subject verb agreement guide and examples

guide with examples on subject verb agreement

1. PUNCTUATION MARKS
Punctuation is the act or system of using specific marks or symbols in writing to separate
different elements from each other or to make writing more clear.
PERIOD (.) QUESTION MARK (?) COMMA (,)
A period is used to end a
declarative sentence. A
period indicates that a
sentence is finished.
Today is Friday.
Unique to them, periods
are also often used in
abbreviations.
Prof. Dumbledore
once again awarded
a ludicrous amount
of points to
Gryffindor.
The question mark is
used to end a question,
also known as an
interrogative sentence.
Do you feel lucky?
Is often the punctuation
mark that gives writers
the most problems. It
has many different uses
and often requires good
knowledge of grammar
to avoid making
mistakes when using it.
Some common uses of
the comma include:
Joining clauses:
Mario loves Peach,
and she loves him.
Nonrestrictive
elements: My favorite
team, the Fighting
Mongooses, won the
championship this
year.
Lists: The flag was
red, white, and blue.
Coordinate
adjectives: The cute,
happy puppy licked
my hand.

2. PUNCTUATION MARKS
Punctuation is the act or system of using specific marks or symbols in writing to separate
different elements from each other or to make writing more clear.
COLON (:) SEMICOLON (;) HYPHEN (-)
The colon is typically
used to introduce
additional information.
The detective had
three suspects: the
salesman, the
gardener, and the
lawyer.
Colons have a few other
uses, too.
The meeting starts at
8:15 p.m.
The priest started
reading from Mark
3:6.
Is used to connect
sentences together. The
semicolon typically
indicates that the
second sentence is
closely related to the
one before it.
I can’t eat peanuts; I
am highly allergic to
them.
Lucy loves to eat all
kinds of sweets;
lollipops are her
favorite.
The hyphen is used to
form compound words.
I went to lunch with
my father-in-law.
She was playing with
a jack-in-the-box.
He was accused of
having pro-British
sympathies.
The en dash is used to
express ranges or is
sometimes used in more
complex compound
words.
The homework
exercises are on
pages 20–27.
The songwriter had
worked on many
Tony Award–winning
productions.
EN DASH (-)

3. PUNCTUATION MARKS
Punctuation is the act or system of using specific marks or symbols in writing to separate
different elements from each other or to make writing more clear.
EM DASH (--) PARENTHESES (()) SQUARE BRACKETS
([])
The em dash is used to
indicate a pause or
interrupted speech.
The thief was
someone nobody
expected—me!
“Those kids will—” was
all he managed to
say before he was hit
by a water balloon.
Typically, parentheses
are used to add
additional information.
I thought (for a very
long time) if I should
actually give an
honest answer.
Parentheses have a
variety of other uses, too.
Richard I of England
(1157–1199) had the
heart of a lion.
Typically, square
brackets are used to
clarify or add
information to
quotations.
According to an
eyewitness, the
chimpanzees
“climbed on the roof
and juggled
[bananas].”
Curly brackets, also
known as braces, are
rarely used punctuation
marks that are used to
group a set.
I was impressed by
the many different
colors {red, green,
yellow, blue, purple,
black, white} they
selected for the flag’s
design.
CURLY BRACKETS
({})

4. PUNCTUATION MARKS
Punctuation is the act or system of using specific marks or symbols in writing to separate
different elements from each other or to make writing more clear.
ANGLE BRACKETS
(<>)
QUOTATION MARKS
(“”)
APOSTROPHE (‘)
Angle brackets have no
usage in formal writing
and are rarely ever used
even in informal writing.
These characters have
more uses in other fields,
such as math or
computing.
The most common use of
quotation marks is to
contain quotations.
She said, “Don’t let
the dog out of the
house.”
Bob Ross liked to put
“happy little trees” in
many of his
paintings.
The apostrophe is most
often used to form
possessives and
contractions.
The house’s back
door is open.
My cousin’s birthday
is next week.
It isn’t ready yet.
We should’ve stayed
outside.
The slash has several
different uses. Here are
some examples:
Relationships: The
existence of boxer
briefs somehow
hasn’t ended the
boxers/briefs
debate.
Alternatives: They
accept cash and/or
credit.
SLASH (/)

5. PUNCTUATION MARKS
Punctuation is the act or system of using specific marks or symbols in writing to separate
different elements from each other or to make writing more clear.
ELLIPSES (...)
In formal writing, ellipses
are used to indicate that
words were removed
from a quote.
The mayor said, “The
damages will be …
paid for by the city …
as soon as possible.”

