SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT

Basic Principle: Singular subjects need singular verbs; plural subjects

need plural verbs. My brother is a nutritionist. My sisters are mathematicians.

See the section on Plurals for additional help with subject-verb

agreement.

The indefinite pronouns anyone, everyone, someone, no one,

nobody are always singular and, therefore, require singular verbs.

Everyone has done his or her homework.

Somebody has left her purse.

Some indefinite pronouns — such as all, some — are singular or plural

depending on what they're referring to. (Is the thing referred to countable or

not?) Be careful choosing a verb to accompany such pronouns.

Some of the beads are missing.

Some of the water is gone.

On the other hand, there is one indefinite pronoun, none, that can be either

singular or plural; it often doesn't matter whether you use a singular or a plural

verb — unless something else in the sentence determines its number. (Writers

generally think of none as meaning not any and will choose a plural verb, as in

"None of the engines are working," but when something else makes us

regard none as meaningnot one, we want a singular verb, as in "None of the food

is fresh.")

None of you claims responsibility for this incident?

None of you claim responsibility for this incident?

None of the students have done their homework. (In this

last example, the word their precludes the use of the singular

verb.

Some indefinite pronouns are particularly

troublesome Everyone and everybody (listed above, also)

certainly feel like more than one person and, therefore, students are sometimes

tempted to use a plural verb with them. They are always singular,

though. Each is often followed by a prepositional phrase ending in a plural word

(Each of the cars), thus confusing the verb choice. Each,too, is always singular

and requires a singular verb.

Everyone has finished his or her homework.

You would always say, "Everybody is here." This means that the word is singular

and nothing will change that.

Each of the students is responsible for doing his or her work in the library.

Don't let the word "students" confuse you; the subject is each and each is always

singular — Each is responsible.

Phrases such as together with, as well as, and along with are not the

same as and. The phrase introduced by as well as or along with will

modify the earlier word (mayor in this case), but it does

not compound the subjects (as the word and would do).

The mayor as well as his brothers is going to prison.

The mayor and his brothers are going to jail.

The pronouns neither and either are singular and require singular

verbs even though they seem to be referring, in a sense, to two

things.

Neither of the two traffic lights is working.

Which shirt do you want for Christmas?

Either is fine with me.

In informal writing, neither and either sometimes take a plural verb when these

pronouns are followed by a prepositional phrase beginning with of. This is

particularly true of interrogative constructions: "Haveeither of you two clowns

read the assignment?" "Are either of you taking this seriously?" Burchfield calls

this "a clash between notional and actual agreement."*

The conjunction or does not conjoin (as and does):

when nor or or is used the subject closer to the verb determines the

number of the verb. Whether the subject comes before or after the

verb doesn't matter; the proximity determines the number.

Either my father or my brothers are going to sell the house.

Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the house.

Are either my brothers or my father responsible?

Is either my father or my brothers responsible?

Because a sentence like "Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the

house" sounds peculiar, it is probably a good idea to put the plural subject

closer to the verb whenever that is possible.

The words there and here are never subjects.

There are two reasons [plural subject] for this.

There is no reason for this.

Here are two apples.

With these constructions (called expletive constructions), the subject follows

the verb but still determines the number of the verb.

Verbs in the present tense for third-person, singular subjects (he,

she, it and anything those words can stand for) have s-endings.

Other verbs do not add s-endings.

He loves and she loves and they love_ and . . . .

Sometimes modifiers will get betwen a subject and its verb, but

these modifiers must not confuse the agreement between the

subject and its verb.

The mayor, who has been convicted along with his four brothers on four counts of various crimes but who also seems, like a cat, to have several political lives, is finally going to jail.

Sometimes nouns take weird forms and can fool us into thinking

they're plural when they're really singular and vice-versa. Consult

the section on the Plural Forms of Nouns and the section onCollective

Nouns for additional help. Words such as glasses, pants, pliers, and scissors are

regarded as plural (and require plural verbs) unless they're preceded the

phrase pair of (in which case the word pair becomes the subject).

My glasses were on the bed.

My pants were torn.

A pair of plaid trousers is in the closet.

Some words end in -s and appear to be plural but are really singular and require

singular verbs.

The news from the front is bad.

Measles is a dangerous disease for pregnant women.

On the other hand, some words ending in -s refer to a single thing but are

nonetheless plural and require a plural verb.

My assets were wiped out in the depression.

The average worker's earnings have gone up dramatically.

Our thanks go to the workers who supported the union.

The names of sports teams that do not end in "s" will take a plural verb: the

Miami Heat have been looking … , The Connecticut Sun are hoping that new

talent … . See the section on plurals for help with this problem.

