15

Agreement

Verbs are supposed to agree in number with their subjects. Pronouns are supposed to agree in number and gender with their antecedents. Most of the time, this is easy. English has very few verb conjugations and very few rules about gender compared with other languages. So choosing between My parents are coming and My parents is coming is a complete no-brainer. (And for anyone not sure, the first one is right.)

Yet agreement problems are among the most common errors in the language. They occur when one part of speech isn’t inflected to match up with another. Usually that means a verb doesn’t agree with its subject. Less commonly, it means a pronoun doesn’t match its antecedent or an object doesn’t match its subject. Certain words and structures add to the problem by confusing us or causing us to lose track of what we intended to say. Here’s a look at some areas that cause a lot of agreement problems.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Simple sentences with simple subjects seldom contain subject-verb agreement problems.

Trey knows calculus.

(The verb knows is in the third person singular to match Trey.)

Still, subject-verb agreement problems happen all the time. Here’s a real one from a New York Times blog: “Walking, running, weight lifting, and working out on resistance machines is unquestionably effective and safe for most adults.” The verb is in this sentence is an error. The verb should be are because the subject is plural, containing four coordinate noun phrases: walking, running, weight-lifting, and working out.

A lot of issues conspire to mess up our subject-verb agreement. They include false attraction, the disputed nature of the pronoun they, nouns singular in meaning but plural in form, and other words and structures that frequently throw off our subject-verb agreement. Here are the biggest culprits.

FALSE ATTRACTION

In general, the longer and the more complicated the sentence, the easier it is to forget whether your subject needs a singular or plural verb.

Many dogs, like my friend Lisa’s hyperactive Rottweiler, runs in circles.

(The singular verb runs should be the plural run.)

In the above example, the subject of the verb is dogs. But that’s all too easy to forget in light of the intervening information. The only solution is to proceed with caution and remember which noun governs the verb.

When there are a lot of interceding words between the subject and verb, it’s easy to forget which word is the real subject. A problem called false attraction can occur. This just means that the speaker conjugated the verb to go with a noun close to it instead of the noun that was actually the subject.

The collective conscience of the lawmakers themselves, as evidenced in their many actions and many words, are in question.

The above example is an error. Are in question should be is in question because the subject is conscience. But the plural nouns after the subject made it sound as though the plural verb are would be correct.

Always, the solution for subject-verb agreement problems lies in keeping track of which noun is meant to be the subject.

SINGULAR VERSUS PLURAL THEY

The pronoun they and its counterparts them and their are traditionally considered to be plural—third person plural, to be exact. But in fact, they can function as singular. Consider the following examples:

Anyone who wants cake should make sure they arrive early.

Everyone in the building has their own cubicle.

Somebody should have taken the nasty weather with them.

In each of these examples, the subject is singular. To confirm that, try each in a simpler sentence: Anyone is able to do it. Everyone has an opinion. Somebody wants a treat. Notice how well these indefinite pronouns work with singular verbs. Now try a few of these pronouns with plural verbs: Anyone park in the lot. Everyone in the building have their own cubicle. Somebody know the secret.

Clearly, these pronouns function as singulars. So how is it possible that these clearly singular nouns can be the antecedents of the supposedly plural pronouns they, them, and their? Simple. Those pronouns aren’t technically plural. They can, according to many dictionaries and linguistics experts, function as singular pronouns.

Singular they, them, and their fill a need in the language. English has no designated third person singular personal pronoun that isn’t gender specific. He and she are third person singular, but you’re assigning a sex to someone when you use one of these.

When you want to make reference to a singular person whose sex you don’t know, you have several options.

You can default to the male pronoun in every instance, but that’s considered archaic by most modern writers. Everyone in the building has his own cubicle.

You can guess at which sex is dominant in the group referenced by the pronoun. Everyone in the Lamaze class should make sure she brings home the printout.

You can use he or she, him or her, or his or her in every instance: Everyone in the building has his or her own cubicle. This is often an ideal choice. But it gets cumbersome very fast in situations that require multiple references to the subject: Everyone in the building should make sure he or she takes his or her belongings with him or her whenever he or she finishes his or her shift.

With all the problems inherent in these options, you can see how singular they continues to gain steam. And lest you think this is an eroding of the language, this is how language evolves. People adapt words to new uses, filling a need. Over time, those uses become correct. Things just get a little awkward in the interim.

As for people who don’t identify as either sex and, as a result, prefer to be referred to with they: The same rules above that allow they to refer to a singular person of unknown sex allow it to refer to a singular person of unspecified sex.

Agreement of Indefinite Pronouns with Verbs and Other Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns, including anybody, anyone, everybody, someone, all, few, each, none, and several, cause a lot of agreement problems. We got a glimpse of this above in the section on singular they because the subjects in sentences with singular they are often indefinite pronouns.

