24/07/2025
IMPORTANT AND CONFUSING SUBJECT AND VERB AGREEMENT RULES YOU SHOULD KNOW ‼️
🔹 1. Subjects Joined by "And" Take a Plural Verb
✅ Tom and Jerry are best friends.
❌ Tom and Jerry is best friends.
🟡 Exception: When "and" joins a single idea:
✅ Peanut butter and jelly is my favorite snack.
🔹 2. Subjects Joined by "Or" or "Nor" — Match Closest Subject
✅ Either the teacher or the students are here.
✅ Either the students or the teacher is here.
🟡 Rule: The verb agrees with the subject closer to it.
🔹 3. Indefinite Pronouns Can Be Singular, Plural, or Both
Singular Plural Both (Contextual)
Everyone Few All
Someone Many Some
Nobody Both Most
✅ Everyone is invited.
✅ Few are interested.
✅ Some of the cake is gone.
✅ Some of the cookies are missing.
🔹 4. Collective Nouns Are Usually Singular (in American English)
✅ The team is winning.
🟡 British English: "The team are winning."
🔹 5. Amounts and Measurements Take a Singular Verb
✅ Five dollars is enough.
✅ Ten kilometers is far to walk.
🔹 6. Titles of Works Are Singular
✅ "The Chronicles of Narnia" is a great book.
🔹 7. "Each" and "Every" Are Always Singular
✅ Each student has a book.
✅ Every boy and girl is ready.
🔹 8. "None" Can Be Singular or Plural
✅ None of the money is missing. (money = uncountable)
✅ None of the students are absent. (students = countable)
🔹 9. "One of" Is Singular
✅ One of the boys is sick.
🟡 Focus is on "one", not "boys".
🔹 10. Phrases Between Subject and Verb Don't Affect Agreement
✅ The teacher, along with the students, is ready.
🟡 Ignore phrases like "along with," "together with," "as well as."
🔹 11. Nouns That Look Plural but Are Singular
✅ Mathematics is difficult.
✅ News is on at 6.
🟡 Words ending in -s that are actually singular.
🔹 12. Nouns That Look Singular but Are Plural
✅ The police are investigating.
✅ The cattle are grazing.
🔹 13. Inverted Sentences – Verb Still Follows the Subject
✅ Where is the book?
✅ Here are the keys.
🟡 The verb agrees with the actual subject, not its position.
🔹 14. Gerunds as Subjects Take a Singular Verb
✅ Swimming is fun.
✅ Reading books is relaxing.
🔹 15. Subjects with "A Number of" vs. "The Number of"
✅ A number of people are missing. (plural)
✅ The number of people is surprising. (singular)
🔹 16. Plural Nouns Used as a Single Unit
✅ Spaghetti and meatballs is my favorite dish.
✅ Mac and cheese is delicious.
🟡 Focus on the whole dish, not separate items.
🔹 17. Quantifiers (a lot of, plenty of, etc.) Depend on the Noun
✅ A lot of water is wasted. (water = uncountable)
✅ A lot of students are absent. (students = countable)
🔹 18. "There is/are" – Verb Follows Closest Subject
✅ There is a book on the table.
✅ There are many books on the table.
🔹 19. "Who," "Which," or "That" as Subject — Match Antecedent
✅ She is one of the girls who are always late.
(“who” refers to “girls” → plural)
✅ She is the only one who is qualified.
(“who” refers to “one” → singular)
🔹 20. Don’t Be Fooled by Plural-Looking Phrases
✅ The United States is a country.
✅ The Philippines is beautiful.
✅ Measles is a serious illness.
🟡 These look plural but are grammatically singular.
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