Singular subject] reads [singular verb] mystery stories.

The girls [plural subject] read [plural verb] mystery stories. Tonya [singular subject] is [singular verb] asleep. Tonya and her friends [plural subject] are [plural verb] asleep." (Rebecca Elliott, Painless Grammar, 2nd ed. Barron's, 2006) Agreement When Prepositional Phrases Come Between the Subject and the Verb "A prepositional phrase cannot contain the subject of the sentence. Do not be confused when a prepositional phrase (a phrase that begins with of, in, between, and so on) comes between the subject and the verb. In such cases, the object of the preposition appears to be the subject of the sentence when really it is not. This error can lead to an incorrect verb choice, as in the three incorrect sentences below. Incorrect High levels of mercury occurs in some fish. Correct High levels of mercury occur in some fish. Incorrect Water in the fuel lines cause an engine to stall. Correct Water in the fuel lines causes an engine to stall. Incorrect Food between the teeth result in decay. Correct Food between the teeth results in decay." (Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell, Writing First with Readings: Practice in Context, 3rd ed. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2006) Notes on Subject-Verb Agreement "Expressions indicating quantity or amount to be considered as a unit require a singular verb. These expressions often refer to amounts of money, units of time, or measurements: Five dollars is the price of that shirt. Two hundred yards is a long way to crawl. "Nouns plural in form but singular in meaning require a singular verb: Mumps is very uncommon in the United States today. "A verb is never affected by a subject complement: The gift he gave his friend was books. (Books is the subject complement.)" (Gordon Loberger and Kate Shoup, Webster's New World English Grammar Handbook, 2nd ed. Wiley, 2009) Agreement With Compound Subjects Joined by And "Compound subjects are composed of several nouns or pronouns connected by and, or, either-or, or neither-nor. Subjects connected by and almost always form a plural subject and demand a plural verb. Dogs and cats love to have their ears scratched. Cream cheese and tomato are delicious on a bagel. There are two exceptions to this rule. The first occurs when a seemingly compound and plural subject comes to be regarded as singular through popular usage: Bacon and eggs is my favorite breakfast. Corned beef and cabbage is an Irish tradition. The other exception occurs when subjects connected by and describe a single person or thing:

The creator and champion of the sport is injured. The cause and solution to our problems is this. In the first sentence, the words creator and champion refer to a single person, so the verb is singular. In the second sentence, the words cause and solution refer to a single object or issue. The verb must also be singular." (Michael Strumpf and Auriel Douglas, The Grammar Bible. Owl Books, 2004) Agreement With Coordinated Noun Phrases "If the subject contains coordinated noun phrases, the agreement is usually with the second noun phrase when the two phrases differ in number: Either Fred or his his cousins are going. Either my aunts or my mother is going." (Ronald Wardhaugh, Understanding English Grammar: A Linguistic Approach, 2nd ed. Blackwell, 2003) Agreement With Collective Nouns and Indefinite Pronouns "Nouns such as family, choir, team, majority, minority--any noun that names a group of individual members--can be treated as either singular or plural, depending on context and meaning: The family have all gone their separate ways. The whole family is celebrating the holidays at home this year. The majority of our city council members are Republicans. The majority always rules. Other singular-in-form nouns, such as remainder, rest, and number, also have a plural meaning in certain contexts; their number depends on their modifiers: The remainder of the job applicants are waiting outside. The rest of the books are being donated to the library. A number of customers have come early. This system also applies to certain indefinite pronouns, such as some, all, and enough: Some of the books were missing. All of the cookies were eaten. Notice what happens to the verb in such sentences when the modifier of the subject headword is singular: The rest of the map was found. Some of the water is polluted. All of the cake was eaten. The remainder of this chapter is especially important." (Martha Kolln and Robert Funk, Understanding English Grammar, 5th ed. Allyn & Bacon, 1998) Agreement When the Subject Follows the Verb "In most sentences, the subject comes before the verb. However, in some cases, the subject follows the verb, and subject-verb agreement needs special attention. Study the following examples: Over the building flies a solitary flag. (flag flies) Over the building fly several flags. (flags fly) There is a good reason for that deadline. (reason is) There are good reasons for that deadline. (reasons are)"

CASE #1: Making Subject and Verb Agree When Words Come Between Them In determining subject-verb agreement, don't let yourself be confused by words that come between the subject and the verb. Let's compare these two sentences: This box belongs in the attic. This box of ornaments belongs in the attic. In both sentences, the verb belongs agrees with its subject, box. Don't let the prepositional phrase in the second sentence fool you into thinking that ornaments is the subject. It is simply the object of the preposition of and does not affect the agreement of subject and verb. Prepositional phrases (as well as adjective clauses, appositives, and participle phrases) often come between a subject and a verb. So to make sure that a verb agrees with its subject and not with a word in the phrase or clause, mentally cross out the interrupting group of words: One (of my sister's friends) is a pilot. The people (who survived the explosion) are in a shelter. A man (chasing unicorns) is on the terrace. Remember, then, that the subject is not always the noun closest to the verb. It is the noun (or pronoun) that names what the sentence is about, and it may be separated by several words from the verb. CASE #2: Reaching Agreement When the Subject Is an Indefinite Pronoun Remember to add an -s to the end of the verb in the present tense if the subject is one of the indefinite pronouns listed below:

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

As a general rule, treat these words as third-person singular pronouns (he, she, it). In the following sentences, each subject is an indefinite pronoun and each verb ends in -s: Nobody claims to be perfect. Everybody plays the fool sometimes. Each of the divers has an oxygen tank. In that last sentence, note that has agrees with the subject each, not with divers (the object of the preposition). CASE #3: Making Have, Do, and Be Agree with Their Subjects Although all verbs follow the same principle of agreement, certain verbs seem to be a little more troublesome than others. In particular, many agreement errors result from the misuse of the common verbs have, do, and be. We need to remember that the verb have appears as has if the subject is a singular noun or a third-person singular pronoun (he, she, it): Dana Barrett has ghosts in her bedroom. If the subject is a plural noun or the pronoun I, you, we, or they, use have: The Ghostbusters have a new client. In a nutshell, "She has," but "They have."