Everyone should keep their car locked.

Anybody caught out after 11 p.m. knows their movie privileges will be revoked.

Someone who loves me said they will come to my defense.

In each of these examples, the indefinite pronoun in the subject is treated as a grammatical singular when it comes to conjugating the verb: everyone is (not are); anybody knows (not know); someone loves (not love). But the they, them, or their that comes later in the sentence doesn’t quite match because these pronouns are traditionally considered plural. The solution to this problem, of course, is that in these situations, they and its cousins are in fact singular.

It’s worth stopping to notice here how everyone and everybody are customarily singular—everybody is—even though they clearly mean to talk about more than one person.

Singular they isn’t the only agreement problem created by indefinite pronouns. The more common issue is seen in the fact that many pronouns can represent either a singular or a plural noun depending on their antecedent (or implied antecedent). These include some, any, many, and none.

Of all the music we’re hearing, some is better than the rest.

Of all the songs on the album, some are better than the rest.

The milk spilled and some is dripping off the table.

The jelly bean bag tore open and some are spilling off the table.

Notice how the indefinite pronoun some takes a singular verb when it refers to the noncount noun music, but it takes a plural verb when referring to plural count noun songs. Both are correct. The number of the pronoun is determined by the antecedent or implied antecedent.

The indefinite pronoun none is especially controversial. Some people insist that it’s singular because it means not one. But in fact, none can take a singular or plural verb depending on whether the speaker or writer intends it to represent a singular or plural.

Of all my family members, none are as generous as Carol.

(Correct because the writer intends none as plural.)

Of all my family members, none is as generous as Carol.

(Correct because the writer intends none as singular.)

Not all indefinite pronouns have the power to refer to either a singular or plural. One, for example, is an indefinite pronoun. And no one would pair that with a plural verb. But for any, many, some, much, all, none, and similar indefinite pronouns, the number of the verb is governed primarily by the intent of the speaker.

Agreement of Verbs with Noun Phrases Modified by Prepositional Phrases

Consider these two sentences:

A flock of seagulls is overhead.

A flock of seagulls are fighting among themselves over some French fries.

In both these examples, we have a noun phrase, a flock of seagulls, that contains a prepositional phrase, of seagulls, that contains another noun phrase, seagulls. In other words, this sentence contains two nouns in its subject. One of them is singular, flock. One of them is plural, seagulls. So which one governs the verb?

The head noun of the phrase, flock, is clearly dominant. Just being head noun makes that so. A default assumption, then, is that the head noun is the subject of the clause and therefore determines the number of the verb.

Often, that’s true. But not always. There’s no rule that says the object of a preposition can’t be subject of a verb in these scenarios. And sometimes that’s clearly best.

A flock of seagulls is fighting among itself.

This example shows that sometimes the default assumption doesn’t work. In this case, it’s obvious the writer intended to emphasize the plural seagulls instead of the singular flock.

A group of kids are hanging around outside.

A group of kids is hanging around outside.

If it were true that the head noun of the noun phrase governs the verb, then it would seem that is would be necessary in the above example. But the plural are sounds better.

To navigate these situations, it helps to first try treating the head noun of the noun phrase as the subject of the verb. But when that sounds odd, it’s acceptable to conjugate the verb to match the object of the preposition.

Agreement with Nouns Plural in Number but Singular in Meaning

Many nouns are plural in form but singular in meaning.

politics

acoustics

news

billiards

measles

physics

trousers

gymnastics

clothes

Choosing the right verb form to go with one of these nouns is effortless—until you think about it and realize you don’t know why it’s The news is good or Gymnastics are difficult.

In fact, many of these terms sound best with a singular verb in some contexts but a plural verb in others.

Politics is a tough profession.

His politics are a little scary.

There is no rule for knowing whether these plural-in-form but singular-in-meaning nouns take a plural or singular verb. Instead, it’s more about sound and, to a lesser extent, meaning.

It sounds wrong to say, His politics is a little scary. That’s why the plural verb are is the better choice here.

Conversely, Politics are a tough profession doesn’t sound quite so bad. But we can see the writer of this sentence is thinking about politics as a singular because its predicate nominative is a tough profession, which is singular. So here we know that politics is being referred to as a single thing: a profession.

Dictionaries will help in some situations. They sometimes contain discussions on whether a noun is singular, plural, or both. But when the dictionary doesn’t give you any hints, there’s no better guide than your own sense of what seems “right.”

There’s to Introduce a Plural

There’s is a contraction of there and is. And is, obviously, is a singular verb. Yet it’s common to hear sentences like There’s a lot of people waiting outside and There’s not many things we can do. Grammatically speaking, these are subject-verb agreement errors. The notional subjects people and things are plural and, therefore, should take plural verbs.

