TECHNICAL WRITING
TECHNICAL WRITING
Basic Grammar Review
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
The dog barks. The dogs bark.
Noun in plural form but singular in meaning takes singular verb.
Fractions attached to non-count nouns take singular verb; on the other hand, fractions attached to count nouns take plural verb.
Periods of time, measurements, rates, prices, and weights take singular verb.
Collective nouns regarded as one unit or acting as one takes singular verb. Collective noun regarded as separate units or acting separately takes plural verb.
The committee participates, participate in various volunteer activities in their private lives.
Multiple subjects added to a singular subject do not make it plural.
Indefinite pronouns like every, each, everyone, everybody, nobody, no one, anyone, anybody, someone, somebody take singular verb.
Indefinite pronouns like both, few, many, others, and several take plural verb.
The pronouns all, any, more, most, none, and some require singular verbs if the noun they refer to is singular, and plural verbs if the noun is plural.
Neither nor and either or follow the proximity rule, which means the verb must agree with the nearest subject.
Some and all take singular verb if followed by a non-count noun and plural if followed by a count noun.
As of today, the number of people killed in Russia-Ukraine war is, are more than nine thousand.
A number of Ukrainians is, are waiting at the borders of Poland.
Use singular verb for the number and plural verb for a number.
If your sentence compounds a positive and a negative subject and one is plural, the other singular, the verb should agree with the positive subject.