Fractional expressions such as half of, a part of, a percentage of, a

majority of are sometimes singular and sometimes plural,

depending on the meaning. (The same is true, of course, when all,

any, more, most and some act as subjects.) Sums and products of mathematical

processes are expressed as singular and require singular verbs. The expression

"more than one" (oddly enough) takes a singular verb: "More than one

student has tried this."

Some of the voters are still angry.

A large percentage of the older population is voting against

her.

Two-fifths of the troops were lost in the battle.

Two-fifths of the vineyard was destroyed by fire.

Forty percent of the students are in favor of changing the

policy.

Forty percent of the student body is in favor of changing the

policy.

Two and two is four.

Four times four divided by two is eight.

If your sentence compounds a positive and a negative subject and

one is plural, the other singular, the verb should agree with the

positive subject.

The department members but not the

chair have decided not to teach on Valentine's Day.

It is not the faculty members but the president

who decides this issue.

It was the speaker, not his ideas, that has provoked the

students to riot.

MAJOR COMMA USES

COMMA RULE #1 – THE COMMA IN A SERIES: Use commas to separate items in a series.

What is a ”series”?

A “series” is a list of 3 or more items, the last two of which are joined by and, or, or nor.

_____________, ______________, and _____________

EXAMPLES:

Any of these can be put into sentence form.

The important things to remember about using commas in series are these:

1. A series includes 3 or more items of the same type (words or groups of words).

2. The series is connected by and, or, or nor before the last item.

3. A comma separates items in the series, including the final item preceded by and, or, or nor.

Now click on the link below to do exercise 1.

Link to Exercise 1

COMMA RULE #2 – THE COMMA WITH COORDINATE ADJECTIVES: Use commas between coordinate adjectives.

What are “coordinate adjectives”?

“Coordinate adjectives” are adjectives placed next to each other that are equal in importance.

Two tests to determine whether adjectives are coordinate are the following:

1. See whether “and” can be smoothly placed between them.

2. See whether the adjectives’ order can be reversed.

Look at this example.

In this example, a comma belongs between happy and lively because they are coordinate adjectives.

Test to make certain:

First, try the “and” test.

And placed between the 2 adjectives sounds smooth.

Second, try reversing the adjectives.

When the adjectives are reversed, the sentence still makes sense.

Thus, happy and lively are coordinate adjectives in the example and should be separated by a comma.

CAUTION: Not all adjective pairs are coordinate adjectives. Thus, not all adjectives should be separated from one another by a comma.

Look at this example.

In this example, no comma belongs between the two adjectives young and golden because they are not coordinate adjectives.

How can we know?

First, try the “and” test.

And placed between the two adjectives does not fit smoothly.

Second, try reversing the adjectives.

When the two adjectives are reversed, they do not make sense.

Thus, young and golden are not coordinate adjectives and should not be separated by a comma.

Now click on the link below to do exercise 2.

Link to Exercise 2

COMMA RULE #3 – THE COMMA IN A COMPOUND SENTENCE: Use a comma before and, but, or, nor, for, so, or yet to join two independent clauses that form a compound sentence.

What is a compound sentence?

A compound sentence is a sentence that has 2 independent clauses.

An independent clause is a group of words with a subject and verb that expresses a complete thought. It is also known as a simple sentence. An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence.

The two independent clauses in a compound sentence can be joined by:

A. Semicolons

OR

B. A comma and one of the seven joining words: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. (Taken together, the first letters spell “FANBOYS.”)

This last type of compound sentence is the one we will concentrate on for comma use.

A compound sentence must have two independent clauses – not just two verbs, two nouns, or two groups of words that are not independent clauses.

Look at this example.

In the above example, two verb groups are being joined by and. The second verb group does NOT have a subject; thus, it is NOT an independent clause.

Therefore, NO comma belongs before and.

This example is a simple sentence with a compound verb, not a compound sentence.

However, we can make this sentence into a compound sentence by simply making the last verb part into an independent clause.

Now we have a “bona fide” compound sentence. The two independent clauses are separated by a comma and the word and.

Here are some other examples which illustrate the difference between compound elements in simple sentences (no comma) and true compound sentences (comma).

Now you are ready to try an exercise.

Make certain that you:

1. Know the seven joining words (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

2. Can distinguish between simple sentences with compound elements (no comma) and compound sentences (comma).

Now click on the link below to do exercise 3.

LINK TO EXERCISE 3

COMMA RULE #4 – THE COMMA WITH INTRODUCTORY WORDS: Place a comma after introductory phrases that tell where, when, why, or how.

