*HELPFUL HINTS:

• (1) Find the VERB first. Then ask, "Who or what did that?"

• (2) Don't look in Prepositional Phrases for Subjects;

  • those nouns or pronouns function as only the Object of the Preposition.

• (3) Beware the PASSIVE VOICE, in which the Subject receives the action of the Verb;

  • the Subject is acted upon;

  • the Subject is in a “by” phrase

    • The soup can was scanned by the store clerk.

  • another good reason to avoid the passive voice.

(1) SUBORDINATE CLAUSES:

• begin with subordinating conjunctions (since, when, although, because, if)
• because they are clauses, they possess subjects and verbs
  • which must agree in number, too
• because they are subordinate, these clauses are “under” the main idea of the sentence and are not the main clause
• these subjects and verbs are not the main subjects and verbs of the sentence
• so do not match, for example, the subject of a subordinate clause with the main verb
  • Although her friends give her advice, Alberta has to make up her own mind.
  • “her friends give” are the subject and verb of the subordinate clause
  • “Alberta has” are the subject and verb of the main clause

(2) RELATIVE CLAUSES:

• begin with a relative pronoun (who, that, which)(whom, whose, where, when, why)
  • "that" is often omitted -- (like "you" in a command)
  • "that" is needed if the next word is a verb
• because they are clauses, they possess subjects and verbs
• these subjects and verbs are not the main subjects and verbs of the sentence
• so do not match, for example, the main subject with the verb of a relative clause
• nonetheless, the subjects and verbs of relative clauses must agree with each other
  • The cheerleader who has a sore throat whispers every cheer.
  • “who has” are the subject and verb of the relative clause
  • “The cheerleader whispers” are the subject and verb of the main clause
• Relative Clauses as Adjective Clauses:
  • these relative clauses often function as adjectives
    • modifying nouns and pronouns
  • location -
    • most single-word adjectives can be
      • before the modified
      • or after a Linking Verb
    • adjective clauses = typically after the modified
  • in terms of Subject-Verb Agreement -
    • singular with singular, plural with plural still applies
    • BUT
    • (1) sounds funny
    • (2) difficult to match the modifier with the proper modified
      • the verb in the adjective clause
      • must agree with the proper noun or pronoun
    • (3) singular sense
      • if the sense of the sentence is singular, then the verb in the relative clause will be singular
      • if the subject and only the subject performs the action, then the sense is singular
      • the words "only" or "just" are used
  • Jerry is one of those students who never study for tests.
    • the italicized adjective clause modifies the plural "students"
  • The Process Essay is the only essay that does not require research in my class.
    • the italicized adjective clause modifies "essay" & is preceded by the "singular sense" word "only"
  • Question #7 was one of those types that are easily misunderstood.
    • the italicized adjective clause modifies the plural "types"

(3) PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES:

• the noun (or pronoun) functioning as the Object of the Preposition does not function as the subject of the sentence
• remember:  only one function per sentence
• the only time the Object of the Preposition is going to have an effect on the verb is when the subject is one of six Indefinite Pronouns (any, all, more, most, none, some)
  • Jessica with the red glasses is absent today.
  • “glasses” is the object of the preposition AND has no effect on the verb

(4) INFINITIVES:

• the verb within the infinitive does not function as the main verb of the sentence
• remember:  only one function per sentence
  • I went to the grocery store to buy supplies for my camping trip.
  • “to buy” the infinitive
  • “I went” are the subject and verb of the main clause

• Use a SINGULAR verb with a singular subject.
• Use a PLURAL verb with a plural subject.

• Use is, was, has, does OR is not, was not, has not, does not with a SINGULAR subject.
• Use are, were, have, do OR are not, were not, have not, do not with a PLURAL subject.
• Ex:
  • The boy was waiting.         
  • The boys were waiting.
  • Joe does look like you.        
  • The brothers do look alike.

• Do not let sentence arrangement fool you:
  • You will not be writing only S+V+O sentences.
  • In some cases, the subject comes after the verb. (*not speech)
• a) Turn questions into statements.
  • Are the girls ready?  
  • The girls are ready.
• b) Do not be misled by sentences having the subject after the verb.
  • (*here/there, prepositional phrases)
  • Here come the teams.
  • On this page are your orders.
  • There were not any delays.        
  • There are no changes.
  • HINT:
    • Say the sentence with the subject before the verb:
    • Your orders are on this page.
• c) Do not be misled by a prepositional phrase or by some word group beginning with such words as accompanied by, together with, including, as well as.
  • (*commas)(*prepositional phrases)
  • That box of books looks heavy.
  • The mother, as well as her children, is here.

