Subject Verb Agreement

In English the subject and verb must agree in number.

So, of the first photo above we can say, "Len plays guitar."
However, with the second photo we might say, "They play guitar."

Agreement
Subject-verb agreement is not always as easy as it seems in the example above.
The rules can be a bit tricky. Let's take a look at these rules.

Consider the following sentences. Do they have different meanings? Is the grammar different?
1. The number of students is large.
2. A number of students are large.

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In sentence number 1, the subject is The number, that is, the population or amount of students.
In contrast, the subject in sentence number 2 is students. It suggests that several students are large.

Here's the rule:
1. The number of students is large.
2. A number of students are large.

With the number of _______, use a singular verb.
With a number of _______, use a plural verb.

aNumber theNumber

A bowl of olives sits on the table. olives
Why use the singular verb sits?
There are, after all, several olives in the bowl, right?
What is the subject of the sentence?

Addressing the questions posed above, one should note that a phrase or clause between subject and verb
does not change the number of the subject.
The subject of the sentence here is A bowl. It doesn't matter how many words separate it from
the verb; the verb must be singular because A bowl is singular.
One could say, "A bowl of delicious, green olives imported from Italy sits on the table."
Both the subject A bowl and the verb sits would still be singular.

Indefinite Pronouns As Subjects

1. Each does a lot of work in the office.
2. Everyone is doing what they can.
3. Someone has to know the answer.

█ What do you think is the rule for each of the indefinite pronouns in the sentences above?
each

It should be clear that singular indefinite pronoun subjects take singular verbs.
Let's have a look at the list of these indefinite pronouns.

List of Singular Indefinite Pronouns As Subjects

each, either, neither, one
no one, nobody, nothing
anyone, anybody, anything
someone, somebody, something
everyone, everybody, everything

Yes, it's a long list, but if you look closely, you will see a pattern to it.

█ What if the indefinite pronoun is plural?
both For example: Both do a lot of work in the office.
The rule: Plural indefinite pronoun subjects take plural verbs.

List of Plural Indefinite Pronouns As Subjects

several
few
both
many

█ Some indefinite pronouns may be either singular or plural:
with uncountable, use singular; with countable, use plural. each
Examples:
A) Some of the sugar is on the floor.
B) Some of the marbles are on the floor.
The noun marbles is countable;therefore, the sentence has a plural verb.

Here is the list of these indefinite pronouns.

some
any
none
all
most

Compound Subjects

each A cup of coffee and a donut wake me up.
Here's another example:
A pencil and an eraser make writing easier.
The rule: Compound subjects joined by and are always plural.

Neither...nor

Consider the following two sentences. What's going on?
1. Neither the director nor the actors are following the script.
2. Neither the actors nor the director is following the script.

Why does the first sentence have a plural verb?
Why does the second sentence use a singular verb?
Here is the explanation.

In the first example the plural verb are agrees with the nearer subject actors.
In the second example the singular verb is agrees with the nearer subject director.

The rule: The nearer subject determines the number of the verb.

Inverted Subjects

fly Waiter, there is a fly in my soup.
How are the defendants in the trial taking the bad news?
Inversion happens when we reverse (invert) the normal word
order of a structure, most commonly the subject-verb word order.

The rule: Inverted subjects must agree with the verb.

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns (group, jury, crowd, team, etc.) may
be singular or plural, depending on meaning.
The jury has awarded custody to the mother.
In this example, the jury is acting as one unit; therefore, the verb is singular.
The jury members have been arguing for five days.
In this example, the jury members are acting as twelve individuals; therefore, the verb is plural.

The following is a list of adjectives that are used as plural nouns.

the blind
the dead
the deaf
the handicapped
the living
the young

Plural Form Subjects

The news is bad.
Measles is a childhood disease.
Plural form subjects with a singular meaning take a singular verb.
(e.g. news, measles, mumps, mathematics, physics, etc.)

His behavior last night was terrible.
Animal behaviors are best studied in the wild.
The second sentence is in reference to various types of behaviors
or a collection of behaviors.

Politics is a controversial subject.
In this example, politics is a single topic; therefore, the sentence has a singular verb.
The politics of the situation were complicated.
In this example, politics refers to the many aspects of the situation;
therefore, the sentence has a plural verb.

The scissors are on the table.
The pair of scissors is on the table.
Note: In this example, the subject of the sentence is pair; therefore, the verb must agree with it.
(Because scissors is the object of the preposition, scissors does not affect the number of the verb.)

The rule: Plural form subjects with a plural meaning
take a plural verb. (e.g. scissors, trousers)

Subject and Subjective Complement of Different Number

My favorite poem is "Bavarian Gentians" by D.H. Lawrence.
With subject and subjective complement of different number, the verb always agrees with the subject.

One of...

Elizabeta is one of those people who like to read poetry.
The above example implies that others besides Elizabeta like to read poetry. Therefore, the plural verb is the correct form to use.
Elizabeta is the only one of those people who likes to read poetry.
The above example implies that no one else except for Elizabeta likes to read poetry. Therefore, the singular verb is the correct form to use.

The rules:
With one of those ________ who, use a plural verb.
With the only one of those ________who, use a singular verb.