When it comes to subject-verb agreement, there are some
particularly tricky instances. Everyone and everybody certainly feel
like more than one person and, therefore, students are sometimes tempted to use
a plural verb with them. They are always singular, though. Each is often
followed by a prepositional phrase ending in a plural word (Each of the cars),
thus confusing the verb choice. Each, too, is always singular and
requires a singular verb.
"Everyone has
finished his or her homework."
Another example:
"Each of
the students is responsible for doing
his or her work in the library." Not, "Each of the students are responsible for doing his or her work in the library."
Don't let the word "students" confuse you; the subject
is each and each is always singular — Each is responsible.
So how do you check to make sure your subjects and verbs match? It
can be very difficult, especially if you have compound subjects using and. Here is a tip: simply find your
subject and circle just the word (or words) that form the subject—and ignore
everything else. Then, underline the verb and check if subject and verb match.
If they don’t, berate yourself for a few minutes and then fix the problem.
Take
this sentence:
“Doctor Doofus, who needs a new phone message, and Nurse
Nincompoop, his fiancée, are eloping tonight.”
The subject is… what? Ah, yes,
circle both Doctor Doofus and Nurse Nincompoop--the plural
subjects. Forget about the erroneous phone message and the lucky fiancée. Next,
underline are eloping. It’s a match! Plural subjects--plural verb. The
wedding can commence, and no one will have a heart attack.
Here is another one: The use of cell phones and
pagers are prohibited. This one is tricky. The subject is what? The subject
is NOT “cell phones and pagers.” You
would circle “the use of cell phones
and pagers” which is only one thing and thus singular. Therefore, the verb to
underline “are” is incorrect because it is plural while the subject is
singular.
All these circles and underlines might seem tedious, but please
mark up your pages until your subject-verb inflammatory disease is cured. Both
you and your readers will feel much better if you examine your work thoroughly
and get rid of careless errors.
