Question
Agreement of Subject and Verb
Some of the most common mistakes in speaking and writing are made when verbs and subjects do not agree. Perhaps you have overheard a conversation like this one
Ken: How many is in your club?
Tom: We was hoping for twenty, but there’s only fifteen of us so far.
Do you see the errors in agreement in that passage? The verbs and their subjects do not agree in number. These exercises will help you to avoid such errors.
Number
All nouns and pronouns have number. They are singular in number if they refer to one thing. They are plural in number if they refer to more than one thing.
When a word refers to one person or thing, it is singular in number. When a word refers to more than one, it is plural in number.
Examples: hat, I, sky, principle, (singular)
Hats, we, skies, principles (plural)
Exercise: If a word is singular, write an “s” next to the word. If it is plural, write “p.”
Morning 8. heights
Calves 9. geese
Women 10. it
She
Pencils
Shelf
They
A verb agrees with its subject in number. Two words agree when they have the same number.
Singular subjects take singular verbs.
Examples: He laughs. Singular subject/singular verb
They laugh Plural subject/plural verb.
The lightning fills the sky. (The verb fills is singular to agree with the singular subject lightning.)
Plural subjects take plural verbs.
The employees fill the soda cups. (The verb fill is plural to agree with the plural subject employees.)
Cheetahs run faster than most other animals. (The verb run is plural to agree with the plural subject cheetahs.)
That cheetah runs fast.
Exercise: In each of the following sentences, two verbs are written in parentheses. Choose the one which agrees with the subject. Write the subject and verb after the proper number.
AI (solve, solves) difficult problems quickly. AI solves
All high school students (has, have) computers.Students have
Over one hundred thousand forest fires (is, are) reported each year.
Lightning sometimes (cause, causes) fires.
Careless people (is, are) often at fault.
Forest Rangers (says, say) that we can prevent forest fires.
Deep sea divers (descends, descend) almost forty-five feet without special equipment.
The owl’s eyes (make, makes) it look wise.
Actually, the owl (sees, see) poorly during the day.
Every year, scientists (discovers, discover) new drugs to fight diseases.
Some of the most common mistakes in speaking and writing are made when verbs and subjects do not agree. Perhaps you have overheard a conversation like this one
Ken: How many is in your club?
Tom: We was hoping for twenty, but there’s only fifteen of us so far.
Do you see the errors in agreement in that passage? The verbs and their subjects do not agree in number. These exercises will help you to avoid such errors.
Number
All nouns and pronouns have number. They are singular in number if they refer to one thing. They are plural in number if they refer to more than one thing.
When a word refers to one person or thing, it is singular in number. When a word refers to more than one, it is plural in number.
Examples: hat, I, sky, principle, (singular)
Hats, we, skies, principles (plural)
Exercise: If a word is singular, write an “s” next to the word. If it is plural, write “p.”
Morning 8. heights
Calves 9. geese
Women 10. it
She
Pencils
Shelf
They
A verb agrees with its subject in number. Two words agree when they have the same number.
Singular subjects take singular verbs.
Examples: He laughs. Singular subject/singular verb
They laugh Plural subject/plural verb.
The lightning fills the sky. (The verb fills is singular to agree with the singular subject lightning.)
Plural subjects take plural verbs.
The employees fill the soda cups. (The verb fill is plural to agree with the plural subject employees.)
Cheetahs run faster than most other animals. (The verb run is plural to agree with the plural subject cheetahs.)
That cheetah runs fast.
Exercise: In each of the following sentences, two verbs are written in parentheses. Choose the one which agrees with the subject. Write the subject and verb after the proper number.
AI (solve, solves) difficult problems quickly. AI solves
All high school students (has, have) computers.Students have
Over one hundred thousand forest fires (is, are) reported each year.
Lightning sometimes (cause, causes) fires.
Careless people (is, are) often at fault.
Forest Rangers (says, say) that we can prevent forest fires.
Deep sea divers (descends, descend) almost forty-five feet without special equipment.
The owl’s eyes (make, makes) it look wise.
Actually, the owl (sees, see) poorly during the day.
Every year, scientists (discovers, discover) new drugs to fight diseases.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
Let's go through the exercises you've listed step by step.
### Singular/Plural Identification Exercise:
For each word, we will denote if it is singular ("s") or plural ("p").
1. Morning - s
2. Calves - p
3. Women - p
4. She - s
5. Pencils - p
6. Shelf - s
7. They - p
8. Heights - p
9. Geese - p
10. It - s
### Subject and Verb Agreement Exercise:
Your sentences with the subject and correct verb selection are as follows:
1. AI (solve, solves) **=> AI solves**
2. All high school students (has, have) **=> Students have**
3. Over one hundred thousand forest fires (is, are) **=> Fires are**
4. Lightning sometimes (cause, causes) **=> Lightning causes**
5. Careless people (is, are) **=> People are**
6. Forest Rangers (says, say) **=> Rangers say**
7. Deep sea divers (descends, descend) **=> Divers descend**
8. The owl’s eyes (make, makes) **=> Eyes make**
9. Actually, the owl (sees, see) **=> Owl sees**
10. Every year, scientists (discovers, discover) **=> Scientists discover**
If there are any other exercises you'd like to work on, feel free to ask!
### Singular/Plural Identification Exercise:
For each word, we will denote if it is singular ("s") or plural ("p").
1. Morning - s
2. Calves - p
3. Women - p
4. She - s
5. Pencils - p
6. Shelf - s
7. They - p
8. Heights - p
9. Geese - p
10. It - s
### Subject and Verb Agreement Exercise:
Your sentences with the subject and correct verb selection are as follows:
1. AI (solve, solves) **=> AI solves**
2. All high school students (has, have) **=> Students have**
3. Over one hundred thousand forest fires (is, are) **=> Fires are**
4. Lightning sometimes (cause, causes) **=> Lightning causes**
5. Careless people (is, are) **=> People are**
6. Forest Rangers (says, say) **=> Rangers say**
7. Deep sea divers (descends, descend) **=> Divers descend**
8. The owl’s eyes (make, makes) **=> Eyes make**
9. Actually, the owl (sees, see) **=> Owl sees**
10. Every year, scientists (discovers, discover) **=> Scientists discover**
If there are any other exercises you'd like to work on, feel free to ask!