6. Consolatrix College of Toledo City, Inc.
Magsaysay Hills, Poblacion
Toledo City, Cebu
6038
KINDS OF PUNCTUATION MARKS AND ITS USAGE
&
APPROPRIATE USE OF SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
Prepared by:
Jamaica Mae Marfa
BSED Major in English

7. SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENTSUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
Singular subject needs singular
verb
Ex. Sir Lancelot [were, was] a noble
knight
The duchess [are, is] the wife of a duke
Plural subject needs
plural verb
Ex. The knight [have, has] to keep their
oaths
The woman [were, was] well-respected

8. SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENTSUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
Two subjects joined by either...or,
neither...nor the verb agrees with the
subject nearer to the verb
Ex. Either the books or the notebook [are, is]
on the table.
Neither his pen nor his pencils [are, in] the
bag
The expression the number takes singular
verb, a number takes a plural verb.
Ex. The number of applicant [increase,
increases].
A number of applicants [increase,
increases].

9. SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENTSUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
Intervening words or expressions do not
affect the number of the subject
Ex. The captain together with his men
[patrol, patrols] the area.
The chicks along with the hen [search,
searches] for food.
Other intervening words are:
With
Including
In addition to

10. SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENTSUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
News, measles, and mumps and nouns
ending in ics need a singular verb.
Ex. The news [sound, sounds] interesting.
Mathematics [are, is] a challenging subject.
Collective nouns may take either singular
or plural verb depending on the meaning
of the sentence.
Ex. The audience [are, is] very attentive.
The audience [are, is] already going
home.

11. SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENTSUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
News, measles, and mumps and nouns
ending in ics need a singular verb.
Ex. The news [sound, sounds] interesting.
Mathematics [are, is] a challenging subject.
Collective nouns may take either singular
or plural verb depending on the meaning
of the sentence.
Ex. The audience [are, is] very attentive.
The audience [are, is] already going
home.

12. SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENTSUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
Two subjects joined by ‘and’ but the
sentence starts with each, every, many
a, or no, the verb is singular.
Ex. Many a book or notebook [are, is] on the
table.
No blouse and skier [are, is] on sale.
The verb agrees with the subject.
Positive subject and not with the
negative
Ex. Not Gerard but the coaches [are, is] at
fault.
Not the coaches but Gerard [are, is] at
fault.

13. SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENTSUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
In fractions and percent, the preposition.
Verbs agree with the object of the
preposition.
Ex. Two-thirds of the jack fruit [are, is]
sold.
Two-thirds of the jack fruits [are, is] sold.
Ex. Ten percent of his share [go, goes]
to his parents.
Ten percent of his shares [go, goes] to
his parents.

14. SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENTSUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
Amount of money, units of measure and
periods of time need a singular verb
Ex. Three meters of cloth [are, is] what i
need.
Two hundred pesos [are, is] what I spent.
The verb agrees with the subject, and
not with the predicate noun.
Ex. Her main concern [are, is] her brothers.
Her brothers [are, is] her main concern.

15. SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENTSUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
All- takes a singular verb if it refers
to abstract noun.
All- takes plural verb if it refers to
concrete nouns.
Ex. All my patience [are, is] gone.
All my pens [are, is] lost.
The verb agrees with the subject, and
not with the object of the preposition
Ex. The box of candies [are, is] on the
kitchen table.
Buses in the terminal [are, is] full.

16. SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENTSUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
Either of, neither of, each of, and one
of, use a singular verb.
Ex. Either of the officers [have, has] left
his bag.
One of her suitcases [get, gets] misplaced.
Indefinite pronouns such as: everybody,
nobody, everything, nothing, everyone,
someone, etc. take a singular verb.
Ex. Everybody [have, has] taken his share
Everything [seem, seems] clear to us now.

17. SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENTSUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
Some nouns may take singular or
plural verb depending on the meaning
of the sentence.
Ex. The sheep [are, is] gazing on the
meadow.
Five sheep [are, is] gazing on the meadow.
Some nouns are always plural and so
they take plural verb.
Ex. His pants [need, needs] repair.
The pliers [are, is] on the table.