Compound Subjects & Verbs Agreeing w. Numbers
When two subjects are joined by "and," do you use a singular or plural verb?
Plural. (Rule: "And" acts like a plus sign, creating a plural group).
Which is correct: "He walk to school" or "He walks to school"?
What is "He walks to school"?
In the phrase "The bag of apples," what is the actual subject?
Bag (Rule: "Of apples" is a prepositional phrase; the bag is the thing being discussed).
Is the word "Everyone" considered singular or plural?
Singular. (Rule: Words ending in -one, -body, or -thing are always singular).
A pronoun must agree with its antecedent. What is an "antecedent"?
The noun that the pronoun refers back to.
Correct this sentence: "Pasta and salad is my favorite meal."
"Pasta and salad are..." (Rule: Two distinct items joined by and).
True or False: Plural subjects usually require a verb that ends in -s.
False
Choose the correct verb: "The teacher, along with her students, (is / are) going on the field trip."
is (Rule: Phrases like "along with" do not change the number of the subject).
Choose the correct verb: "Each of the players (receive / receives) a jersey."
Receives. (Rule: Each is singular).
Choose the correct pronoun: "Every runner must find (their / his or her) own rhythm."
His or her. (Rule: Runner is singular; their is technically plural, though common in speech).
Choose the correct verb: "Neither the captain nor the sailors (was / were) afraid."
Were. (Rule: Sailors is the closer subject to the verb).
Choose the correct verb: "The stars (shine / shines) brightly tonight."
What is shine?
"The fear of spiders and snakes (prevent / prevents) many people from going camping."
What is prevents?
Which of these is a plural indefinite pronoun: Someone, Both, or Nobody?
Both. (Rule: Both, few, many, and several are always plural).
Should a collective noun like "The Team" be followed by its or their?
Its. (Rule: A collective noun acting as one unit is singular).
Choose the correct verb: "Five miles (is / are) a long way to run."
Is. (Rule: Periods of time, sums of money, and distances are treated as one single unit).
Correct this sentence: "The students in the back of the room looks bored."
Change looks to look
Correct this sentence: "The bowl of hot cherries smell delicious."
Change smell to smells (Rule: Bowl is singular).
Correct this sentence: "Neither of the options seem right to me."
"Neither... seems right." (Rule: Neither is singular).
Correct the pronoun: "Someone left their phone on the table."
"Someone left his or her phone." (Rule: Someone is singular).
Choose the correct verb: "Ten dollars (is / are) the price of the ticket."
Is. (Rule: A total amount of money is a singular concept).
Identify the subject and the correct verb in: "The physics of the experiment (was / were) difficult."
What is was?
Which is correct: "The decision of the committee members (has / have) been reached."
What is has? (Rule: The subject is the singular decision, not the members).
Complete the sentence with the correct verb form: "Several of the items (was / were) damaged."
Were. (Rule: Several is a plural indefinite pronoun).
Rewrite this to be plural: "Each student must bring his or her laptop."
"All students must bring their laptops." (Rule: Changing to "All/They" makes the plural their correct).