Chapter 3: SUBJECT – VERB AGREEMENT
I. Singular vs. Plural:
Singular Plural Meaning
My friend lives in Boston. My friends live in Boston. Sing. Noun + Sing. Verb
Pl. Noun + Pl. Verb
Every man, woman, and child needs love.
Each book and magazine is listed. A dog and a cat are chasing a mouse.
A man, a woman and a boy are watching TV. Every/ Each… + Sing. Verb
…and… + Pl. Verb
That book on political parties is interesting. The ideas in that book are interesting.
Growing flowers is her hobby. Growing flowers and keeping fish are her hobbies.

II. Expressions of quantity:
Singular Plural Meaning
Some of the book is good. Some of the books are good. The character of verb depends on the noun.
One of my friends is here.
Each of my friends is here.
Every one of my friends is here. One of
Each of + Pl. verb = Sing. verb
Every one of
None of the boys is here. None of the boys are here.
The number of books is twenty. A number of books are being showed at the book festival.

III. There + be:
There is a book on the table.
There are books on the table.

IV. Special cases:
1) Singular:

- Proper names are singular.
EX: The United States is big.
- ‘news’ is singular.
EX: The news was about a thief.
- Fields of study are singular.
EX: Mathematics is very interesting.
- Names of illness are singular.
EX: Diabetes is not a fatal illness nowadays.
- Expressions of time, money, distance are singular.
EX: Eight hours of sleep is enough.
- Arithmetic expressions are singular.
EX: Two plus two is four.

2) Plural:
- Some nouns are irregular nouns. You must pay attention to their meaning.
EX: Fish are good for your health. ≠ There are many fishes in the world.
- The + Adj. is plural.
EX: The poor are getting help from the government.
NOTE:
- English is interesting.
- The English are friendly.

AX