Subject-Verb Agreement 7

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT Rule 6.
In sentences beginning with here or there, the true

subject follows the verb.
Basic Rule. A singular subject (she, Bill, car) takes a Examples:
singular verb (is, goes, shines), whereas a plural subject There are four hurdles to jump.
takes a plural verb. There is a high hurdle to jump.
Example: The list of items is/are on the desk. Here are the keys.
If you know that list is the subject, then you will
choose is for the verb. The word there's, a contraction of there is, leads to bad habits in
informal sentences like There's a lot of people here today, because
Rule 1. A subject will come before a phrase beginning it's easier to say "there's" than "there are." Take care never to
with of. This is a key rule for understanding subjects. The use there's with a plural subject.
word of is the culprit in many, perhaps most, subject-verb
mistakes. Rule 7. Use a singular verb with distances, periods of time,
sums of money, etc., when considered as a unit.
Hasty writers, speakers, readers, and listeners might miss Examples:
the all-too-common mistake in the following sentence: Three miles is too far to walk.
Incorrect: A bouquet of yellow roses lend color and Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense.
fragrance to the room. Ten dollars is a high price to pay.
Correct: A bouquet of yellow roses lends . . . (bouquet BUT
lends, not roses lend) Ten dollars (i.e., dollar bills) were scattered on the
floor.
Rule 2. Two singular subjects connected by or,
either/or, or neither/nor require a singular verb. Rule -n8. With words that indicate portions—e.g., a lot, a
Examples: majority, some, all—Rule 1 given earlier in this section is
My aunt or my uncle is arriving by train today. reversed, and we are guided by the noun after of. If the noun
Neither Juan nor Carmen is available after of is singular, use a singular verb. If it is plural, use a
Either Kiana or Casey is helping today with stage plural verb.
decorations. Examples:
A lot of the pie has disappeared.
Rule 3. The verb in an or, either/or, or neither/nor sentence A lot of the pies have disappeared.
agrees with the noun or pronoun closest to it. A third of the city is unemployed.
Examples: A third of the people are unemployed.
Neither the plates nor the serving bowl goes on that All of the pie is gone.
shelf. All of the pies are gone.
Neither the serving bowl nor the plates go on that Some of the pie is missing.
shelf. Some of the pies are missing.
This rule can lead to bumps in the road. For example, if I is
one of two (or more) subjects, it could lead to this odd
sentence: Rule 9. With collective nouns such
Awkward: Neither she, my friends, nor I am going to as group, jury, family, audience, population, the verb might
the festival. be singular or plural, depending on the writer's intent.
Examples:
If possible, it's best to reword such grammatically correct but All of my family has arrived OR have arrived.
awkward sentences. Most of the jury is here OR are here.
Better: A third of the population was not in
Neither she, I, nor my friends are going to the festival. favor OR were not in favor of the bill.
OR
She, my friends, and I are not going to the festival. Anyone who uses a plural verb with a collective noun must
take care to be accurate—and also consistent. It must not be
Rule 4. As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more done carelessly. The following is the sort of flawed sentence
subjects when they are connected by and. one sees and hears a lot these days:
The staff is deciding how they want to vote.
Example: A car and a bike are my means of
transportation.
But note these exceptions: Rule 10. The word were replaces was in sentences that
Exceptions: express a wish or are contrary to fact:
Breaking and entering is against the law.
The bed and breakfast was charming. Example: If Joe were here, you'd be sorry.
In those sentences, breaking and entering and bed and Shouldn't Joe be followed by was, not were, given that Joe is
breakfast are compound nouns. singular? But Joe isn't actually here, so we say were,
not was. The sentence demonstrates the subjunctive
Rule 5a. Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb mood, which is used to express things that are hypothetical,
by such words as along with, as well as, besides, not, etc. wishful, imaginary, or factually contradictory. The subjunctive
These words and phrases are not part of the subject. Ignore mood pairs singular subjects with what we usually think of as
them and use a singular verb when the subject is singular. plural verbs.
Examples:
The politician, along with the newsmen, is Examples:
expected shortly. I wish it were Friday.
Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of She requested that he raise his hand.
her shaking.
In the first example, a wishful statement, not a fact, is being
Rule 5b. Parentheses are not part of the subject. expressed; therefore, were, which we usually think of as a
plural verb, is used with the singular it. (Technically, it is the
Example: Joe (and his trusty mutt) was always singular subject of the object clause in the subjunctive
welcome. mood: it were Friday.)
If this seems awkward, try rewriting the sentence.

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SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT Rule 6.

In sentences beginning with here or there, the true

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