Similarly, the verb do appears as does if the subject is a singular noun or, once again, a third-person singular pronoun (he, she, it): Gus does the housework. If the subject is a plural noun or the pronoun I, you, we, or they, use do: Gus and Merdine do the chores together. Are you beginning to see a pattern here? Then let's mix it up just a little bit. The verb be has three forms in the present tense: is, am, are. Use is if the subject is a singular noun or a third-person singular pronoun (he, she, it): Dr. Venkman is unhappy. Use am if the subject is the first-person singular pronoun (I): I am not the person you think I am. Finally, if the subject is a plural noun or the pronoun you, we, or they, use are: The fans are in the stands, and we are ready to play. Now, let's take one more look at these three verbs--but from a different angle. Sometimes a subject may follow (rather than precede) a form of the verb have, do, and be. As shown in the sentences below, this reversal of the usual order occurs in questions that require a helping verb: Where has Egon parked the car? What do you do in your free time? Are we having a test today? In all of these sentences, the present forms of have, do, and be serve as <"helping verbs" and appear in front of their subjects. Another case in which a form of the verb be comes before the subject is in sentences beginning with the words there or here: There is a unicorn in the garden. Here are the photocopies. Just keep in mind that no matter where a verb appears in a sentence, it must still agree with its subject.

Exercise A: Identifying Subjects and Verbs For each of the following sentences, decide whether the word in bold print is the subject or the verb. When you are done, compare your responses with the answers at the bottom of the page. 1. The dog shivered. 2. An owl shrieked. 3. The moon disappeared behind the clouds. 4. We waited. 5. For a moment, nobody even breathed. 6. A light rain fell on our heads. 7. The leaves trembled. 8. Our hearts beat faster. 9. Then the black sky opened up. 10.Furious flames lit up the night. Exercise B: Identifying Subjects and Verbs For each of the following sentences, decide whether the word in bold print is the subject or the verb. When you are done, compare your responses with the answers at the bottom of the page. (The sentences in this exercise have been adapted from the paragraph "Rolling Along with Mr. Bill," which appears in Sentence Combining with Adjective Clauses.) 1. Mr. William Herring is the jolliest man I know. 2. His outward features reflect the delightful character within. 3. His hair is red and frizzy, like Orphan Annie's. 4. His head is fat and round. 5. He has small, dark, hamster-like eyes. 6. His eyes peer inquisitively from behind metal-rimmed glasses. 7. His small mouth is always formed into a friendly grin. 8. His thick neck connects this funny head to an egg-shaped torso. 9. He has two fat arms with plump hands and fingers shaped like hot dogs. 10.On one of these fingers is a diamond-studded gold ring. 11.The gleam of the ring matches the brilliance of Mr. Bill's smile. 12.His Santa Claus belly, girded by a cowboy belt, hangs over the sort of baggy trousers that went out with leisure suits and platform shoes. 13.Mr. Bill's shoes, however, are invisible beneath his trousers. 14.Still, his walk is distinctive. 15.In fact, he seems to roll rather than walk. 16.He rolls to the rhythm of his own laughter. 17.His students roll right along with him.

EXERCISE: BASIC SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT For each pair of sentences below, write out the correct form of the verb in parentheses. Keep to the present tense, and be guided by the tips in Correcting Errors in Subject-Verb Agreement. When you're done, compare your responses with the answers at the end of the exercise. 1. This convenience store closes at midnight. The other stores (close) at 9:00. 2. Gus complains about everything. He even (complain) about the color of the sky. 3. My sisters play musical instruments. My brother and his friend (play) with their iPods. 4. I care about her very much. She (care) about no one but herself. 5. This coffee tastes like gasoline. You (taste) it and tell me what you think. 6. Our refrigerator leaks. Water (leak) onto the floor and loosens the vinyl. 7. Every afternoon, they hurry down to the station to meet their mother. She (hurry) home from work. 8. Merdine carries a leather pouch filled with quarters. The police officers (carry) clubs. 9. We raise okra and peanuts on our farm. My brother (raise) the gate before the sun rises. 10. Felicity criticizes everyone she works with. She never (criticize) herself.

ANSWERS to Exercise A 1. verb; 2. subject; 3. verb; 4. subject; 5. subject; 6. verb; 7. verb; 8. verb; 9. subject; 10. subject ANSWERS to Exercise B 1. subject; 2. verb; 3. subject; 4. verb; 5. verb; 6. subject; 7. subject; 8. verb; 9. subject; 10. subject; 11. verb; 12. subject; 13. verb; 14. subject; 15. verb; 16. verb; 17. subject

ANSWERS: (1) close; (2) complains; (3) play; (4) cares; (5) taste; (6) leaks; (7) hurries; (8) carry; (9) raises; (10) criticizes.