• Use a PLURAL verb with a compound subject having its parts joined by and or both-and, unless only one person, object, or idea is meant.
  • (*“and”)(*“they” replaces subject)
  • The owner and the manager are in conference.
    • two persons
    • They are in a conference.
  • EXCEPTIONS:
  • The owner and manager is Mr. McKee. (one person, two positions)
  • Macaroni and cheese is my favorite dish. (one object)***
    • SEE RULE #6

• having 2 subjects or 2 predicates does not constitute 2 independent clauses
• having a compound subject or compound predicate is a way of combining 2 shorter sentences into 1 longer, more complex sentence

• For subjects joined by or, nor, either-or, neither-nor, do this:
  • (*cannot go by how it sounds)
  • (*unlike the previous rule, you can't always replace the Compound Subject with the pronoun “they”)
• a) Use a PLURAL verb if both subjects are plural; use a SINGULAR verb if both subjects are singular.
  • Neither boys nor girls are here.
  • Either Bob or Jay is wanted.
• b) If the subjects vary in number, make the verb agree with the nearer.
  • Mom or my uncles are going.
  • Two girls or a woman is needed.

• Use a singular verb with nouns plural in form if they express a single unit or idea, as in indicating amounts or measurements. (*similar to Rule #4)
• a) numerical expressions:
  • Ten cents is enough to charge for microfilm copies.
  • Two fifths of the crop is in. o Three miles is a long walk.
• b) *notice:
  • There are three miles between the school and my house.
  • (here, “three miles” is not considered a single unit of measurement)
• c) also:
  • news, gymnastics, economics, mathematics, statistics, civics
  • Macaroni & Cheese, Rice & Beans, Spaghetti & Meat Balls, Steak & Eggs
• d) *sports teams:
  • when referred to by the city, SINGULAR:
    • New York has a good team this year to win its division.
  • when referred to by its nickname, PLURAL:
    • The Yankees need to get some better pitchers for their bullpen.

• Use a PLURAL verb with subjects that look AND function plural.
  • such as slacks, jeans, clippers, shears, tweezers, pliers, scissors, tongs
• Those jeans have faded.
• The shears are mine.

• With Collective Noun subjects,
  • use a SINGULAR verb if a group acts as a single unit;
  • use a PLURAL verb if the members act as individuals.
    • (*if you can add the word “individual”)
    • (*cannot go by how it sounds)
• The jury is a good one.
  • single unit, the whole
• The jury are taking their seats.
  • acting individually

Collective Nouns

• Honestly, most student-writers simply write around this rule:
  • The jurors are taking their seats.
  • The members of the jury are taking their seats.

• "number"
  • "a number" = plural
  • "the number" = singular
  • A number of Cowboy fans dislike the starting quarterback.
  • The number of dropouts seems to grow each semester.
• languages/people:
  • Taiwanese = singular (one language)
  • the Taiwanese = plural (many people)
  • Chinese, the Chinese; Japanese, the Japanese
  • Chinese is a difficult language to learn.
  • The Chinese are famous for their beautiful opera.
• non-count nouns
  • singular verb
  • mass nouns or non-count nouns
  • cannot be counted
  • have no plural
  • often without a definite article
  • money, food, furniture, luggage, clothing, happiness, honesty
  • wood, plastic, aluminum, mercury, gold, education, leisure
  • milk, ice, rice, sand, hair, oxygen, rain, snow, weather, research
  • homework, hockey, chess, English, poetry, publicity, photography
  • food, material, subjects, sports, abstractions, liquids, gases, diseases  
• subjunctive mood -
  • verb = plural
  • statements that are not true, that are hypothetical
    • a wish, a doubt
    • something contrary to fact
  • if I were a rich man (I'm not, but if I were I would buy that item)
  • if Scully were there (she wasn't, but if she were, she'd have seen the aliens)
  • if Shakespeare were alive (he's not, but if he were, he'd dislike Anonymous)
  • I wish it were summer (it's not, but I wish it were)
  • if I were you, I'd put that away
  • if it were not for Superman, Lois Lane would have died
  • were I the President of the United States, I'd outlaw that
  • "oh, I wish I were an Oscar Meyer wiener, ..."
  • (true, there are other forms of the subjunctive mood, but -)

SINGULAR

• singular nouns (-s)

• plural nouns (+s)

• singular verbs (+s)

• plural verbs (-s)

• singular 2B (is, am, was)

• plural 2B (are, were)

• single dish (macaroni and cheese)

• compound subject

• ("and") (replaced w/ "they")

• single unit of measurement

• ($ amount, distance)

• single unit (as/considered one)

• single unit (as/considered individually)

* When the coordinating conjunction "or" links a compound subject, the noun-subject closest to the verb will determine if it is singular or plural.*