Author: Prof. Edelson (Page 3 of 8)

Subject – Verb AgreementDirections: Circle the correct verb in the following sentences. If you have a doubt about the correct verb, refer to the clues on the following page.

1. The rhythm of the pounding waves is / are calming.

2. All of the dogs in the neighborhood were / was barking.

3. A high tax, not to mention unemployment, influence / influences votes.

4. My friends and my mother like / likes each other.

5. The team and the band was / were on the field.

6. Building a good marriage and building a good log fire is / are similar in many ways.

7. John or Doris write / writes to us regularly.

8. Neither Carol nor Ted is / are excluded from the meeting.

9. Either Patty or Tom was / were asked to lead the meeting.

10. Neither the basket nor the apples was / were expensive.

11. Neither the apples nor the basket was / were expensive

12. Either Maria or you was / were late for class.

13. Either you or Maria was / were late for class.

14. Hardest hit by the high temperatures and the drought was / were the farmers.

15. Neither of them like / likes going to the show.

16. Each of them has / have a good seat.

17. Everybody in the class has / have tickets.

18. Every silver knife, fork, and spoon has / have to be counted.

19. Each cat and each dog has / have its own toy.

20. The committee is / are meeting today.

21. Ten million gallons of oil is / are a lot of oil.

22. The jury vote / votes today.

23. The number is / are very small.

24. A number of students was / were absent.

25. Ten million gallons of oil was / were spilled.

26. The majority of us is / are in favor.

27. Statistics is / are an interesting subject. Statistics is / are often misleading.

28. The sheep stray / strays when the gate is left open. Sheep stray / strays when the gate is left open.