noun or adjective after it complement? Subject-Verb Agreement. Match your noun with the correct verb.