Subject verb agreement games verb viper

When one subject is singular and one plural If one subject is singular and one is plural, the verb agrees with the nearer subject. Neither the television nor the radios work. Neither the radios nor the television works. When a collective noun is used When regarded as a unit, collective nouns, as well as noun phrases denoting quantity, take singular verbs.

The whole family is active. Family is a collective noun regarded as a unit. The family have met their various obligations. The individuals of the family are regarded separately. A thousand bushels is a good yield. A vegetable that contains DDT can be harmful. Compare that to: Mary is the only one of our students who has achieved national recognition.

There are plenty of other subject verb agreement rules but this is the one is broken most often. Verb Subject Agreement. Subject Verb Agreement Games. Verb Driving Truck Game. Balloon Verb Game. Verb Viper and more - Subject Verb Agreement games. Carousel of Verbs flash. Learn the verb, then play the game, Digital Dialets. Ice cream truck noun and verb Game. A lot of the pies have disappeared.

Fifty percent of the pie has disappeared. Fifty percent of the pies have disappeared. A third of the city is unemployed. A third of the people are unemployed.

All of the pie is gone. All of the pies are gone. Some of the pie is missing. Some of the pies are missing. Some teachers, editors, and the SAT testing service, perhaps for convenience, have considered none to be strictly singular. However, authorities agree that none has been both singular and plural since Old English and still is.

If in context it seems like a singular to you, use a singular verb; if it seems like a plural, use a plural verb. When none is clearly intended to mean "not one," it is followed by a singular verb. Rule 8b. With collective nouns such as group , jury , family , audience , population , the verb might be singular or plural, depending on the writer's intent.

Examples: All of my family has arrived OR have arrived. Most of the jury is here OR are here. A third of the population was not in favor OR were not in favor of the bill.

Anyone who uses a plural verb with a collective noun must take care to be accurate—and also consistent. It must not be done carelessly. The following is the sort of flawed sentence one sees and hears a lot these days:. The staff is deciding how they want to vote.

Careful speakers and writers would avoid assigning the singular is and the plural they to staff in the same sentence. Consistent: The staff are deciding how they want to vote. Rewriting such sentences is recommended whenever possible. The preceding sentence would read even better as:. Rule 9. The word were replaces was in sentences that express a wish or are contrary to fact:. Example: If Joe were here, you'd be sorry. Shouldn't Joe be followed by was , not were , given that Joe is singular?

But Joe isn't actually here, so we say were , not was. The sentence demonstrates the subjunctive mood , which is used to express a hypothetical, wishful, imaginary, or factually contradictory thought.

The subjunctive mood pairs singular subjects with what we usually think of as plural verbs. Examples: I wish it were Friday. She requested that he raise his hand.

The foreman demanded that Joe wear safety goggles. In the first example, a wishful statement, not a fact, is being expressed; therefore, were , which we usually think of as a plural verb, is used with the singular it. Technically, it is the singular subject of the object clause in the subjunctive mood: it were Friday.

Normally, he raise would sound terrible to us. However, in the second example, where a request is being expressed, the subjunctive mood is correct. Note: The subjunctive mood is losing ground in spoken English but should still be used in formal speech and writing.