Special Problems in Subject-Verb Agreement

• Collective nouns may be either singular or plural, depending on their meaning in a sentence.– A collective noun is a noun whose singular form

names a group. Examples: army, class, crowd, squad, team.

• A collective noun is– Singular when it refers to the group as a unit– Plural when it refers to the individual members or

parts of the group.

Example Sentences

• Singular: The class has met its substitute teacher. (The class as a unit)

• Plural: The class were disagreeing with one another about the answers. (The class as individuals)

• When the subject follows the verb, find the subject and make sure that the verb agrees with it.– In sentences beginning with here or there and in

questions, the subject generally follows the verb or part of the verb.

• Examples:– Here is a set of keys.– Here are the keys.

• An expression of an amount (a measurement, a percentage, or a fraction, for example) may be singular or plural depending on how it is used.

• An expression of an amount is– Singular when the amount is thought of as a unit– Plural when the amount is thought of as separate

parts.

Examples:

• Singular: Two years is a long time. (One amount of time.)

• Plural: Two years (2006 and 2008) were especially rainy. (Separate Years.)

• The contractions don’t and doesn’t should agree with their subjects.– Use don’t (the contraction of do not) with plural

subjects.– Use doesn’t (the contraction of does not) with all

singular subjects.• Some nouns that are plural in form take

singular verbs. The following nouns take singular verbs:

Civics Gymnastics MolassesEconomics Linguistics MumpsElectronics Mathematics NewsGenetics Measles Physics

• Even when plural in form, the title of a creative work (such as a book, song, movie, or painting) generally takes a singular verb.–Examples: •Majors and Minors is a collection of Paul

Laurence Dunbar’s poetry. (One book)• The Gleaners is a famous painting by

Jean-Francois Millet. (One painting)•Meet the Robinsons is a well-known

movie. (One movie.)

• Even when plural in form, the name of a country, a city, or an organization generally takes a singular verb.–Examples: • The Solomon Islands is in the South

Pacific Ocean.• Is Grand Rapids smaller than Detroit?• Carrier Computers is having a sale on

laptops.

The End