Posted by Kerry Evans | Published December 19, 2016, 09:00
Subject-verb agreement: if you’ve been speaking, writing, and reading English for a while now, you probably think you’ve got this most basic of grammar topics covered.
Sure, none of us would ever write "subjects needs verbs" or "this tip writer need new ideas." We all know that plural subjects take plural verbs and that singular subjects take singular verbs. But can you identify the correct verb choice in each sentence below (answers are at the end of this tip)?
Compare your answers to the correct ones below.
The subject of "occur" is "that," whose antecedent in this case is plural ("disasters"). The verb that goes with the singular subject "one" is "happened."
The phrase "as well as" always introduces parenthetical information, which one should not take into account when determining the singularity or plurality of the verb. Thus, the only subject that matters here is "the first author," which is singular. If we were to replace "as well as" with "and," we'd need to use "have."
"Getting my paper accepted in Cell and seeing it in the finished journal” can be considered one idea, so it can take a singular verb. It would be equally acceptable to write, “Getting my paper accepted in Cell and seeing it in the finished journal were the highlights of my career,” but in that case the writer is thinking of these as two separate events. Consider also, “A carelessness and inattention to detail runs through her work.” The singular article “a” makes it clear that “carelessness and inattention to detail” is a singular idea.
When two or more subjects are joined by "or," the verb must agree with the closest subject. Thus, we would have to write, "The parent or the children have to give in."
The verb agrees with the closer subject.
"More than one," although plural in meaning, always takes a singular verb. Another such idiom occurs when "one or two" acts as the subject: One or two was found in the kitchen. (However, “one or two were found in the kitchen” is also acceptable).
Some seemingly plural subjects can be singular in certain contexts. For example, "Physics is an interesting subject” but “The physics of this contraption baffle me."
When commas set off a parenthetical element in a sentence, what lies between the commas has no effect on the verb. So we would write, “All New England cities, including Boston, tend to get snow in January.
When "each" is the subject, as here, it is singular. When it modifies a plural subject, it’s plural. Thus, we would write "The editors each want to accept the paper." Now the subject is "editors" rather than "each."
By now it should be clear that subject-verb agreement isn't always straightforward. Stay tuned for a more in-depth look at some of these topics and other perplexing cases next time.
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Kerry Evans
Kerry is the Senior Managing Editor for AJHG and Immunity. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with degrees in journalism and biology and intended to enter scientific journalism. However, a love of editing and a job offer from Cell Press snagged her in 2000, and she hasn’t looked back since—at least not much and not recently. She has five young children: one daughter and four sons. Among her many pursuits are backpacking with her family, foraging for wild foods, and creating (and eating) delicious food.
