Unit 3: Agreement

1. Unit 3: Agreement

2. Use a singular verb with a singular subject and a plural verb with a plural subject. The sound (is, are) beautiful. If two or more subjects are joined by and, use a plural verb. The actress and the director (is, are) in the dressing room. Subject and Verb Agreement

3. For singular subjects followed by prepositional or parenthetical statements: with, as well as, in addition to, along with, etc., use a singular verb. The chairman of Mobil, as well as the president of Texaco and the vice president of Gulf, (is, are) attending the meeting. Prepositional/Parenthetical Statements

4. When two singular subjects are connected by or, nor, either/or, neither/nor, use a singular verb. Neither Mary nor Jill (is, are) in the play. In sentences with either/or and neither/nor, if one subject is singular and the other plural, the verb agrees with the nearer subject. Neither the rangers nor the hunter (is, are) in sight. Either/or & Neither/nor

5. When the following are used as subjects, use a singular verb: anyone, anybody, anything, someone, something, everyone, everybody, everything, no one, nothing, either, neither, each, another, many a. Either of the answers (is, are) correct Many a man (has, have) gone astray. Be careful of prepositional phrases that interrupt the subject and its verb. Everybody in the crowded shopping center, in the food stores, and in the specialty shops, as well as those who filled the department stores down the street, (was, were) looking for bargains. Indefinite Pronouns

6. If none means not one or no one else, use a singular verb. In some instances, the rest of the sentence will make a plural form more appropriate. None (is, are) so foolish as a man who will not listen to advice. None (is, are) so foolish as men who will not listen to advice. None Rule

7. Collective nouns like jury, team, orchestra, crowd, family, Yale, take a singular verb if the collective is thought of as a whole. If the sentence makes it clear that members are acting separately, use a plural. The jury (is, are) deliberating. My family (has, have) settled in five different states. Collective Nouns

8. Number can take a singular or plural. Use a plural when a number means many. Use a singular when number refers to one number. A number of bugs (is, are) crawling on my roses. A number that many people consider to be unlucky (is, are) thirteen. FYI: Singular: criterion, datum, phenomenon, medium. Plural: criteria, data, phenomena, media. Number/A Number

9. Be careful when the verb precedes its subject. There (is, are) hidden away in a lonely house out on the heath a brother and sister living alone. There (is, are) in London and New York newspapers a self-satisfaction that is not found in the papers of smaller cities. Subject/verb order

10. The number (singular or plural) of a pronoun is determined by its antecedent, and pronouns must agree with their antecedents. The workers finished (her, their) job on time. The man earns (his, their) money. The men who earn (his, their) money are tired. Pronoun Agreement

11. Pronoun/Verb Agreement is tricky when the antecedent is difficult to determine; you’ll need to separate the sentence into clauses. Rosen is the only one of the five American musicians who (has, have) entered the competition who (is, are) likely to win a medal. Pronoun Agreement, cont.

12. Use a singular pronoun when the antecedent is anyone, anybody, anything, someone, somebody, something, everything, everyone, everybody, no one, nobody, either, neither, each, another, one, person, man, woman, kind, sort. None of the girls in the class finished (her, their) assignment on time. Each of the boys ate (his, their) ice cream. Indefinite Pronouns (2)

13. When antecedents are joined by or or nor, the pronoun should agree with the nearer antecedent. Neither the mother nor the daughters brought (her, their) cars. Neither the daughters nor the mother brought (her, their) car. Or/nor