Here we have discussed the most important topic from English Grammar- Subject Verb Agreement with rules and examples which may be helpful for your upcoming exams.
Subject Verb-Concord
Concord means agreement which means the verb agrees with the number and person of the subject.
Singular subject- singular verb (means singular verb is used with singular subject)
Plural subject- plural verb (means plural verb is used with plural subject.)
Example:
1. He is reading a novel.
2. They are singing a song.
Rule1. When Subject is a noun phrase, the verb must agree with the head- word.
Example:
1. One of the girls lives in our colony.
Rule2. When two or more singular subjects joined by ‘and’ refer to two separate persons or things we use plural verb.
Example:
1. Mr John and Mrs Mary are walking in the garden.
2. Allahabad and Lucknow are well known cities.
Rule3. When two singular nouns are joined by ‘and’ and refer to same person or thing the verb must be in singular.
Example:
1.The horse and carriage is at the door.
2. The poet and singer is on the stage.
Rule4. When two singular subjects together Express one idea then the verb will be in singular
Example:
1. Two and two makes four.
2. Bread and butter is my favourite breakfast.
Rule5. When two or more singular subjects joined by- with/together with/and not/besides/no less than, the verb will be in singular.
Example:
1. Rahul and not Geeta is at fault.
2. The servant together with the master has left.
Rule6. When two subjects are joined by as well as the verb agrees with the first subject.
Example:
1. Rahul as well as his friends is hard working.
2. His friends as well as Rahul are hardworking.
Rule7. Either, neither, each, every and everyone are followed by a singular verb.
Example:
1. Each of these girls is very beautiful.
2. Neither of them gets the highest score.
Rule8. When the sentence begins with ‘there’ the verb agrees with the number of the noun that follows it.
Example:
1. There are thirty students in our class.
2.There was a huge rush in the market.
Rule9. When the relative pronoun begins a clause, the verb follows its antecedent in number, person and gender.
Example:
1. I met a man who was very old. (third person singular antecedent)
Rule10. Nouns which indicate the name of country, province, a title of a book- take a singular subject.
Example:
1. West Indies is a group of Islands.
2. The Arabian Nights is a collection of stories.
Rule11. When a plural noun expresses some specific quantity or amount considered as a whole the verb is in singular.
Example:
1. Twenty kilometres is not a long distance.
Rule12. Some nouns which are plural in form but they are singular in meaning and take a singular verb.
Example:
1. Physics is my favourite subject.
2. English is an international language.
Rule13. A collective noun generally takes a singular verb when the subject stands for the collection as a whole.
Example:
1. The Jury was unanimous in its decision.
Rule14. Collective nouns take a plural verb when the subject stands for the individuals of which it is composed.
Example:
1. The Jury were divided in their opinions.
I hope that you would have enjoyed the topic subject-verb agreement. If you have any query regarding this chapter, please feel free to get in touch with me through comment box or social media and I assure you to resolve all your queries related to the topic as soon as possible.
Nice study material.