Singular or Plural? Subject-Verb Agreement in English Grammar

Hi. My name is Rebecca, and in today's lesson, we're going to talk about some common errors

in subject-verb agreement in English. Okay? Now, the general rule is this. I've written

it on the board. Let's have a look. The general rule in English is if you have a singular

subject, then you use a singular verb. For example, you could say, "The cat is brown."

Correct? "The cat" is a singular subject, so you use a singular verb, "is". "The cat

is brown." Right? If you have a plural subject, then you use a plural verb. For example, "The

cats are brown." Right? "The cats" - plural subject - "are" - plural verb. All right?

So that's the general rule about subject-verb agreement, and that's the most basic rule.

However, there are some tricky situations where it's not clear if the subject is singular

or plural, and then students make a mistake and sometimes choose the wrong verb. So I'm

going to look at some of these tricky situations in this lesson. All right? Let's get started.

The first one is when you have two subjects that are connected by the word "and". So,

for example, "John and Katie are students." "John and Katie", all right? "John and Katie"

are the two subjects connected by the word "and". So then we use the plural verb "are".

"John and Katie are students." Two subjects connected by "and", we use the plural verb.

Okay? Next one. Some words end in "s", but they are not plural. What do I mean by that?

Usually, we say in English that nouns, when we add an "s", become plural. For example,

"chair", "chairs"; "table", "tables". Correct? But this is not always the case. For example,

in the words "mathematics", subjects, many subjects end in "s", but they're still singular.

For example, "mathematics is an interesting subject." Right? "Economics is a subject often

learned in high school or university." "Physics is a science subject." All right? So you see

in these examples that the word ends in "s", but it still takes a singular verb "is". Similar

is the word "the news". "The news is not good." Not "the news are", but "the news is". It's

considered singular, even though it ends in "s". All right? Let's look at another example.

Number three. Some words don't end in "s", but in fact, they are plural, and so they

take a plural verb. Examples of these are "The mice are all over the room." The word

"the mice", right, is a plural. It doesn't have an "s", but it's still plural. "The mice",

one mouse, many mice. "The mice are all over the room." Well, we hope not, but it's just

an example. "The women are so smart." "Her feet are very tired." Or, "My teeth are hurting."

You see in each of these examples that the word we used as the subject did not end in

"s", but nevertheless, it was a plural word, and therefore, it takes a plural verb. All

right? Let's look at the next one. The next one is when we're using the word "there" at

the beginning of a sentence. If you use the word "there" at the beginning of a sentence,

you might need a singular verb, and you might need a plural verb. It depends what you say

after the word "there". Let me give you a couple of examples. "There was a gift on the

table." Right? In this case, it's singular. "There was a gift on the table." Right? The

next example, "There were some gifts on the table." Now, it becomes plural. "There were

some gifts on the table." So, because of the word "gifts", now the verb became plural.

In the first case, because of the word "gift", the verb was singular. Okay? So, with "there",

you have to decide based on what follows.

The next one is a little bit more confusing because it doesn't seem logical, but it's

just a way... A rule in English. All right? So, try to understand. "Quantities of time,

money, and distance are considered singular." Let me give you an example of what I mean

by "quantities of time". "$10,000 is a lot of money." Now, of course, $10,000 is plural.

Right? It's more than $1, but it's still considered a quantity of money, and so it takes a singular

verb. So, $10,000 is a lot of money.

The next one, "Five miles is not too far." Again, five miles, more than one mile, but

it's considered as a whole, so it's considered a quantity of distance in this case. Five

miles is not too far.

Next one, "Eight hours is a normal working day." "Eight hours is", again, it's considered

like a quantity of time, and so it takes the singular verb. All right? Hope you understood

that one.

Next one, and last one that we're going to talk about today is when we use the word "each"

and "every". When we use these, you will always use a singular verb. For example, "Each student

was happy with his or her results." Or, "Every student was present." Okay? So, with "each"

and "every", remember to use a singular verb.

Next, we're just going to do a quick little quiz to see how well you've understood these

principles. Okay, so now let's do a little quiz to see how well you've understood some

of those common errors in subject-verb agreement. Okay? I've written six examples on the board.

First one, "There _____ three students in class." So, do we say, "There is three students

in class" or "There are three students in class"? Which one? We say, "There are three

students in class." Okay? Because of the word "students". All right?

Next one, "Physics _____ an interesting subject." So, do we say, "Physics is an interesting

subject" or "Physics are an interesting subject"? Okay? We say, "is". Also, you've got a clue

because it says, "an interesting subject". So, we're talking about one subject. And even

though there is an "s" here, it doesn't matter. It's still singular. Okay?

Next example, "The children _____ already in bed." "The children is already in bed"

or "The children are already in bed". Which one do you say? Think about it. Okay? In this

case, the children are already in bed. So, even though the word "children" has no "s",

it is plural. Okay? And therefore, it takes a plural verb.

Next one, "Six months _____ a long time." So, do we say, "Six months is a long time"

or "Six months are a long time"? What do you think? "Six months is a long time." That's

because six months represents a quantity of time. All right?

Next one, "Every job _____ an opportunity." So, do we say, "Every job is an opportunity"

or do we say, "Every job are an opportunity"? Which one? Okay? Again, because we have the

word "every", and every time you use the word "every", it's singular.

Next one, "The guitar and amplifier _____ in the car." The guitar and amplifier is in the

car or do we say, "The guitar and amplifier are in the car"? What do we do? Okay? In this

case, you have two subjects connected by the word "and", and so we say, "The guitar and

amplifier are in the car." Okay? I hope you got all of those right. If you're not sure

or if you'd like some more practice, please go to our website at www.engvid.com. You'll

find a quiz on this and many other subjects, and also many other lessons on different aspects

of English. Thanks very much. Thank you for your time, and good luck with your English.

Bye for now.