A. Subject and verb must always agree.
The brothers are going to the store, and their father is with them.
1. Problems often arise when a sentence has two or more subjects, joined with a conjunction.
The cat and the dog are fighting.
The cat's owner, but not the dog's, is trying to stop the conflict.
The conjunction and joins two singular subjects and makes them a plural, compound subject. When two singular subjects are joined by a conjunction other than and, they do not become plural.
2. When the conjunction or joins a singular and a plural subject, the verb agrees with the nearest subject.
The lion or the tigers have been clawing the furniture!
The tigers or the lion has been clawing the furniture!
3. Interrupting words-- words between the subject and the verb-- are another source of trouble. You must keep track of which noun or pronoun is doing the action of the sentence.
The man carrying the mysterious packages is standing in the hall.
4. Collective nouns (such as herd or group) also cause confusion. Such nouns are singular, and not plural.
A herd eats a great deal of food.
Two herds eat even more.
The Committee to Stop Abusive Insults has arrived. That bunch of idiots wants to meet with you this afternoon.
B. Choose the appropriate verb.
1. Everyone ( is are ) invited to come to the yard sale.
2. That group of students ( has have ) been spotted in the mall.
3.Several enraged elephants and one slightly annoyed rhino ( is, are ) rampaging through downtown London.
C. Pronouns must agree with their antecedents. That is, a pronoun (such as he, she, they) must agree with the word to which it refers. We shall discuss pronoun/antecedent errors in class.
1. Anyone can join the club if ( he she they ) ( like likes ) to sail.
2. Both of the girls will be attending the ceremony to receive ( his her their ) awards.
3. No one among the group of students ( has have ) forgotten ( her his their ) pen.
D. Rewrite the following sentences, correcting any errors.
1. A herd of elephants eat a good deal of food.
2. That girl who collects rookie cards and comic books are coming to Lindsay's party.
3. The boy, but not the girl, has an appointment with the orthodontist.
