2. Do you have two or more singular
nouns or pronouns connected by or or nor? Use
a singular verb.
Either a police officer or
a firefighter gets
cats out of trees. I forget which one does.
3. A
compound subject
containing both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun
joined by or or nor needs a verb that agrees with the noun (pronoun)
that is nearest to the verb.
Neither
the moon nor the stars shine as brightly as the sun.
Neither
the stars nor the moon shines
as brightly as the sun.
Jack doesn’t like to work the night shift. (Jack = singular he)
Those men don’t like silver jewelry; they prefer gold (those men =
plural they).
5. When phrases come between a subject and a verb, keep this in your mind:
The
verb must agree with the subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase.
The song played by Enoch and Seth
was
lovely. (song. . . . was--singular)
Our leader, as well as his advisors,
tells
us to be prepared for hard times.
(leader. . .tells—singular)
The authors who wrote that book
are
famous now. (authors. . .are—plural)
The movie, even with all those big stars, is
terrible. (movie. . .is—singular)
The clowns, including the silent one,
make us laugh. (clowns. .
.make—plural)
6. The words
each,
each one, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone, nobody,
somebody, someone, and no one are singular and require a singular
verb.
Someone is snoring in class. (singular)
Everyone knows the truth about the matter. (singular)
7. The relative pronouns (who, whom, which, and that) are either singular or plural, depending on the words to which they refer.
She is a brilliant student
who studies many hours each night.
(She. . .is, studies—singular)
They are brilliant students
who study many
hours each night. (They. . .are, study—plural)
8. Some subjects may look plural, but are
considered singular (civics, mathematics, news, measles, dollars).
Some may look singular, but are considered plural (media, data).
*The news is
broadcast several times a day. (news, is—singular)
Civics was
my favorite subject in high school. (civics,
was—singular)
The media have often
created false celebrities. (media,
have created—plural. The words "the media" refers to worldwide
communications via newspapers/magazines, internet, television, radio, etc.)
Scientific data confuse the layman. (data, confuse—plural. The singular form of data is datum, meaning one piece of information, but it's not used in conversational English. It may be used in scientific and academic writing.)
N
I just watched the six o'clock news.
Have you heard any news about the election? No, I don't have any news about that, because not all the votes have been counted yet.
I think Harry has some news about the election, because he works for a TV news program.
Harry said, "No, I only have a little bit of news, because people are still voting. I'll have more news in an hour from now."
1) Marla has wonderful news! She passed the TOEFL with a very high mark. 2) That's such good news! I'm sure she's very happy.
His boss gave him very bad news today. The company is closing, and all the employees will have to look for new jobs.
9. Nouns such as scissors, glasses, jeans (as in blue jeans), and shears require plural verbs. (Each item just mentioned has two parts.)
My glasses are dirty. (glasses. .
.(eyeglasses) are—plural)
His jeans have a hole in both knees. (jeans.
. .(pants) have—plural)
10. If a sentence
begins with there is or there are, the
subject follows the verb. The word
there
is never a subject, so the verb has to agree with what
comes after it.
There is still a doubt
in my mind about him. (doubt
is the
singular subject. Use a singular verb.)
There are more things in the car that have to be brought into the house. (things is plural. Use a plural verb.)
11. Collective nouns (such as
congregation, group, herd, tribe, class,
parliament, and jury) are considered singular and take a singular
verb.
The
tribe
(it) leaves
the hunting ground every autumn.
The Senate (it) votes to pass a new tax law.
The group of travel agents (it) travels together to Spain every January. *Those agents (plural) are traveling together to France, too.
*The plural verb is used if the individuals in the group are
specifically referred to.
The
jury
is
still discussing the details of the case.
(collective = it. Use a singular verb)
The
jurors
are
arguing about the facts of the case. (individual
members = they. Use a
plural verb)
12. Expressions such as with, together with, including, accompanied by, in addition to, or as well do not change the number of the subject. If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must also be plural.
Elvis, accompanied by all the musicians in the band,
has
left the building. (Elvis . .
.has left—singular)
The cars, including Sophie’s, were given parking tickets. (cars. . .were given—plural)