20. Subject - Verb Agreement - Part III (Compound Subjects)

Hello, all of you Grammar Stars. I hope you've had a great week and are now ready to tackle some more problems we have with Subject - Verb Agreement.


As stated in the first two lessons we did on this topic, it is very important that you know what the subject of a sentence is if you are trying to figure out which verb is correct. In those lessons, however, we only discussed SINGULAR subjects requiring SINGULAR verbs and PLURAL subjects requiring PLURAL verbs. Today we'll take a look at COMPOUND subjects and discuss how they can require either SINGULAR or PLURAL VERBS.

Quick Review:


Remember that the subject of a sentence is simply what or who the sentence is about and it (or they) will be a noun (s) or pronoun(s). Verbs simply tell something about the subject, show action, or indicate a state of being.

Now in our earlier examples, we tried to determine which verbs were correct in sentences such as these:

1. Johnny (love, loves) pig pickings more than anybody in Whiteville, I believe.

In this sentence, JOHNNY is who the sentence is about and it's a noun, so it's the subject. JOHNNY is also one person, so the subject is SINGULAR, which means that the verb must also be SINGULAR. Therefore, since LOVES is singular, LOVES is the correct verb to use.

2. The football players (is, are) hot when they practice outside in August.

Here, PLAYERS is who the sentence is about, and it's a noun, so it is, therefore, the subject. PLAYERS is also more than one person, so the subject is PLURAL this time, requiring a PLURAL verb. As a result, ARE is the correct verb since it is PLURAL.

Okay. So now let's add another facet of Subject - Verb Agreement.

What happens when the subject of a sentence is compound? Now I'm sure you know that the word COMPOUND means MORE THAN ONE. So... here we are referring to sentences that have two or more subjects joined by the little conjunction AND.

Here are some examples:

1. Oil AND natural gas ARE are the most common heating fuels in the United States.

The subjects of this sentence are the COMPOUND words OIL and GAS. Because we are speaking of two things joined by AND, we need to use the PLURAL form of the verb which is ARE, not IS.

2. Butch, Mack, and Paul SWIM in Lake Waccamaw every time they get a chance.

The subjects of this sentence are the COMPOUND words BUTCH, MACK, and PAUL, and since all three names joined by AND make up the subject and also make it PLURAL, the verb must also be PLURAL. Therefore, SWIM is the correct verb form because it is also PLURAL.

But what happens when COMPOUND subjects are joined not by AND, but by OR or NOR (often seen as NEITHER...NOR or EITHER...OR)? In this case, the verb agrees with the subject NEARER the verb.

Notice these examples:

3. Neither the son nor his parents SPEAK highly of their next door neighbor.

The COMPOUND subjects are SON or his PARENTS, but the first subject is singular (SON) and the second subject(PARENTS) is plural, What to do? Because the SECOND subject is PLURAL, the verb must also be PLURAL. Hence, (SPEAK, not SPEAKS, is correct.)

4. Either the Senators or the Governor usually ATTENDS official events in Raleigh.

This time we have the opposite example. The COMPOUND subjects are SENATORS or the GOVERNOR, but here the second subject(GOVERNOR)is SINGULAR. Even though the first subject is PLURAL (SENATORS), the correct verb is the SINGULAR verb ATTENDS because it must agree with the second subject, GOVERNOR.

For our final look at Compound Subjects, we'll discuss two little words and a word phrase that you should become very familiar with:

EACH...EVERY...and MANY A...

This rule is pretty straightforward, but lots of folks have trouble with it. Here's what you should remember:

Use a SINGULAR verb with any subject that is preceded by EACH, EVERY and MANY A. Just keep in mind one very important thing. No matter how many people, places, or things your subject is about, don't use a PLURAL verb if EACH, EVERY, or MANY A comes in front of the subject.

Here are some examples:

5. Each county in North Carolina HAS its own local government.

Yes, there are 100 counties in North Carolina, but because EACH precedes COUNTY (the subject), the SINGULAR verb must be used (HAS), not the PLURAL verb HAVE.

6. Many a person TRIES to dance, but not all enjoy it.

There may be millions of people who try this, but because MANY A precedes PERSON (the subject), the SINGULAR verb must be used (TRIES), not the PLURAL verb (TRY).

7. Every student in our school HOPES to graduate with his class.

There may be hundreds of students in this school, but because EVERY precedes STUDENT (the subject), the SINGULAR verb must be used (HOPES), not HOPE.

Well, there you have it! I hope all of this makes sense to you and that you're using the very best English you can. Drop me a line sometime and have a wonderful week. Peace and happiness, GG