Other Agreement Problems

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• Secondary Education

Other Agreement Problems

Subject-Verb Agreement

Objectives:

1. Identify subject-verb agreement rules in collective nouns, nouns ending in -s, works of art, and determiners that come before a compound subject.
   2. Apply rules accurately in sentences.

The committee________ holding its weekly meeting.

A

is

B

are

The committee________ holding its weekly meeting.

A

is

B

are

Slide heading

Collective nouns name a group of people or things.

Use a singular verb when you think that the collective noun is acting as one single unit. Use a plural verb when you think of the collective noun as multiple members acting independently of one another.

It's not always obvious whether a collective noun is acting as a single unit or as multiple members. If you're not sure, use the verb form (singular or plural) that you think sounds better.

The scissors ___________ to be sharpened.

A

need

B

needs

Those pants _________ on the floor.

A

drags

B

drag

The statistics _______that 50% of the students prefer online classes.

A

show

B

shows

Mathematics ____ a challenging subject

A

is

B

are

Nouns ending in -s

Some nouns ending in -s function as singular subjects and take a singular verb. Some function as plural subjects and take a plural verb. A few may be either singular or plural.

The Nick Adams Stories ____ my favorite work by Hemingway.

A

is

B

are

Sunflowers ____ one of van Gogh's most famous paintings.

A

is

B

are

The title of a work of art

The title of a work of art (painting, literature, or music) is always a singular subject and takes a singular verb.

Two pennies _______ not much money.

A

is

B

are

The two pennies ______ both dated 1950.

A

is

B

are

Ten days _______ not a long time.

A

is

B

are

Determiners that come before a compound subject

Use a singular verb with a third-person subject that names a single amount or time. Use a plural verb with a third-person subject that refers to multiple items.

Exercise 8 p.198

Exercise 9 p.198

How confident are you in your subject-verb agreement skills?