BigDog's Grammar


I got a hold of some bad pork chops the other day, and they didn't agree with me. Stomach aches aren't very pleasant. Don't you agree?

We all know these meanings of "agree," but when we talk about subject-verb agreement, we're talking about something different: matching subjects and verbs according to number. That is, when you have a singular subject, you have to match it with a singular verb form: The boy plays. When you have a plural subject, you must have a plural verb form: The boys play.

In short, simple sentences, you should have no problem with agreement. You can hear the problem: The boys plays. When it's wrong , it just sounds funny. However, there are four potential problem spots that you need to watch carefully:

Stuff in between subjects and verbs

The stuff here is usually a prepositional phrase that separates the subject from the verb. Remember how we crossed out prepositional phrases in order to find the subject? (For a quick review, click here.) Do the same thing if you're having problems with agreement. Now, thinking about that, look at the following sentence and decide what's wrong with it:

The dishes in the kitchen is dirty.

Good guess! The subject and the verb don't agree. What's the probable cause for the problem? Kitchen (a singular noun) is right in front of is (a singular verb). If kitchen were the subject, that would be okay. But, it's not. Cross out the prepositional phrase and you're left with:

The dishes in the kitchen is dirty.

"The dishes . . . is dirty?" Sounds wrong, doesn't it? The subject is plural, but the verb is singular. They don't agree. The correct version is:

The dishes in the kitchen are dirty.

Once you know how to look for this problem, it shouldn't be too hard to get rid of it when you proofread your paper.

Reversed sentence order

The normal pattern for English sentences is subject-verb. However, there are a few situations where this order is reversed (like this sentence):

See how the subject comes after the verb in each of these? If you can remember how to locate subjects and verbs, you shouldn't blunder into mistakes when writing reversed-order sentences.

"-body," "-one," and "-thing" words

The correct term for these words is indefinite pronouns, but if you remember them as "-body," "-one," and "-thing" words, you'll probably be able to spot them more easily. You only need to know one thing: if a word has one of these endings (like everybody, everyone, anyone, anything, etc.), it is always singular! You can also include each, either, and neither in this group. Look at the following:

  1. Everyone is going on a picnic.
  2. Each of the boys is taking his own lunch.
  3. If anyone drops something to eat, I'll grab it before he can pick it up.

You shouldn't have problems with these if you simply memorize the endings of words that are always singular.

NOTE: We said that either and neither are always singular; however, if you have two subjects in an either . . . or or neither . . . nor construction, getting the agreement right may give you fits. To get it right, just locate the subject closest to the verb and make the verb agree with it:

Compare this with the following:

Agreement, in this case, depends on the placement of the subject.

"Who," "which," and "that"

Remember dependent clauses? They have a subject and a verb, but they can't stand alone. That's what we're dealing with here, but with a little something extra. Now we've got to consider pronouns. A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun that comes before it, usually in the same clause or one very close to it.

Peggy is a troublemaker. She bites my ears and steals my food.

"Who," "which," and "that" are pronouns. When they take the place of a singular noun, they are singular; when they take the place of a plural noun, they are plural. This is important to remember when they are the subject of a clause. Compare the following sentences:

  1. Big Dog is one of those animals who are very intelligent.
  2. Big Dog is an animal who is very intelligent.

In both, who is the subject of a dependent clause. In number 1, it takes the place of animals (a plural form). That's why "are" is the correct verb choice. In number 2, who takes the place of animal (a singular form), and that's why "is" is correct.

This may seem a bit confusing at first, but there's a way to get it right every time. If you find "who," "which," or "that" introducing a dependent clause (like in the examples above):

  1. Look at the word right in front of it (usually that's the word it takes the place of).
  2. Decide if the word is singular or plural (that will tell you whether "who," "which," or "that" is singular or plural).
  3. Make the verb agree!

That's all there is to it! 

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