⮚ Singular Subject takes a singular verb.
Examples:
Man is mortal.
This world is not worth living.
He was there.
The army has been called.
⮚ A plural subject takes a plural verb.
Example:
The police are coming
You were not alert.
The people of this world are selfish and ungrateful.
They have written many novels.
Example:
The police are coming
You were not alert.
The people of this world are selfish and ungrateful.
They have written many novels.
⮚ If two or more than two adjectives qualify a singular noun, the plural verb is used.
Adj + and + adj + S/N → P/V
Examples:
Social and political freedom are necessary.
⮚ When two subjects are connected by or, nor, either . . . or, neither . . . nor and not only . . . but also, the verb should be in agreement with the second subject.
Examples:
Neither you nor I am going there.
Either you or he was mistaken.
Not only the principal but also the teachers are present there.
She or her friends were in a dilemma.
⮚ After the words - each, one, each one, every, everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, anyone, anybody, no one, nobody, either, neither, many a, one of, more than one, none, advice, news, information, knowledge, rubbish, furniture etc. - a singular verb is used.
Examples:
Everyone is to blame.
No one is Mr. clean.
Nobody is coming to help you.
Neither road leads to the airport.
The furniture is made in India.
Note: A plural verb is used when 'each' follows a plural noun or a pronoun.
Adj + and + adj + S/N → P/V
Examples:
Social and political freedom are necessary.
⮚ When two subjects are connected by or, nor, either . . . or, neither . . . nor and not only . . . but also, the verb should be in agreement with the second subject.
Examples:
Neither you nor I am going there.
Either you or he was mistaken.
Not only the principal but also the teachers are present there.
She or her friends were in a dilemma.
⮚ After the words - each, one, each one, every, everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, anyone, anybody, no one, nobody, either, neither, many a, one of, more than one, none, advice, news, information, knowledge, rubbish, furniture etc. - a singular verb is used.
Examples:
Everyone is to blame.
No one is Mr. clean.
Nobody is coming to help you.
Neither road leads to the airport.
The furniture is made in India.
Note: A plural verb is used when 'each' follows a plural noun or a pronoun.
Example:
The college teachers each were against this law.
⮚ If words are added to a singular subject by with, together with, along with, in addition to, as well as, except, besides, and not, no less than, rather than, more than, like, unlike, including and excluding etc., the verb should agree with the first subject.
Examples:
I, as well as he, am thinking to buy a flat.
The minister, with all his bodyguards, is sitting in that car.
Industry, in addition to ability, is needed for success.
You rather than Bijaya, have misled these people.
The college teachers each were against this law.
⮚ If words are added to a singular subject by with, together with, along with, in addition to, as well as, except, besides, and not, no less than, rather than, more than, like, unlike, including and excluding etc., the verb should agree with the first subject.
Examples:
I, as well as he, am thinking to buy a flat.
The minister, with all his bodyguards, is sitting in that car.
Industry, in addition to ability, is needed for success.
You rather than Bijaya, have misled these people.
⮚ A compound subject joined by 'and' generally takes a plural verb.
Examples:
Soniya and Dina are good friends.
Wealth and happiness are all we desire.
⮚ If singular subjects are joined by 'and' and if there is each or every or no before anyone of them, the singular verb is used.
Examples:
Each boy and each girl is ready for the race.
Every Tom, Dick and Harry wears suit these days.
⮚ If the subject of a sentence begins with phrases such as A band of, A chain of, A bouquet of, A team of, A series of, A galaxy of, A pair of, A heard of, A bevvy of, A set of, A regiment of, A crowd of, A flock of, A class of, A group of, A bunch of, A batch of, A garland of, etc., it takes a singular verb though the word after 'of' is plural.
Examples:
A band of musicians has come.
A bunch of keys has been lost.
A series of accidents has taken place.
A bouquet of roses has been presented to Lalita.
⮚ If the subject of a sentence begins with a number of, the verb is always plural.
Example
A number of students are present today.
But if the subject begins with the number of the verb is singular.
Example:
The number of students has increased.
⮚ If the subject of the sentence begins with any one of these phrases: A great deal of, a good deal of, a large amount of, a lot of, some of, most of, in such situation the verb agrees with the object of the preposition 'of'.
Examples:
A good deal of time has been lost.
A large amount of stolen goods was recovered.
A great deal of courage is needed for it.
⮚ If the subject of a sentence begins with phrases indicating fractions such as a number of, A lot of, Lots of, Heaps of, Plenty of, A quarter of, Two-thirds of, Three-fourths of, Majority of, Minority of, A handful of etc. the verb agrees with the noun or pronoun that comes after the preposition 'of'.
Examples:
A quarter of it is useful.
Half of it is useful.
Lots of medicine has been prepared
Two-thirds of the site is lovely.
⮚ Nouns like - Cattle, people, police, clergy, gentry, poultry, public, swine, vermin etc. which are plural in number but do not have an 's' ending take a plural verb.
Examples:
The cattle are grazing.
The public are ignored.
⮚ If any one of the following words is used as a subject, always use plural verbs (the + adj.).
"The rich, the poor, the good, the bad, the honest, the dishonest, the virtuous, the wicked, the dumb, the deaf, the lame, the blind, the wounded, the injured, the guilty, the young, the old, the Chinese, the English, The Dutch etc."
Examples:
The good die soon.
The English are intelligent but shrewd.
The old are ignored
⮚ If the subject is a title, the name of a book, a clause, a quotation or other group of words expressing a single idea, the verb must be singular.
Examples:
'Tales from Shakespeare' is worth reading.
The United States is regarded as the most powerful country in the world today.
⮚ A singular verb is used after nouns like - economics, mathematics, physics, gymnastics, politics, linguistics, phonetics, etc.
