Subject Verb Concord Slideshare

Rule 1:
A Singular Subject takes Singular Verb and a Plural Subject takes Plural Verb.
And
A Subject must agree with a Verb in number and in person.
Example:
Ist person I, We am, are
Iind person You, You are
IIIrd person He, She, It(singular) is; plural takes are e.g. they are
• If we talk about one person, place or thing we term it as Singular else more than one
person, place or thing is termed as Plural.
Example:
A girl is dancing on the stage.
The girls are dancing on the stage.
*Important to Note:
This rule is a golden rule which is applicable with other rules as well.

Rule 2 :
The Introductory ‘There’ and ‘Here’:
When ‘There’ is popping up as an introductory word than the Verb must agree with the
Subject that follows it.
Example:
There is a pen.
There are papers lying on the table.
Here are your sheets.
Rule 3:
The Error of Proximity:
Sometimes the Subject is separated from its Verb by a group of words called phrase or
clause. In such cases we should be careful.
•We should consider the main Subject only and ignore the words inside the commas.
•For Example:”of this mill’, ‘ along with’, ‘who are sitting under tree’ are to be ignored.

Rule 4:
When two singular nouns or pronouns joined by ’and’ and they are different
person, place or thing than plural verb must be chosen to strike an agreement.
Important To Note:
• In case of different persons or things are referred to, the article is used before
each Noun and the Verb is plural.
•On the other hand, if two nouns denote same person, same thing or same idea
the article will be used before the first noun and the Verb is singular.
1. The Geeta and The Ramyana ____are_____(is / are) holy books.
2. Slow and steady ___wins______(win / wins / won) the race.

Rule 5:
The following indefinite Pronouns take singular Verbs:
Either, neither, each, one, nothing, no one, nobody, every, everyone, everybody,
everything, anybody, anything, anyone, somebody, someone, something, one of the,
many a, other, another
The following indefinite Pronouns take plural Verbs:
Both, several, few, many (BSFM)
The following indefinite pronouns take either singular or plural verb depending upon
subject:
Some, Any, None, All, Most, Enough, Half(SANAMHE)
IF subject is COUNTABLE: Plural verb is used.
If it is UNCOUNTABLE: Singular verb is used.
1. Either of these two girls ______is____(is/ are) suited to the job.
2. One of these books _____belongs_____(belong/belonged/belongs) to me.
3. Many a man ____has____(has/have) done so.

RULE 6:
When two Subjects are joined by ‘either… or’, ‘neither …. Nor’,
‘not only … but also’, or, nor, not…but the Verb must agree with
the latter Subject. Four Probabilities:
SS ….SS—SV
SS….PS—PV
PS….PS—PV
PS….SS—SV
Either the dog or the cat ____has_____(has/have) drank the milk.
WHEN “I” IS ONE OF THE SUBJECT,IT SHOULD BE WRITTEN AS THE
SECOND SUBJECT.

Rule 7:
Some nouns which are Plural in form, but Singular in meaning, take a Singular Verb; as
Mathematics, News, Economics, Physics, Politics, Wages, Measles, Innings, The
Arabian Nights, The West Indies, Billiards, Summons.
When a Plural Noun form denotes some specific quantity or amount considered as
whole, it takes a singular verb.
Nouns singular in form, but Plural in meaning take a Plural Verb.
‘A pair of’ is treated as Singular and take a Singular Verb.
With scissors, spectacles ,gloves, shoes which are formed with two parts, Plural Verb is
taken.
Rule 8:
When two Subjects are joined with ‘as well as’, ‘with’, ‘in addition to’, ‘together
with’, ‘besides’, no less than’, ‘and not’, the Verb agree with the first Subject.

RULE : 7 & 8
1. Mathematics ___is_________(is / are) a difficult subject.
2. A pair of gloves ___is_______(is/are) gifted to me by my
mother.
3. My scissors _____are______(is/are) sharp.
4. Labor, in addition to ability, ___is_______(is/are) needed for
success.
5. Madhu, no less than, Meena ___is_____(is / are) at fault.
1. ___is_____(is / are) at fault.

Rule 9:
A Collective Noun takes a singular Verb when the collection is thought of as a whole;
And
a Plural Verb when we think of its members individually.
*Collective Noun:
A Collective Noun denotes a group or collection of similar individuals or things of the same
kind.
Example:
Team, army, bunch, crowd, class, family, mob, flock, herd, fleet, jury, ration, committee etc.
NOTE:
1. A Collective Noun denotes one undivided whole, in this case it takes a singular Verb, as:
Our team has won the match.
A jury consists of twelve person.
2. A Noun of multitude denotes the individuals of the group; and hence the Verb is plural,
as:
The Jury (the men on the jury) were divided in their opinions.

RULE: 9
1. The jury ____have___(has/have) different opinions.
2. The jury _____has____(have/has) five members.

Rule: 10
When Adjectives i.e, Much, More, little, less are used as Nouns, they take Singular
Verb.
Rule: 11
• When ‘the number of’ is used with a Subject, Singular Verb is used.
When ‘a number of’ is used with a Subject, the Plural Verb is used.

RULE: 10
1. Much of his wealth ___has______(has/have) been wasted.
2. Less than half the amount ___was__(was/were) paid.
3. More cream______is____(is/are) needed to make the soup
tasty.
RULE: 11
1. A number of boys ___were____(was/were) absent.
2. The number of absentees___is______(is/are) very large.

RULE : 12
•‘A lot of’, ‘A great deal of’, A plenty of’, when they refer to amount, a Singular
Verb is used; when they refer to number, a Plural Verb is used.
• ‘The majority of’ is used only for number and takes a Plural Verb.
•With Units of measurements, Amount, time period singular verb is used
whenever these will act as single unit.
•E.G Ten miles IS a long distance.
•Fifty years IS a long time.
•Ten crores IS a huge amount.

RULE : 12
1. A lot of work _____has___(has/have) been finished.
2. A lot of people ____were_______(was/were) present there in
the meeting.
3. The majority of people___want__(want/wants) peace.

Rule 13:Fraction
With words indicating parts or fractions-
percent,fraction,part,remainder etc just look at the noun
which is object of the preposition in your phrase to know
whether to use singular verb or plural verb.
E.G. ¼ of a cake is missing.
Here object of preposition “of” is CAKE which is singular
so singular verb IS is used.
¼ of the cakes are missing.
Here object of preposition “of” is CAKES which is plural so
plural verb ARE is used.

Rule 14: Who, That, Which
Whenever these pronouns act as a subject of the
verb and that also in the middle of the sentence,
then verb agrees to the noun or pronoun coming
immediately before who/which/that.
E.G. Albert is the scientist who loves to read
books.
before who, SCIENTIST is placed which is singular
so singular verb LOVES is used
He is one of the MEN who DO the work.
Before who, MEN is used which is plural so plural
verb DO is used.

Subject Verb Concord Slideshare

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Subject Verb Concord Slideshare