Singular/Plural Agreement
For a quick review of singular and plural agreement, select any of the following:
Phrases and Words That Require Singular Verbs | Fractions | Phrases That Require Plural Verbs
Phrases and Words That Require Singular Verbs
Some of the homework is...
Some of the book is...(only one book, but this refers to part of the book)
A lot of the book is... (same as above, only one book)
One of my employees is...
Each of my sisters is...
None of the computers is ...(formal usage)
The number of words is...
Every one of the streets is...
Somebody/someone/something is...
Either/neither the president or/nor the vice president is...
Anyone/anybody/anything is...
Nothing in this school is...
A series of computers is...
A pair of shoes, pants, trousers is... (however, "these pairs of pants are…" or "the pants are…")
Noncount nouns:
The furniture is...
The sugar is…
The information is…
Expressions of time, money, and distance:
Three hours is the time needed to complete this test.
Traveling fifty thousand miles is a long time to spend in an airplane.
Ten thousand dollars is a lot of money to spend on an education.
Collective nouns:
class, team, government, staff, committee, public, family, crowd, group
Fractions
Fractions modifying singular nouns take singular verbs:
Two thirds of the book is outdated.
Fractions modifying plural nouns take plural verbs:
Two thirds of the books have already arrived.
Fractions modifying a collective noun can take either singular or plural:
Two thirds of the population of Lebanon is Muslim.
Two thirds of the population of Lebanon are Muslims.
Phrases That Require Plural Verbs
Some of the notes are...
None of the computers are...(informal usage)
A lot of the lectures are... A number of the students are...
A couple of the machines are...
People groups:
The English are accustomed to... (people from England)
The French are accustomed to...(people from France)
A verb agrees with the subject even if interrupted by a prepositional phrase:
This list of names is not very complete. (The verb "is" agrees with the subject "list.")
A verb agrees with its subject even when interrupted by phrases such as: in addition to, such as, including, as well as and similar expressions:
The teacher as well as the students agrees with this opinion. (The verb "agrees" modifies the subject "teacher.")
A verb agrees with the subject regardless of the location of the subject:
There are many difficulties facing us today. (The verb "are" agrees with the subject "difficulties.")
Subjects joined by AND require plural verbs:
The teacher and the student are tired.
Subjects joined by OR or NOR need to agree with the closer subject:
Neither the teacher nor the students are excited about the lesson. (The subject "are" agrees with "students," the closer subject.)
Singular or Plural VerbsCount/Noncount Nouns
A noun will be either countable or uncountable. If it is uncountable (noncount) it generally cannot be taken apart as individual units. There are some general guidelines for figuring out which category a noun falls into, but many times you will simply have to memorize which nouns are countable and which are uncountable. Noncount nouns are always accompanied by a singular verb “is,” “need” and singular determiners “this” or generic terms like “some” or “a lot of.”
This information is not appropriate for school.
Some information is out of place.
A lot of information is incorrect.
You cannot say:
Few information
Many information
These information
For a quick review of count and noncount nouns, select any of the following:
Common Noncount Nouns | Alternatives to Using Noncount Nouns
Common Noncount Nouns
Go through the following groups of noncount nouns and identify the nouns you did not realize were noncount nouns.
Write a sentence for each word you highlighted in your notebook.
Whole groups made up of separate items:
postage, software, research, machinery, hardware, cash, advice, mail, garbage, equipment, money, clothing, luggage, fruit, furniture, information, jewelry, jargon
Fluids:
water, coffee, tea, milk, oil, soup, gasoline, blood, wine, liquid
Solids:
ice, bread, butter, cheese, meat, gold, iron, silver, glass, paper, wood, cotton, wool
Gases:
steam, air, oxygen, nitrogen, smoke, smog, pollution
Particles:
rice, chalk, corn, dirt, flour, grass, hair, pepper, salt, sand, sugar, wheat, grain
Languages:
Chinese, English, Spanish, German, Japanese
Sports:
baseball, soccer, volleyball, football, cricket
Fields of study:
chemistry, engineering, business, mathematics, economics, literature
General activities:
driving, studying, swimming, traveling, walking (and other-ing nouns)
Natural phenomena:
weather, dew, fog, smog, hail, heat, humidity, lightning, rain, snow, wind, darkness, light, sunshine, electricity, fire, gravity
Diseases:
measles, mumps, influenza or flu
Abstractions:
advice, information, research, news, evidence, energy, grammar, knowledge, vocabulary, confidence, courage, education, fun, happiness, health, help, honesty, hospitality, importance, intelligence, justice, significance, justice, luck, music, patience, peace, progress, wealth, anger, secrecy, equality, friction, radar, combustion
Abstractions that can be used as countable or uncountable, depending on the context:
proof, time, space, fear, law truth, work, pressure, force, current, power, temperature, share
For example:
As an abstraction: Time is short when you are working hard. (referring to the concept of time)
Not an abstraction: I have seen this student 3 times. (not an abstraction, but a specific time)
Alternatives to Using Noncount Nouns
There is often a countable noun that could be used in place of the noncount noun if more specific reference is desired.
noncount noun / count nounluggage / suitcases
postage / stamps
machinery / machines
jewelry / necklaces
equipment / computers, machines
We can make noncount nouns countable or measurable by adding countable phrases:
3 pieces of equipment
3 types of software
3 kinds of information
3 cartons of juice
3 slices of bread
3 drops of water
3 teaspoons of oil
3 cups of tea
3 bottles of milk
3 watts of electricity
3 liters of gasoline
3 molecules of oxygen
For some noncount nouns, it is possible to change the noncount noun to an adjective, for example:
3 software packages... (the word software is now an adjective)
3 homework assignments...
3 postage stamps...
Singular or Plural VerbsDeterminers and Qualifiers
Determiners and qualifiers are the words that come before a noun.
Some books
A lot of books
Either the man or the woman
Certain words can be used with a countable noun and other words must be chosen when using a noncount noun. A few words can be used with either countable or noncount nouns.
The following words can be used with both countable and noncountable nouns:
Some – Some of the books
Some of the software
A lot of – A lot of the books
A lot of the software
Most of the – Most of the books
Most of the software
All of the – All of the books
All of the software
None of the – None of the books
None of the software
Enough – Enough of the books
Enough of the software
Hardly any – Hardly any of the books
Hardly any of the software
The – The books
The software
The following words can be used with countable nouns:
Some – I have some books.
A lot of – I have a lot of books.
Any – I don’t have any books.
Hardly any – I have hardly any books left after the sale.
Many – I have many books.
A – I have a book.
Both – I have both books.
Two (or any numbers) – I have two books.
Several – I have several books.
A couple of- I have a couple of books.
A few – I have a few books. (means some books)
Few – I have few books. (emphasizes is not having very many)
These – I have these books for you to sell.
A number of – I have a number of good books.
Enough – I have enough books for now.
Every – Every book in the collection is damaged.
Each – Each book is carefully packed.
The following words can be used with noncount nouns:
Much – I put too much sugar in my coffee.
A lot of – I have a lot of sugar.
Some – I have some sugar.
Hardly any – I have hardly any sugar
(no article) – I have sugar
the – I have the sugar that I brought back from the store.
This – This sugar is full of bugs.
Any – I don’t have any sugar in the house.
A little – I have a little sugar left in the bottom of the bowl.
Enough – I have enough sugar left for tonight’s dessert.
You cannot use the following words with noncount nouns:
Many
A
Both
Two (or any numbers)
Several
A couple of
A few
Few
These
A number of
Every
Each