But a plural verb is used when these words are preceded by possessive adjectives or articles .
Examples:
Mathematics is what I am weak in.
Her politics are very radical.
⮚ When several singular subjects represent the same person or thing or when they form a collective idea, a singular verb is used.
Examples
Bread and butter is our daily need.
Slow and steady wins the race.
Rice and curry is his favourite dish.
⮚ After an amount of money, distance, a weight or a length of time, we normally use a singular verb when we talk about the amount as a whole, not the individual.
Examples:
Eight pounds seems a fair price.
A hundred meters isn't far to swim.
One thousand rupees is not a big amount.
⮚ The collocation 'More than one' is treated as a compound of one. As a singular noun, it is followed by a singular verb.
Examples:
More than one mango was eaten.
More than one examinee was expelled.
⮚ In the sentence pattern: More + Plural noun + than one . . . the verb is always plural.
Examples:
More patients than one have died.
⮚ The nouns like abuse, thunder, advice, scenery, alarm, poetry, alphabet, offspring, bread, luggage, brick, issue, bunting, information, clothing, hair, folk, gossip etc. are used only in the singular form and the verb that follows them is also singular.
Example
The scenery of Pokhara is very beautiful.
All his luggage is heavy.
Examples:
Soniya and Dina are good friends.
Wealth and happiness are all we desire.
⮚ If singular subjects are joined by 'and' and if there is each or every or no before anyone of them, the singular verb is used.
Examples:
Each boy and each girl is ready for the race.
Every Tom, Dick and Harry wears suit these days.
⮚ If the subject of a sentence begins with phrases such as A band of, A chain of, A bouquet of, A team of, A series of, A galaxy of, A pair of, A heard of, A bevvy of, A set of, A regiment of, A crowd of, A flock of, A class of, A group of, A bunch of, A batch of, A garland of, etc., it takes a singular verb though the word after 'of' is plural.
Examples:
A band of musicians has come.
A bunch of keys has been lost.
A series of accidents has taken place.
A bouquet of roses has been presented to Lalita.
⮚ If the subject of a sentence begins with a number of, the verb is always plural.
Example
A number of students are present today.
But if the subject begins with the number of the verb is singular.
Example:
The number of students has increased.
⮚ If the subject of the sentence begins with any one of these phrases: A great deal of, a good deal of, a large amount of, a lot of, some of, most of, in such situation the verb agrees with the object of the preposition 'of'.
Examples:
A good deal of time has been lost.
A large amount of stolen goods was recovered.
A great deal of courage is needed for it.
⮚ If the subject of a sentence begins with phrases indicating fractions such as a number of, A lot of, Lots of, Heaps of, Plenty of, A quarter of, Two-thirds of, Three-fourths of, Majority of, Minority of, A handful of etc. the verb agrees with the noun or pronoun that comes after the preposition 'of'.
Examples:
A quarter of it is useful.
Half of it is useful.
Lots of medicine has been prepared
Two-thirds of the site is lovely.
⮚ Nouns like - Cattle, people, police, clergy, gentry, poultry, public, swine, vermin etc. which are plural in number but do not have an 's' ending take a plural verb.
Examples:
The cattle are grazing.
The public are ignored.
⮚ If any one of the following words is used as a subject, always use plural verbs (the + adj.).
"The rich, the poor, the good, the bad, the honest, the dishonest, the virtuous, the wicked, the dumb, the deaf, the lame, the blind, the wounded, the injured, the guilty, the young, the old, the Chinese, the English, The Dutch etc."
Examples:
The good die soon.
The English are intelligent but shrewd.
The old are ignored
⮚ If the subject is a title, the name of a book, a clause, a quotation or other group of words expressing a single idea, the verb must be singular.
Examples:
'Tales from Shakespeare' is worth reading.
The United States is regarded as the most powerful country in the world today.
⮚ A singular verb is used after nouns like - economics, mathematics, physics, gymnastics, politics, linguistics, phonetics, etc.
But a plural verb is used when these words are preceded by possessive adjectives or articles .
Examples:
Mathematics is what I am weak in.
Her politics are very radical.
⮚ When several singular subjects represent the same person or thing or when they form a collective idea, a singular verb is used.
Examples
Bread and butter is our daily need.
Slow and steady wins the race.
Rice and curry is his favourite dish.
⮚ After an amount of money, distance, a weight or a length of time, we normally use a singular verb when we talk about the amount as a whole, not the individual.
Examples:
Eight pounds seems a fair price.
A hundred meters isn't far to swim.
One thousand rupees is not a big amount.
⮚ The collocation 'More than one' is treated as a compound of one. As a singular noun, it is followed by a singular verb.
Examples:
More than one mango was eaten.
More than one examinee was expelled.
⮚ In the sentence pattern: More + Plural noun + than one . . . the verb is always plural.
Examples:
More patients than one have died.
⮚ The nouns like abuse, thunder, advice, scenery, alarm, poetry, alphabet, offspring, bread, luggage, brick, issue, bunting, information, clothing, hair, folk, gossip etc. are used only in the singular form and the verb that follows them is also singular.
Example
The scenery of Pokhara is very beautiful.
All his luggage is heavy.
Also, Read our other Notes of English for Entrance Exams:
- Article
- Connectives
- Number
- Concord
- Tense Use
- Causative Verbs
- Conditional Sentence
- Voice
- Reported Speech
- Transformation
- Gerund / To-Infinitive
- Sentence Pattern
- Agreement & Disagreement
- Inversion
- Adjectives
- Embedded Question
- Illogical participle Modifiers
- Preposition
- Question Tag
- Pronouns
- Commonly Confused Words
- One Word Substitution
- Words of Comparision
- Specialists
- Phobias
- Killing & Killers
- Graphy Words