10-1 Subject-verb agreement

Fables nearly always revolve around animals, but animal characters alone (is / are) not a signal that the story is a fable.

Are The subject of the clause, characters, is plural, so the verb is are

There (is / are) generally only two or three characters in an Aesop fable.

Are The subject of the sentence, characters, is plural, so the verb is are. (Because the sentence begins with the expletive there, the subject follows the verb.)

Toys Aplenty (appreciates / appreciate) your business and is committed to your satisfaction.

Company names, such as Toys Aplenty, are singular even when they contain plural words, so the verb is appreciates.

Fables are short stories that (conveys / convey) a moral.

Convey When the relative pronoun that is used as the subject of a clause, the verb agrees with the word the pronoun refers to, in this case the plural noun stories.

Aesop's fables have always attracted a wide audience; adults and children (enjoys / enjoy) them, and almost everyone knows at least one fable.

Enjoy The compound subject, Adults and children, is plural.

"The Fox and the Grapes," for instance, (is / are) familiar to many children as a story long before they know how to read.

Is When used as subjects, titles of works (such as "The Fox and the Grapes") are singular, even if they contain plural words.

Before reaching college, nearly everyone already (knows / know) several facts about fables.

Knows The subject, everyone, is third-person singular, so the -s form of the verb is required.

There (is / are) many committee meetings and much discussion

are The compound subject, many committee meetings and much discussion, is plural, so the verb is are

The mouse points out that his solution would not cost much; a bell and a string (is / are) all the equipment needed to give the mice warning of the cat's approach.

are The subject, a bell and a string, is plural. The verb should agree with the subject, not with a subject complement such as equipment.

High concentrations of carbon monoxide in a home (causes / cause) headaches, dizziness, unconsciousness, and even death.

cause The subject, concentrations, is plural, so the verb is cause.

Some animal rights groups oppose the eating of eggs, which (comes / come) from animals.

come When the relative pronoun which is used as a subject, the verb agrees with the word the pronoun refers to, in this case the plural noun eggs.

From one of Aesop's lesser-known fables (comes / come) the question "Who's going to bell the cat?"

comes The subject is question, not fables. The sentence is inverted, with the subject following the verb. (Fables can't be the subject because it appears in a prepositional phrase.)

The fable "Belling the Cat" (describes / describe) the long battle between mice and cats.

describes The subject, fable, is third-person singular, so the -s form of the verb is required.

Both Sonia and her sister hope to go into the foreign service, but neither (has / have) yet applied.

has The subject of the clause, neither, is singular, so the verb should be has.

A crowd of observers almost never (has / have) a role in his stories.

has The subject, crowd, is a collective noun with a singular meaning (because the crowd is functioning as a unit).

Neither our city nor our county (has / have) established a meals on wheels program for senior citizens.

has. When two subjects are joined with neither . . . nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearer to the verb, in this case the singular noun county.

The city's rich history and its exciting cultural life (has / have) made Paris a popular tourist destination.

have Subjects joined with and, such as history and life, are plural, so the verb should be have.

Aesop, to whom most familiar fables in Western culture (has / have) been attributed, lived from 620 to 560 BCE.

have The subject of the clause, fables, is plural, so the verb is have.

The subject matter of Aesop's fables (is / are) nearly always the same. Most of the fables point out the value of common sense or make gentle fun of human failings.

is The subject of the sentence, matter, is singular

In the story, a committee of mice (is / are) appointed to find a way to stop the cat from killing so many mice.

is The subject, committee, is a collective noun with a singular meaning (because the committee is working as a unit).

A central motif in the field of economics (is / are) guns and butter.

is The subject, motif, is singular, so the verb is is.

In the end, neither the committee nor its chairperson (is / are) able to make any good suggestions. Finally, the time comes for the committee to make its report at a public meeting. Embarrassed, the committee reports its failure.

is When two subjects are joined by neither . . . nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearer to the verb, in this case chairperson.

Since neither foolish behavior nor human failings (seems / seem) to be in short supply, Aesop's stories continue to be told.

seem When two subjects are joined with neither . . . nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearer to the verb, in this case failings.

The young mouse makes quite a speech in favor of his idea. According to that mouse, statistics (shows / show) that no mice have ever been captured by a noisy cat.

show The noun statistics is plural when it refers to data (not to a body of knowledge).

At first, there is only silence; no one wants to accept the committee's report as the final word on the problem. Then a little pipsqueak among the mice (suggests / suggest) tying a bell on the cat.

suggests The subject, pipsqueak, is third-person singular, so the -s form of the verb is required

Everyone on the committee (tries / try) to solve the problem

tries The subject, Everyone, is third-person singular, so the -s form of the verb is required.

Each of the twenty-five actors (was / were) given a five-minute tryout, and only three were called back for a more intensive audition.

was The subject, Each, is third-person singular, so the verb should be was. (Actors cannot be the subject because it is part of a prepositional phrase.)

After hearing the evidence and the closing arguments, the jury (was / were) sequestered.

was The collective noun jury is treated as singular unless the meaning is clearly plural. In this case, the jury is working as a unit, so the verb is was.

When Governor John White returned to Roanoke, there (was / were) no traces of the settlers he had left behind.

were The subject of the clause, traces, is plural, so the verb should be were. When a clause opens with the expletive there, the subject follows the verb.

The mouse who makes the suggestion gets a round of applause. The committee members, who (wishes / wish) that they had thought of the idea, are silent. Then a wise old mouse asks, "Who will bell the cat?" The experienced mice and the young pipsqueak are silent. It is easy to make suggestions that others have to carry out.

wish When the relative pronoun who is used as the subject of a clause, the verb agrees with the word the pronoun refers to, in this case the plural noun members.