The other day, I was writing an answer in Quora. “Vitamins are essential for our body,” I wanted to say. Then, I paused. Should it be, “…for our bodies”?
My previous post explored the difference between historic and historical. Today’s post continues on the same trend, dealing with another curveball grammar throws us: subject-verb agreement. We have Sumita Tah to thank for the detailed explanation and examples that clear away this confusing issue.
Subject-Verb Agreement
A Verb must agree with its Subject in Number and Person. A singular subject takes a singular verb. A plural subject takes a plural verb. So, how does this work in practice? Here are the rules.
1. Two or more singular subjects joined by ‘and’ usually take a plural verb
E.g. – Raman and Harry work hard.
Air and water are necessary for survival.
Nancy and I were the hosts of the party.
The author and the publisher were in a meeting.
2. If two nouns suggest only one idea or refer to the same person or thing then it will take a singular verb
E.g. Slow and steady wins the race.
Beans and rice is her favourite dish.
The horse and carriage is at the door.
Comfort and luxury has made him lazy.
Bread and butter is a wholesome breakfast.
Her hard work and dedication has paid off.
The author and publisher, Mr Charles is here amongst us.
3. Words joined to a singular subject by ‘with’ or ‘ as well as’, ‘together with’, ‘along with’ take a singular verb
It may help if you put the “as well as” between commas, as this will make it clearer what subject the verb should agree with.
E.g. Alex, as well as Sharon, likes tea.
The house, with its furniture, was burnt.
Vinn, along with his friends, is punished.
I, as well as Shirley, am going to the park.
Bren, as well as his family, is shifting to Texas.
The Captain, with all his men, was drowned.
The doctor, with his interns, has reached the O.T.
The teacher, as well as her students, is in the class.
The boy, with his parents, is waiting for the teacher.
Verna, with her friends, wants to participate in the competition.
The officer, as well as his subordinates, was present at the meeting.
4. When two or more subjects in the singular are joined by ‘or’, ‘nor’, ‘either or’, ‘ neither nor’– the verb used is singular.
E.g. Jack or Tom is to blame.
Either he or I am to blame.
Either Robert or Arnold was absent.
Neither Robert nor Arnold was present.
5. When two subjects of a sentence are joined by ‘not only’… ‘ but also…’, ‘ either or’, ‘neither nor’ the verb agrees with the latter subject.
E.g.- Neither Tom nor his friends have come.
Either my friend or I am going to buy this dress.
The farmer or his servants were responsible for the theft.
Not only your certificates but your marks also are important.
Neither Ritu nor her friends are willing to attend the function.
6. When a plural noun (in Prepositional Phrases) comes between a singular subject and its verb, the verb used is singular.
E.g. The quality of apples was not good.
A combination of colours charms the sky.
The bag of mangoes is too heavy for the child.
Much of the hard work of the farmers has been wasted due to drought.
7. ‘ Either’, ‘Neither’, ’Each’, ‘Every’, ‘Everyone’, ‘many a’, ‘one of the’, ‘little’, ‘less’ generally take a singular verb.
E.g. Either of the boys has done this.
Each of these boys is intelligent.
Neither of them was found guilty.
Each one of her paintings is fantastic.
Much of the homework is already done.
Every man, woman and child was happy.
Everyone, whom we invited, has turned up.
Only one of the five contestants is going to win.
Thanks to metro rail, less of my time is spent on commuting.
8. Some words can refer to amount/quantity as well as number
When these words refer to amount/ quantity, they take a singular verb. When these words refer to a number, they take a plural verb:
None, a lot of, a great deal of, plenty of, most of, etc, are some such words.
E.g.
I] None of the work (amount) was complete.
None of the strategies (number) have worked.
II] A lot of energy was (amount) wasted on finding the treasure.
A lot of books have (number)been written.
III] A variety of music is (amount) available here.
A variety of music albums are (number) available here.
IV] Plenty of help has (amount) been offered to the poor family.
Plenty of trees were (number) planted by students.
9. A collective noun usually takes a singular verb
E.g. This pair of scissors is very sharp.
A bunch of keys is kept on the table.
A large crowd makes me feel nervous.
A swarm of bees was buzzing around the tree.
However, collective nouns like – committee, assembly, jury, congress, team- may take a singular or plural verb depending on whether it is taken as singular or plural.
E.g. The committee was united in their opinion
The committee were divided in their opinion.
My new pair of socks is very tight.
My new socks are very tight.
The team has decided to follow the strategy.
The team were divided on following the strategy.
10. Some nouns, which are plural in form but singular in meaning, take singular verb
E.g. No news is good news.
Measles is a contagious disease.
Mathematics is an interesting subject.
