100 ways to improve your writing - Gary Provost 2019
Make verbs agree with their subjects
Ten ways to avoid grammatical errors
Plural subjects require plural verbs; singular subjects require singular verbs. When writing a long or complicated sentence, check to make certain your verb agrees in number with its subject.
Wrong |
Right |
One of the nicest memories Linda has are those memories of her wedding. |
One of the nicest memories Linda has is the memory of her wedding. |
Or: |
|
The nicest memories Linda has are those of her wedding. |
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The list of actors who will be in the cast are posted on the bulletin board. |
The list of actors who will be in the cast is posted on the bulletin board. |
The dog, as well as its fleas, are in the car. |
The dog, as well as its fleas, is in the car. (The number of the subject and verb is not affected by parenthetical phrases introduced by with, together with, including, as well as, no less than, plus, etc.) |
Will everybody take their pencil out of their desks? |
Will everybody take a pencil out of his or her desk? (The following nouns are singular: Each, every, everybody, someone, somebody, no one, anyone, and anybody.) |