Subjects and Verbs: Part III
In the
last issue of Grammar Tips & Tidbits, we covered the first seven
rules for subject-verb agreement. If you missed last week's issue, you
can view it
here. Are you
ready for the final seven rules? Hold on to your seat!
The
following rules come from
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation website, courtesy
of Jane Straus.¹
You can view additional tips, read Jane's blog, or purchase her book at the following
website: http://www.grammarbook.com. Jane's site also includes tons of free
quizzes so you can test your knowledge. If you can't get enough grammar
quizzes, you're in luck. Jane also offers a subscription area
containing over 100 interactive quizzes!
Last but not least, Jane will soon be adding 68 one-minute English usage videos
to her website, so be sure to bookmark her site and visit it again in the near
future.
NOTE: In the article below, subjects are shown in bold
and verbs are underlined. (The original article
uses a different convention.)
Subject and Verb Agreement
by Jane Straus
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Rule 8.
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The pronouns each,
everyone, every one, everybody, anyone,
anybody, someone, and somebody are singular
and require singular verbs. Do not be misled by what follows
of.
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|
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Examples: |
Each of
the girls sings well.
Every one of the cakes is gone.
NOTE: Everyone is one word when it means everybody.
Every one is two words when the meaning is each one.
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Rule 9. |
With words that
indicate portions—percent, fraction, part, majority, some,
all, none, remainder, and so forth—look at the noun in your
of phrase (object of the preposition) to determine
whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the object of the
preposition is singular, use a singular verb. If the object of
the preposition is plural, use a plural verb.
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| |
Examples: |
Fifty percent
of the pie has disappeared.
Pie is the object of the preposition of.
Fifty percent of the pies have disappeared.
Pies is the object of the preposition.
One-third of the city is unemployed.
One-third of the people are unemployed.
NOTE: Hyphenate all spelled-out fractions.
All of the pie is gone.
All of the pies are gone.
Some of the pie is missing.
Some of the pies are missing.
None of the garbage was picked up.
None of the sentences were punctuated correctly.
Of all her books, none have sold as well as the
first one.
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|
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NOTE: Apparently,
the SAT testing service considers none as a singular word
only. However, according to Merriam Webster's Dictionary of
English Usage, "Clearly none has been both singular
and plural since Old English and still is. The notion that it is
singular only is a myth of unknown origin that appears to have
arisen in the 19th century. If in context it seems like a
singular to you, use a singular verb; if it seems like a plural,
use a plural verb. Both are acceptable beyond serious criticism"
(p. 664). When none is clearly intended to mean not
one or not any, it is followed by a singular verb.
|
|
Rule 10. |
When either
and neither are subjects, they always take singular
verbs.
|
| |
Examples: |
Neither of
them is available to speak right now.
Either of us is capable of doing the job.
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|
Rule 11. |
The words here
and there have generally been labeled as adverbs even
though they indicate place. In sentences beginning with here
or there, the subject follows the verb.
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| |
Examples:
|
There are
four hurdles to jump.
There is a high hurdle to jump.
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Rule 12. |
Use a singular verb
with sums of money or periods of time.
|
| |
Examples: |
Ten dollars
is a high price to pay.
Five years is the maximum sentence for that
offense.
|
|
Rule 13. |
Sometimes the
pronoun who, that, or which is the subject of a verb in the
middle of the sentence. The pronouns who, that, and
which become
singular or plural according to the noun directly in front of
them. So, if that noun is singular, use a singular verb. If it
is plural, use a plural verb.
|
| |
Examples: |
Salma is the
scientist who writes/write the reports.
The word in front of who is scientist, which is
singular. Therefore, use the singular verb writes.
He is one of the men who does/do the work.
The word in front of who is men, which is plural.
Therefore, use the plural verb do.
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Rule 14. |
Collective nouns
such as team and staff may be either singular or
plural depending on their use in the sentence.
|
| |
Examples: |
The staff
is in a meeting.
Staff is acting as a unit here.
The staff are in disagreement about the
findings.
The staff are acting as separate individuals in this
example.
The sentence would read even better as:
The staff members are in disagreement about the
findings.
|
Are you ready for the
quiz?
Click here to take an interactive quiz at The Blue Book of
Grammar and Punctuation website.
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Source:
1. Straus, Jane. "Subject and Verb
Agreement."
The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation.
http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/subjectVerbAgree.asp.
Published with permission. |
