Agreement of Verbs with Special Subjects
Many of us find difficulty in using special nouns and achieving agreement with their verbs. But with proper knowledge on how to use them would get this problem solved. Here are some important things to remember.
A. Indefinite Pronouns always take singular verbs.
- Everybody wants to be treated with respect.
- Nobody cares to help the beggar on the street.
B. Nouns that are plural in form but singular in meaning takes singular verbs.
- Physics is one of the most interesting subjects in high school.
- The news on TV breaks her heart.
C. Collective Nouns take singular verbs when they belong to a unit or a class.
- The faculty club holds a meeting to talk about important matters.
- The committee discusses solutions to the problems.
D. When the sentence are introduced by here or there, the verb agrees with the subject that follows.
- Here lies our national hero.
- There goes the woman of my dream.
E. Words followed by prepositional phrase when used as subject agree with the verb depending on the number of their object.
- One half of the pie was eaten by Noel.
- All of the teachers go to school on time.
F. The word number when headed by the article the takes a singular verb, however, when headed by the article a, takes a plural verb.
- The number of death casualties in New York increases daily.
- A number of victims were brought to the local hospitals.
G. Subjects followed by intervening words in a sentence require a singular verb.
- The house with all its furnishings is for sale.
- Miss Reyes, together with the English teachers, attends the seminar.
H. Adjectives used as subjects when introduced by the article the takes a plural verb.
- The young always win.
- The rich become richer, the poor become poorer.