Anh van

Subject and Verb Agreement
May 2007
Welcome to our class
Sing. S + Sing. V
Daisy does her homework every day.
Peter likes swimming a lot.
Plural S Plural V
They live in a very nice flat.
Children need to have a good education.
S (Uncount. Noun) Sing. V
The news makes her sad
do
like
live
need
make
1
S + [Prepositional phrase] + V
The danger of forest fires is not to be taken lightly.
The study of languages is very interesting.
The ideas in that book are interesting.
(Prepositional phrase has no effect on the Verb)
be
be
be
2
S1 with S2 + VS1
together with
along with
as well as
accompanied by
( these expressions have no effect on the Verb)
The actress, along with her manager and some friends, is going to a party tonight.
Mr. Robbins, accompanied by his wife and children, is arriving tonight.
be
be
3
Every body in our class is very nice.

If anyone calls, tell him I’ll be back later.
any + sing. Noun
anybody
anyone
anything
no one
nobody
nothing
some + sing. Noun
somebody
someone
something
every
everybody
everyone
everything
each
either *
neither*


Singular if they are not used with or and nor
S(indefinite pronoun) Sing.V
be
call
4
none + of the + Uncount. N + sing.V
None of the news is believable.
none + of the + plural count N + pluralV
None of the students have finished the exam yet.
sing. N
uncount. N
{
}
no +
sing.V
no + plural N + plural V
No example is relevant to this case.
No examples are relevant to this case.
5
Neither you nor Bill is going to the beach today.
Either John or you are going to the beach today.
Neither Ann nor her friends are going to class today.
either
neither
{
}
+ S1 +
{
}
or
nor
+ S2
VS2
be going
be going
be going
6

Ten dollars is not enough to buy a car.
Five years is a long time for her to wait.
Collective Nouns indicating time, money, and measurements used as a whole are Singular Verb
be
be
7

Teaching is my career.

Growing flowers is her hobby.
S is a Gerund + Sing. V
be
be
8

What I know is very simple.

That you get good marks makes your parents happy.
S is a Clause + Sing. V
be
make
9
Collective Nouns
Also many words indicating a number of people or animal are singular. The following are usually singular:
government family team club group committee army class crowd public
congress majority* minority
( majority is followed by a plural N → usually plural V)
The crowd was wild with excitement.
Our team is going to win the game.
( In some cases they are plural if the sentences indicate that the individual members are acting separately).
10
a number of + plural N + plural V…
the number of + plural Noun + sing.V…
A number of students are going to the class picnic.
The number of days in a week is seven.
The number of residents who have been questioned on this matter is quite small.
(a number of = many)
be going
be
be
11
Tom and Mary go to school every day.

The actress and her manager are going to a party tonight.
S1 and S2 + Plural V

go
be going
12
S gồm nhiều N nhưng chỉ cùng 1 người hay 1 vật.
Những N tận cùng với "s" như tên các môn học, các ngành hoạt động hay các chứng bệnh.
use Sing.V when:
13
Any questions?

Now open your books
Do Practice1
Subject & Verb Agreement.
Student’s book p. 120
Exercise
1. A number of reports (be) ________ given
are
2. My uncle’s old friend and comrade (be)
_________ there very often
is
3. The loss of these books (be)________ important
is
4. Neither Susan nor her friends (know) __________
French .
know
5.Under the trees (be) ___________ a young boy .
is
6. Two-third of the class (be) __________ under 15 .
are
7. Not only the boys but also Tom (be)________ there .
is
8. Mike as well as his friends (have) ________ come .
has
9. Five kilos of potatoes (make) _________ the bag heavy
makes
10. Most of the food (have) _________ been spoiled .
has
11. Neither you nor Anna (be) ________ correct .
is
12.The author and lecturer of the book (be) _____ coming
is
GIVE THE CORRECT FORM OF THE VERBS IN PARENTHESES:
What time (be) ______________the news on television?
The police (have) ______________arrested the thief.
Physics (be) ______________more difficult than Chemistry.
Ten tons of rice (cost) ______________a great deal of money.
Three years (be) ______________a long time without a job.
Five thousand dollars (be) ______________a big sum.
The growth of the frozen food business (have) ______________called for the skills of engineers.
Tom and I (be) ______________cousins.
Two hours (be) ______________a long time to wait.
The production of dyes, perfumes and explosive (have) ______________made a lot of progress.
Five days (be, not) ______________enough for a good holiday.
The police (want) ______________to interview my friend about a robbery.
The people (arrive) ______________early for the lecture.
Economics (be) ______________John’s major field of study.
A number of students (come) ______________to the party.
Better methods of refrigeration (depend) ______________on engineers.
Two hundred and twenty dollars (be, not) ______________much.
The news about Mr. Hogan (be) ______________surprising.
The old in my country (be) ______________cared for by their children.
A large amount of money (be) ______________spent on the film “Titanic”.
THANK YOU