SUBJECT AND VERB AGREEMENT PART III THEORY

Rule 1
         verb   subject        main subject       verb
          subject    match

• a)    The quality of apples is good.
• b)    He and not his parents is guilty.
• c)    The appeal of the victims for the transfer of the cases related to riots to some other States has been accepted.

 Rule 2
 Collective Noun           Singular Verb

• 1)    The herd of cows is grazing in the field.

• 2)    The committee has unanimously taken its decision.

Collective Noun
‘Plural Pronoun’

• 1)    The jury are divided in their opinion.
• 2)    The audience have taken their seats.

Rule 3
Plural          plural verb

   Hundred boys are in my class.

• Cardinal Adjectives (one, two, three, four…etc.) Plural Noun
• Plural noun            certain amount                    certain weight
• Certain period          certain distance               certain height
•                               Singular verb                     Plural verb

Plural                  singular unit                      singular verb

• 1)    Hundred rupees is in my pocket.
• 2)    Ten miles is a long distance to cover on foot.
•       Cardinal Adjectives              plural noun
•       Plural                                     plural verb

Hundred rupees are to be distributed among the students.(right)
Note the difference

• 1)    Five thousand rupees is a handsome amount.
• 2)    Five thousand rupees have been spent on different useful commodities.

RULE 4
Relative Pronoun( who, which, that)         sub        verb
Verb  sub                              relative pronoun antecedent

• 1)    She is one of the noblest women that has ever lived on this earth.

•                  Replace has with have                                           

• 2)    I am not one of those who will trust everyone whom I meet.

•                   Replace  ‘I meet’ with    ‘They meet’

RULE 5
Each , Every, Everyone, Someone, Somebody, Nobody, One, Any, Many a,    more than one                      singular                      Singular verb, singular     noun singular
Pronoun

1) Each student has come.

2) Each boy and each girl has come.

3) One must tolerate One’s friends as well as his enemy.

4) Many a student have not done their home work.

5) More than one man was present there.

‘Many’

• 1)Many a man has come.

• 2)Many man have come.

• 3)A great/ a good many men have come.

                       
RULE 6
Each, every, one  ‘of      ‘of     Noun
Pronoun  plural         verb, Pronoun   Singular

• One of the boys/them has done his work.

RULE 7
Plural  Noun    plural pronoun        each          plural
       Plural verb

• We each have a duty towards our nation.(right)

RULE 8
Indefinite pronoun – ‘one ‘    sentence subject
 Singular verb                 singular pronouns – one, one’s,

•  One should keep his promise. (wrong)
• One should keep one’s promise. (right)

RULE 9
If, as if, as though, suppose, I wish, in case    would that
‘Was’

• 1)I wish, I were a bird.
• 2)If he were rich, he would help others.

RULE 10
Optative  sentence singular subject

• 1)    God save  the king!
• 2)    Long live the Queen !