BasicPrinciple:Singularsubjectsneedsingularverbs;pluralsubjectsneed

pluralverbs.Mybrotherisanutritionist.Mysistersaremathematicians.

SeethesectiononPluralsforadditionalhelpwithsubjectverbagreement.

Theindefinitepronounsanyone,everyone,someone,noone,nobodyarealways
singularand,therefore,requiresingularverbs.

Everyonehasdonehisorherhomework.

Somebodyhasleftherpurse.

Someindefinitepronounssuchasall,somearesingularorpluraldependingon
whatthey'rereferringto.(Isthethingreferredtocountableornot?)Becareful
choosingaverbtoaccompanysuchpronouns.

Someofthebeadsaremissing.

Someofthewaterisgone.

Ontheotherhand,thereisoneindefinitepronoun,none,thatcanbeeithersingularor
plural;itoftendoesn'tmatterwhetheryouuseasingularorapluralverbunless
somethingelseinthesentencedeterminesitsnumber.(Writersgenerallythink
ofnoneasmeaningnotanyandwillchooseapluralverb,asin"Noneoftheengines
areworking,"butwhensomethingelsemakesusregardnoneasmeaningnotone,we
wantasingularverb,asin"Noneofthefoodisfresh.")

Noneofyouclaimsresponsibilityforthisincident?

Noneofyouclaimresponsibilityforthisincident?

Noneofthestudentshavedonetheirhomework.(Inthislastexample,the
wordtheirprecludestheuseofthesingularverb.

Someindefinitepronounsareparticularly
troublesomeEveryoneandeverybody(listedabove,also)certainlyfeellike
morethanonepersonand,therefore,studentsaresometimestemptedtouseaplural
verbwiththem.Theyarealwayssingular,though.Eachisoftenfollowedbya
prepositionalphraseendinginapluralword(Eachofthecars),thusconfusingthe
verbchoice.Each,too,isalwayssingularandrequiresasingularverb.

Everyone has finished his or her homework.

Youwouldalwayssay,"Everybodyishere."Thismeansthatthewordissingularand
nothingwillchangethat.

Each of the students is responsible for doing his or her work in the library.

Don'tlettheword"students"confuseyou;thesubjectiseachandeachisalways
singularEachisresponsible.

Phrasessuchastogetherwith,aswellas,andalongwitharenotthesameasand.The
phraseintroducedbyaswellasoralongwithwillmodifytheearlierword(mayorin
thiscase),butitdoesnotcompoundthesubjects(asthewordandwould
do).

Themayoraswellashisbrothersisgoingtoprison.

Themayorandhisbrothersaregoingtojail.

Thepronounsneitherandeitheraresingularandrequiresingularverbseventhough
theyseemtobereferring,inasense,totwothings.

Neitherofthetwotrafficlightsisworking.

WhichshirtdoyouwantforChristmas?
Eitherisfinewithme.

Ininformalwriting,neitherandeithersometimestakeapluralverbwhenthese
pronounsarefollowedbyaprepositionalphrasebeginningwithof.Thisisparticularly
trueofinterrogativeconstructions:"Haveeitherofyoutwoclownsreadthe
assignment?""Areeitherofyoutakingthisseriously?"Burchfieldcallsthis"aclash
betweennotionalandactualagreement."*

Theconjunctionordoesnotconjoin(asanddoes):whennorororisusedthesubject
closertotheverbdeterminesthenumberoftheverb.Whetherthesubjectcomes
beforeoraftertheverbdoesn'tmatter;theproximitydeterminesthenumber.
 Eithermyfatherormybrothersaregoingtosellthehouse.

Neithermybrothersnormyfatherisgoingtosellthehouse.

Areeithermybrothersormyfatherresponsible?

Iseithermyfatherormybrothersresponsible?

Becauseasentencelike"Neithermybrothersnormyfatherisgoingtosellthehouse"
soundspeculiar,itisprobablyagoodideatoputthepluralsubjectclosertotheverb
wheneverthatispossible.

Thewordsthereandhereareneversubjects.

Therearetworeasons[pluralsubject]forthis.

Thereisnoreasonforthis.

Herearetwoapples.

Withtheseconstructions(calledexpletiveconstructions),thesubjectfollowstheverb
butstilldeterminesthenumberoftheverb.

Verbsinthepresenttenseforthirdperson,singularsubjects(he,she,itandanything
thosewordscanstandfor)havesendings.Otherverbsdonotaddsendings.

He loves and she loves and they love_ and . . . .

Sometimesmodifierswillgetbetwenasubjectanditsverb,butthesemodifiersmust
notconfusetheagreementbetweenthesubjectanditsverb.

The mayor, who has been convicted along with his four brothers on
four counts of various crimes but who also seems, like a cat, to have
several political lives, is finally going to jail.

Sometimesnounstakeweirdformsandcanfoolusintothinkingthey'repluralwhen
they'rereallysingularandviceversa.ConsultthesectiononthePluralFormsof
NounsandthesectiononCollectiveNounsforadditionalhelp.Wordssuchas
glasses,pants,pliers,andscissorsareregardedasplural(andrequirepluralverbs)
unlessthey'reprecededthephrasepairof(inwhichcasethewordpairbecomesthe
subject).
 Myglasseswereonthebed.

Mypantsweretorn.

Apairofplaidtrousersisinthecloset.

Somewordsendinsandappeartobepluralbutarereallysingularandrequire
singularverbs.

Thenewsfromthefrontisbad.

Measlesisadangerousdiseaseforpregnantwomen.

Ontheotherhand,somewordsendinginsrefertoasinglethingbutarenonetheless
pluralandrequireapluralverb.

Myassetswerewipedoutinthedepression.

Theaverageworker'searningshavegoneupdramatically.

Ourthanksgototheworkerswhosupportedtheunion.

Thenamesofsportsteamsthatdonotendin"s"willtakeapluralverb:theMiami
Heathavebeenlooking,TheConnecticutSunarehopingthatnewtalent.See
thesectiononpluralsforhelpwiththisproblem.

Fractionalexpressionssuchashalfof,apartof,apercentageof,amajorityofare
sometimessingularandsometimesplural,dependingonthemeaning.(Thesameis
true,ofcourse,whenall,any,more,mostandsomeactassubjects.)Sumsand
productsofmathematicalprocessesareexpressedassingularandrequiresingular
verbs.Theexpression"morethanone"(oddlyenough)takesasingularverb:"More
thanonestudenthastriedthis."

Someofthevotersarestillangry.

Alargepercentageoftheolderpopulationisvotingagainsther.

Twofifthsofthetroopswerelostinthebattle.

Twofifthsofthevineyardwasdestroyedbyfire.
 Fortypercentofthestudentsareinfavorofchangingthepolicy.

Fortypercentofthestudentbodyisinfavorofchangingthepolicy.

Twoandtwoisfour.

Fourtimesfourdividedbytwoiseight.

Ifyoursentencecompoundsapositiveandanegativesubjectandoneisplural,the
othersingular,theverbshouldagreewiththepositivesubject.

Thedepartmentmembersbutnotthechairhavedecidednottoteachon
Valentine'sDay.

Itisnotthefacultymembersbutthepresidentwhodecidesthisissue.

Itwasthespeaker,nothisideas,thathasprovokedthestudentstoriot.