RECOGNIZING SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT ERRORS

  1. 1. Identify allVERBS.(Test sentence: “I can ___.” OR “I ___.”)
  1. Check for any prepositions; cross out any prepositional phrases. Subjects are never in prepositional phrases.

Common prepositions:

aboutbecause ofexceptoftoward

abovebeforeforonunder

acrossbehindfromontountil

afterbelowinoverup

amongbesidein spite ofpastupon

aroundbetweenintothroughwith

asbyliketillwithout

atduringnearto

  1. Identify allREAL SUBJECTS. (Test question: “Who/What does theverb? “Who/What ___?”)
  1. For each subject-verb pair, check if the SUBJECT is singular or plural.

[Verbs are underlined; subjects are boxed.]

 Substitute the word “IT” in place of a SINGULARSUBJECT.

  • Ex. The studentwas late. → “student” → singular subject → “it” for “student”→

“It” was late.

 Substitute the word “THEY” in place of a PLURAL SUBJECT.

  • Ex. The studentswas late. → “students” →plural subject → “they” for “students”→

“They” was late.

  1. Now check the match between the substituteSUBJECT (“IT”/”THEY”) and the VERB.

Does the “it” + VERB match?

  • Ex. “It” was (late.) Yes, match = S-V Agreement is OK

Does the “they” + VERB match?

  • Ex. “They” was (late.) No, no match= S-V Agreement error

To correct the S-V error, change either the SUBJECT or

VERB so that the pair matches.

(over)

Problem Areas

  • Subjects are never part of a prepositional phrase: Prepositional phrases often occur between the subject and the verb. Do not confuse the object of the prepositional phrase with the real subject of the verb.
  • Two subjects joined by andare plural.
  • The wagon and the chairwere for sale.
  • There/Here: In a sentence beginning with there or here, the order of the subject and verb is reversed.
  • There were several people in the park this morning.
  • Here is the person with the keys.
  • If a subject is modified by each or every, it is singular.
  • Eachmarine and soldierwas responsible for a section of the beach.
  • Everyrunner and spectatoris eager for the start.
  • Indefinite pronouns are usually singular.
  • anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, somebody, someone, something
  • A few nouns and indefinite pronouns, such as none, some, all, most, more, half, or part, (and other fractions), may sometimes be considered plural and sometimes singular, depending on the prepositional phrase that follows them.
  • (singular)Halfof the milk is nonfat.
  • (plural)Halfof the storeswere open.
  • When either/or, neither/not, or or joins the subjects, the verb agrees with the subject closer to it.
  • Neither the bear nor the tigerswant to enter the enclosure.
  • Neither the tigers nor the bearwants to enter the enclosure.
  • Collective nouns usually take the singular form of the verb. Collective nouns represent groups of people or things, but they are considered singular in writing.
  • Audience, band, class, committee, crowd, family, flock, group, herd, jury, society, team
  • The classwas asked to leave the room quickly. The teamruns twenty laps each day.
  • A few nouns end in “s” but are considered singular; they take the singular form of the verb. These nouns include economics, gymnastics, mathematics, measles, mumps, news, physics, and politics.
  • Physicsis not my favorite subject.
  • The newswas unusual tonight.
  • When units of measurement for distance, time, weight, volume, height, weight, money, and so on are used as subjects, they take the singular verb form.
  • Five gallons of water was all that we needed.
  • Forty milesis a long hike.

Examples

Underline the verbs and box thereal subjects in each sentence; then use the Steps to determine whether the sentence contains any subject-verb agreement errors. If a sentence contains an error, highlight the error. Corrections are in brackets [].

Car insurance ratesare most fairly determined by a person’s age, sex, and area of residence. An older personneed[s] to have lower rates than a younger person because hehas more maturity and are[is] less likely to have an accident. Insurance ratesneed to be based on sex because of certain characteristics that men and women drivershas[have]. The area in which a personresideswould also affect insurance rates, since there is[are] certain places where a caris in more danger of being damaged or stolen.