2017-11-01
2012
Predicates agree with the subject in person and number – singular subjects take singular verb forms, and plural subjects take plural verb forms. The predicates built by means of the verb be (notional, auxiliary, semi-modal or link-verb) have singular and plural forms. All the other verbs (except modal ones) take only one ending (-s/-es) to agree with the subject in the 3rd person singular. That’s why it is important to know whether to treat the subject as singular or plural.
1. Singular verb forms are used with the subject expressed by the singular form of a countable noun, by a personal pronoun 3rd person singular, by the singular forms of demonstrative pronouns:
My friend likes to talk. She talks a lot.
This is exactly what I want.
Subjects expressed by countable nouns in plural form, by a personal pronoun plural or by the plural form of demonstrative pronouns take plural verb forms.
My friends do well at University.
You were absent from class, weren’t you?
Those were the years of Great Depression.
Uncountable material and abstract nouns always take singular verb forms:
Her hair is long and thick.
Her success is unbelievable.
NOTE: the following nouns are always singular: money, luggage, information, knowledge, progress, success, advice, scenery.
2. Two or more homogeneous subjects and compound subjects joined by and are usually plural.
All the cars, trucks and bicycles are moving in the same direction.
The house and the garden need attention.
Swimming and walking are good exercise.
If homogeneous subjects are expressed by infinitives the predicate is in the singular:
To wait and to worry was everything she could do.
3. In sentences with the construction there is/there are the predicate precedes the notional subject and agrees with the first noun:
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There is a chair and a table in the room.
There is a chair and two tables in the room.
There are two chairs and a table in the room.
In American English homogeneous subjects in these sentences are treated as plural:
There are a bakery and a pharmacy down the street. (Two things are down the street)
4. When two homogeneous subjects are joined by or, either… or, neither… nor, not only… but also, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it:
Mary or Steve is going to help me.
My friend or my two brothers are going to help me.
My friends or my brother is going to help me.
Note: Words introduced by along with, as well as, as much as, rather than, more than, except, in addition to, including, plus, together with, form prepositional phrases and that’s why they cannot be the subject. The predicate agrees with the subject which, as a rule, precedes these phrases:
The Don as well as other rivers freezes over in winter.
The Siberian rivers as well as Lake Baikal freeze over in winter
5. If the subject is expressed by a collective noun denoting a group of similar individuals or objects taken as a whole (mankind, humankind, humanity, assembly, etc.), the predicate-verb is in the singular:
Mankind is all of us.
If the subject is expressed by a noun of multitude (people, police, gentry, cattle, etc.), the predicate-verb is in the plural:
The police are here.
The people have come and are waiting for you.
There are collective nouns that may be both singular and plural – audience, board, class, club, committee, council, crowd, family, faculty, government, jury, group, herd, panel. We choose a singular verb when we refer to a unified ‘body’ and we choose a plural verb when we refer to people who make it up:
The audience was/were clapping enthusiastically.
The club has/have voted to admit new members.
The army provides an excellent career.
The army are investigating the accident.
6. The nouns that have invariable plural form such as goods, contents, clothes, wages, scissors, tweezers, fireworks, pants, etc. always take a plural verb.
The goods were delivered on time.
His wages were only 15 shillings a week.
Subjects expressed by invariable nouns ending in –s such as politics, linguistics, news, measles, economics, headquarters, etc. take a singular verb.
No news is good news.
Measles is a catching disease.
Nouns ending in –ics (statistics, tactics, politics) may have a plural verb when denoting qualities, practical applications, different activities.
These statistics show a steady growth in this field.
(In this sentence ‘statistics’ means figures representing facts)
7. Subjects expressed by nouns denoting measure, time, distance, weight, numerical expressions, take a singular verb:
Ten years is a long time.
Tow plus tow is four.
8. Subjects expressed by nouns in the plural which are titles of books, names of newspapers, etc. take a singular verb:
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“Fathers and Sons” is Turgenev’s most popular novel.
Note: the titles of some works that are collections of stories may have either a singular or a plural verb:
“The Canterbury Tales” consist of about seventeen thousand line of verse.
9. Subjects expressed by word-groups as a/the number of…, a/the amount of…, a/the majority of…, a variety of…. take either a singular or a plural verb depending on their meaning in a sentence.
The number of people who know foreign languages is growing. –
Количество людей, знающих иностранные языки, растет.
It was Sunday, and a number of people were walking idly about the park. – Было воскресенье, и (многие) люди лениво прогуливались по парку.
10. Indefinite, defining and negative pronouns ending in -one, -body, -thing (anyone, anybody, anything, someone, somebody, something, everyone, everybody, everything, no one, nobody and nothing) as well as either, another, each, and neither always take singular verb forms:
Something bothers me.
Does anyone know about your plans?
Everybody is going to talk about it.
Nobody ever tells me anything.
Here are a couple of books but neither is interesting.
Each of the boys is talented.
11. The pronouns both and several and the quantifiers (a) few and many always take plural verb forms:
Which film do you want to see? Both are good.
Very few know these facts.
12. The quantifiers (a) little, less, much, a great deal of, and a large amount of take a singular verb form:
Little was done to help them.
A great deal of snow has already melted.
13. The pronouns any, none, no, all, some, and the quantifiers more, most, a lot of take a singular verb when they refer to an uncountable noun and a plural verb when they refer to a plural countable noun; none can take a plural and singular verb:
All of the furniture needs to be replaced.
There are fifteen students in the group. All are present.
Some water has been delivered but there is more on the way.
Several problems were settled but more remain.
None of the books is interesting.
None of the books are interesting.
14. When the subject is expressed by the interrogative pronouns who or what the predicate usually has the singular form:
Who knows the answer?
What was done to save them?
When the question refers to more than one person the predicate may be used in the plural form:
Who were to take part in the discussion?
15. When the subject is expressed by a relative pronoun (who, that, or which) the predicate may be singular or plural as it agrees with the pronoun’s antecedent:
She has cooked my favourite dish which is delicious.
She has cooked some dishes which are delicious.
16. If the subject is expressed by the emphatic it the predicate is in the singular:
It is only Russian people who can endure such frost.