Billiards is fast becoming a popular game.
Physics is considered to be a difficult subject.
11. Some nouns are singular in form but plural in meaning.
We always use plural verbs with such nouns.
E.g. – The people are enjoying themselves.
The cattle were driven to the farm.
The children are playing in the park.
12. Class nouns like- cutlery, stationery, food, furniture take a singular verb
E.g. The food here is quite good.
The cutlery was well arranged.
The new furniture is pretty expensive.
The stationary was available at a cheap price.
13. Weight, measure, time, distance take a singular verb
E.g. Five years is a pretty long time.
A hundred rupees is not a big amount for him.
Ten kilos of milk was consumed by the players.
Only one-fourth of the police force was deployed.
14. When a plural noun is the name of one thing it takes a singular verb
E.g. ‘ The Arabian Nights’ is a famous book.
‘The United States’ has a big army.
15. Indefinite pronouns like ‘everyone’, ‘ ‘someone’, ‘nobody’, ‘anyone’ always take a singular verb
E.g. Someone is at the door.
Nobody is perfect.
Has anyone seen my book?
Something is better than nothing.
Everybody was present at the meeting.
So, “Vitamins are essential to our bodies” is the correct form. Thank you, Sumita! You can check out her blog (and ask for her help with any more confusing grammar issues) here.
…essential FOR our bodies?
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I think you may be right. I’ll change it 🙂
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Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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I sometimes slip up on the ‘was’/’were’. These days, grammatical errors don’t seem to get picked up so much by many readers. The one I notice a lot, especially on TV, is ‘The couple are’, instead of what it should be, ‘The couple is’.
(As in ‘the couple are looking for a new home by the sea’)
Best wishes, Pete.
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Like all languages, English is evolving. I wonder if “a couple are” will be the accepted form, given enough time.
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Once all the old pedants are dead, it will be ‘anything goes’. 🙂
https://www.603copywriting.co.uk/piss-off-pedants/
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Lol – exactly 😀
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Super useful and beyond the basics of I-was and they-are, thank you!
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Yay! Thank you, Priscilla 🙂
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Hmmmm – while the examples look right to me, and I think this is the way I use them, as a dyslexic I don’t understand WHY they are right despite the explanation 🙂
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It can be confusing, for sure!
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Fabulous summary, Nicholas.
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So glad you liked it, Dianne 🙂
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Very good overall, Nicholas, although I might qualify no. 9 slightly: a collective noun always uses the singular form of the verb, when a single unit is being referred to [i.e., administratively], whereas, if it is the collection of individuals that is being referred to [the implication being that you could single out any member], then the plural form of the verb is acceptable. I don’t know if you might be covering this in a future post, but one incorrect usage that seems increasingly prevalent now is to say something at the end of a sentence like “[doing something] for Fred and I”, as if Fred and I is an inseparable unit! Cheers, Jon.
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Shouldn’t that be “…for Fred and me?”
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It should, but that doesn’t seem to stop plenty of people who should know better from getting it wrong!
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Now that’s one I think I do understand – was told if you take the other person away the misuse of ‘I’ slaps you round the face like a wet kipper 🙂
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Lol – kudos for the use of the wet kipper 😀
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Lol
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Reblogged this on Kim's Musings.
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Thank you very much, Nicholas! I will try to keep in mind. Michael
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Glad you found it useful, Michael 🙂
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Oh yes, Nicholas! I am always on the beginning learning the language.;-) Like a infinite regress. :-))
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I feel exactly the same way 😀
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:-))
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Most helpful. Thank you. I find many people get the collective nouns wrong. I’m sick of hearing ‘The government are going to …’, or, in one of Manchester United’s songs, ‘United are the team for me.’
That said, some of the other rules I was not so clear on. Like number 8. I’m now going to have to check through my wip–again!
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It is a tough one 🙂
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Reblogged this on Author Don Massenzio and commented:
Check out this helpful post from Nicholas Rossis’ blog on the topic of Subject-Verb Agreement
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Thanks for another useful post. I’m not a native speaker, so I found some examples in para 2 a bit strange.
Beans and rice IS her favourite dish (because we’re talking about a dish which consists of beans and rice. This one is clear).
The horse and carriage IS at the door (to me, it sounds a bit odd. If it’s a carriage, Normally, it should be pulled by a horse, unless we have a horse without a carriage AND a carriage, powered by an engine or whatever. Then, it should be “ARE at the door”.) I can’t understand why it should be IS here :((
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It may help if you think of the horse and carriage as a single unit, just like the dish consisting of beans and rice.
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Thanks for sharing Nicholas, glad to see it is on our #ABRSC on Facebook have shared to twitter. 🙂
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Thank you so much, Marje!
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