Intermediate English Grammar for ESL Learners - Robin Torres-Gouzerh 2016

Complex sentences
14 Subject-verb agreement

A dependent clause is called a relative clause when it begins with who, which, or that. When one of these words is immediately followed by a verb phrase, the relative pronoun (who, which, that) becomes the subject of the clause. Consider the following examples.

The man, who was walking down the street, was poor.

Peter usually eats macaroni and cheese, which is his favorite dish.

Do you see the plane that is flying away?

If who, which, or that is the subject of the relative clause, the verb must reflect the number of that subject: singular or plural. If the antecedent of who, which, or that is singular, the relative pronoun is singular. )f the antecedent is plural, the relative pronoun is plural. And in both instances, the verb will agree with the number of the antecedent and relative pronoun.

SINGULAR ANTECEDENT

The boy, who is throwing stones, is going to break a window.

The car, which is being built in Detroit, has GPS as a standard feature.

John found a pen that is made of silver.

PLURAL ANTECEDENT

The boys, who are throwing stones, are going to break a window.

The cars, which are being built in Detroit, have GPS as a standard feature.

Mary found two pens that are made of silver.

While who, which, or that can be the subject of the relative clause, whose cannot be a subject. In this case, the subject of the clause is the noun that immediately follows whose.

He is the architect whose mother comes from a poor country.

In this sentence, the subject of the relative clause is mother and the verb is comes, the third-person singular form that agrees with the singular noun mother. It is possible for whose to be used with a plural subject.

He is the architect whose parents come from a poor country.

Exercise 14.8 Underline the antecedent(s) of who, which, or that in each sentence.

1. Frank plays tennis with Mark and Pamela, who are his best friends.

2. She works in Manhattan, which is the most densely populated borough in New York City.

3. People who live in a house are fortunate.

4. Do you see the cars that are parked at the end of this street?

Exercise 14.9 Underline the appropriate verb form in each sentence.

1. The book that was | were on the table is mine.

2. Tyler, who is | are already finished with law school, is 22 years old.

3. Tour guides who talks | talk too much are annoying.

4. The government must support people who is | are poor.

5. Sophie ate the brownies that was | were on the plate.