20 Rules of Subject Verb Agreement Free Essay Example

1. Usage verbs that agree with a topic, not with a noun that belongs to a modifying phrase or clause between verb and subject: “The pot of eggs is boiling on the stove.”
2. Use particular or plural verbs that agree with the topic, not with the enhance of the subject: “My favorite kind of film is comedies,” but “Funnies are my favorite type of motion picture.”
3. Usage particular verbs with particular indefinite pronouns– each, the “- bodies,” “- ones,” and “- things” (anyone, everybody, absolutely nothing), and the like: “Neither is correct.

” (And, simply as in rule number 1, the presence of a modifier is irrelevant: “Neither of them is right.”).
4. Use plural verbs with plural indefinite pronouns:.

” Many results are possible.”.

5. Use particular verbs with uncountable nouns that follow an indefinite pronoun: “All the paint is dried up.”.
6. Usage plural verbs with countable nouns that follow an indefinite pronoun: “All the nails are spilled on the flooring.”.
7. Use plural verbs with compound topics that consist of and: “The pet and the cat are outdoors.

“.
8. Use plural verbs or singular verbs, depending on the form of the noun nearest the verb, with compound topics that include nor or or: “Either the canine or the cats are accountable for the mess.” (” Either the felines or the dog is accountable for the mess” is also technically correct however is awkward.).
9. Use particular verbs with inverted topics that consist of particular nouns: “Why is my hat outside in the rain?”.

10. Usage plural verbs with inverted subjects (those starting with the expletive there instead of the real topic) that include plural nouns: “There are several hats outside in the rain.

” 11. Usage singular or plural verbs with collective nouns depending on meaning: “His personnel is assembled,” however “Personnel are asked to go to the meeting room instantly.” (In the very first sentence, the focus is on the body of employees; in the 2nd sentence, the focus is on compliance by each person in the body of workers.) 12. Usage particular verbs for designations of entities, such as nations or companies, or compositions, such as books or movies: “The United Nations is headquartered in New York.”.

13.. Use singular verbs for subjects plural in form but singular in meaning: “Physics is my favorite subject.” 14. Use singular or plural verbs for subjects plural in form but plural or singular in meaning depending on the context: “The economics of the situation are complicated,” but “Economics is a complicated topic.” 15. Use plural verbs for subjects plural in form and meaning: “The tweezers are in the cupboard.”

16. Use plural verbs in constructions of the form “one of those (blank) who . . .”: “I am one of those eccentrics who do not tweet.”
17. Use singular verbs in constructions of the form “the only one of those (blank) who . . .”: “I am the only one of my friends who does not tweet.”
18. Use singular verbs in constructions of the form “the number of (blank) . . .”: “The number of people here boggles the mind.”
19. Use plural verbs in constructions of the form “a number of (blank) . . .”: “A number of people here disagree.”
20. Use singular verbs in construction of the forms “every (blank) . . .” and “many a (blank) . . .”: “Every good boy does fine”; “Many a true word is spoken in jest.”

– www.dailywritingtips.com

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get a custom paper by one of our expert writers.

Get your custom essay

Helping students since 2015