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Agreement
Present tense verbs in English should agree with
rules
A good set of skis costs / cost hundreds of dollars A good set of skis costs / cost hundreds of dollars A good set of skis costs hundreds of dollars My boss, as well as her staff, leave / leaves early every Friday My boss, as well as her staff, leave / leaves early every Friday My boss, as well as her staff, leaves early every Friday
Bert and Ernie is / are special friends Bert and Ernie is / are special friends (plural verb)
Exception: If the words joined by and refer to a
When the subject is joined with or or nor the verb agrees with the words closest to the verb
Neither the instructor nor the students has / have any control over the number of 8 oclock classes Neither the instructor nor the students has / have any control over the number of 8 oclock classes (plural verb) Either two credit cards or a membership is / are needed before you can rent movies Either two credit cards or a membership is / are needed before you can rent movies (singular verb)
Note: While the above example is correct, it is usually better to place the plural word closer to the verb
Either a membership or two credit cards are needed before you can rent movies (plural verb)
Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns are singular
Collective Nouns
Words such as jury, committee, or herd will be
The jury is / are undecided on the guilt of the accused The jury is / are undecided on the guilt of the accused
subject follows the verb and controls whether the verb is plural
Here are my reasons for quitting (plural) There is no need to pay me next week (singular) It is always singular It was the long hours that bothered me (singular)
Words Ending in S
Words such as economics, AIDS, physics and
singular verbs
Twenty kilometres is a long distance to skate to work each day Eight dollars an hour is a poor rate
The expression the number is singular
Titles
The title of a movie, book or magazine requires a
singular verb
Lost Horizons is a book about a utopia The Simpsons is my favourite TV show
Interactive Exercises
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