Specifically . . . use a comma:

1. After a long introductory phrase.

Example:

Usually, it is NOT necessary to use a comma after short introductory prepositional phrases.

Example:

2. After an introductory phrase made up of “to” plus a verb and any modifiers (“infinitive”) that tells why.

Example:

Use a comma even after a short “to” + verb phrase that answers why.

Example:

You can tell you have this kind of introductory “to” + verb phrase when you can put the words “in order” in front of the phrase.

Example:

Be careful! Not all introductory “to” phrases tell why.

3. After an introductory clause that answers

when? where? why? how? to what degree?

(A “clause” is a group of words with a subject and a verb.)

Examples:

NOTE: When such a clause comes at the end of a sentence, do NOT use a comma.

Examples:

Now click on the link below to do exercise 4.

Link to Exercise 4

COMMA RULE #5 – THE COMMA WITH NONESSENTIAL WORDS, PHRASES, AND CLAUSES: Separate with a comma any nonessential words or groups of words from the rest of the sentence.

1. Separate “interrupter” words like however, nevertheless, yes, no, of course, from the rest of the sentence.

Examples:

2. Separate a “renamer” (an appositive) from the rest of the sentence with a comma.

Example:

3. Separate adjective phrases from the essential parts of the sentence.

(An “adjective” describes or limits a noun.)

Examples:

In each instance above, “Mary Roberts ran down the street” comprises the essential part of the sentence. The adjective phrases are nonessential and should be separated from the rest of the sentence with commas.

4. Separate nonessential adjective clauses from the rest of the sentence.

There are two kinds of adjective clauses:

- one that is needed for the sentence to be complete (ESSENTIAL)

- one that is NOT needed for the sentence to be complete (NONESSENTIAL)

The essential adjective clause should NOT be separated from the sentence with commas.

The nonessential adjective clause (like other nonessential elements) SHOULD be separated with commas.

Two examples illustrate the difference:

A.

B.

Look at example A. If we remove the adjective clause “who robbed the bank,” the sentence reads, “The man was caught today.” Without the adjective clause (“who robbed the bank”), we do not know which man was caught. Thus, the adjective clause is needed to complete the sentence’s meaning. In other words, this adjective clause is essential. As the rule notes, do not use commas around essential adjective clauses.

Now look at example B. If we remove the adjective clause “who robbed the bank,” the sentence reads, “Sam Spider was caught today.” Without the adjective clause (“who robbed a bank”), wedo know which man was caught (Sam Spider). Thus, the adjective clause is NOT needed to complete the sentence’s meaning. In other words, this clause is nonessential. Following the rule, you should separate this adjective clause from the rest of the sentence.

REMEMBER, there are 4 nonessential elements that should be separated from the rest of the sentence with commas:

1. “interrupter” words like of course, however

2. “renamers” (appositives)

3. nonessential adjective phrases

4. nonessential adjective clauses

Answer Key Comma Splices and Fused Senteces - Exercise 5

For help with any item below, refer to this part of the Major Comma Uses page.

1. Recognizing the thief the policemen arrested him immediately. Correct answer: Recognizing the thief, the policemen arrested him immediately. Your answer: 2. The student who writes the best paper will receive the best grade. This sentence is correct as written.

Your answer: 3. Elias Moxley a famous trial lawyer will represent Ms.Tishman. Correct answer: Elias Moxley, a famous trial lawyer, will represent Ms.Tishman. Your answer: 4. Mary realizing her bad situation tried to convince her boss to give her a raise. Correct answer: Mary, realizing her bad situation, tried to convince her boss to give her a raise.

Your answer: 5. Bees for example have four wings. Correct answr: Bees, for example, have four wings. Your answer: 6. Ellen Terry who wrote letters to George Bernard Shaw was a famous actress. Correct answer: Ellen Terry, who wrote letters to George Bernard Shaw, was a famous actress. Your answer: 7. No you may not attend the game. Correct answer: No, you may not attend the game. Your answer: 8. Idaho which is famous for its potato crop is located in the Midwest. Correct answr: Idaho, which is famous for its potato crop, is located in the Midwest. Your answer: 9. A man who writes mysteries is visiting the school this week. This sentence is correct as written.

Your answer: 10. Undaunted by the loss Georgette resumed her law practice. Correct answer: Undaunted by the loss, Georgette resumed her law practice. Your answer: 11. Henderson Smith the mail carrier for our block always arrives on time. Correct answer: Henderson Smith, the mail carrier for our block, always arrives on time. Your answer: 12. The reason is of course obvious. Correct answer: The reason is, of course, obvious. Your answer: Commas should have been placed only to separate nonessential elements from the rest of the sentence.