There are a lot of people waiting outside.

There aren’t many things we can do.

However, there’s before a plural is idiomatically acceptable even if it’s a little informal. This is especially true with interceding terms like a lot. In other words, There’s a lot of people sounds better than There’s many people because a lot has a singular flavor while many connotes a plural.

Opt for there are before a plural any time informal usage might be inappropriate.

Subject-Complement Agreement

Did all the audience members raise their hands or did they raise their hand? The first suggests that each member in the audience may have raised two hands. The second suggests that an auditorium full of people somehow collectively held up just one hand.

Here are a few more examples of the same problem:

All the players turned their head/heads.

Car buyers should be sure that the insurance policy/policies they buy has a low deductible/low deductibles.

Not many high schoolers own a car/cars.

So what’s the right answer? There isn’t one. These structures just can’t make clear how an object of a verb is divvied up among individuals represented in the subject. If you must make it clear, you have to recast the sentence: Each member of the audience raised his hand. Every person in the stadium turned his or her head. The high schooler who owns her own car is in the minority.

But usually, that’s not the best idea. People in these situations tend to opt for the singular object: everyone raised their hand (instead of hands). The meaning is usually clear.

Effect of as well as, along with, and Similar Joining Terms on Verb Agreement

The term as well as means something very similar to and, but it can have a very different effect in a sentence.

We’re serving punch, cookies, and cake.

(And coordinates the noun phrases.)

We’re serving punch, cookies, as well as cake.

(As well as does not join the items the way and does.)

We’re serving punch, cookies, and cake, as well as ice cream.

(Noun phrase introduced by as well as can work to supplement the list already coordinated with and.)

In lists of noun phrases, as well as simply doesn’t have the same coordinating properties that and does. The same is true of prepositional phrases, verb phrases, and adjective phrases.

a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, as well as with the people

Andrea acts, writes, and produces, as well as directs, many projects.

The act was brave, selfless, and noble, as well as kind-hearted.

In all these cases, if the coordinator and were removed, the sentence would be ungrammatical because as well as simply can’t do the job on its own.

Yet as well as can sometimes work as a coordinator of noun phrases when they’re subjects of a verb.

The way he talks to people, as well as the way he carries himself, projects arrogance.

The way he talks to people as well as the way he carries himself project arrogance.

Note that in the first example, the verb is conjugated for the singular subject the way he talks to people. Yet in the second example, the verb project is conjugated for a plural subject, treating the noun phrases the way he talks and the way he carries himself as coordinate subjects.

Such are the unusual properties of as well as. Other expressions, notably along with, work in similar ways. In most cases, they can’t coordinate items the way and can. But in rarer instances, they can.

Singular verbs are more common in these cases. So consider that your default option when faced with as well as–joined subjects. And remember that commas go a long way toward indicating whether the as well as item is coordinate or parenthetical.

Effect of Every on Coordinate Noun Phrases

Every Tom, Dick, and Harry likes pizza. Something interesting is happening in this sentence. The coordinator and usually makes a verb plural: Tom, Dick, and Harry like pizza. But insert the word every, and suddenly the number of the verb changes: it becomes likes, which corresponds to a singular subject. So the subject of this sentence now functions as a singular even though it contains three people.

This is because every is considered singular in form even though it clearly refers to a plural. In shorter sentences, this doesn’t cause problems. But in longer sentences, it can be easy to lose track of the number of the subject. So just remember that every can render coordinate subjects effectively singular.

Relative Pronoun Antecedent Agreement

Think about which verb should go with each of these examples:

It is I who wants/want.

It is we who goes/go.

It is they who believes/believe.

By default, we usually treat who as singular, with the verb conjugated accordingly.

Who is there?

Who walks in L.A.?

Who knows?

But when who clearly refers to a plural, it can be plural.

Who are these people?

People who ski love Mammoth Mountain.

Of all your friends, the ones who stand by you deserve the most gratitude.

This seldom causes problems. But there’s one construction that makes agreement with the relative pronoun who a lot tougher: It is [blank] who [blank].

It is I who is/am getting a pay raise.

It is we who is/are taking care of it.

It is Byron and Claudia who is/are the most cautious.

The choice is tough because the word who seems to beg for a third person singular verb is, while the other pronoun in each example suggests some other form: am (first person singular), are (first person plural), or are (third person plural), respectively. Without the who, these are all no-brainers: I am. We are. They are.

So which wins?

In a departure from the usually ambiguous answers, this one is easy. The pronoun who echoes its antecedent. When it means I, it’s first person singular. When it means they, it’s third person plural. And so on. So just ignore who and conjugate the verb to agree with the noun or personal pronoun.

It is I who am getting a pay raise.

It is we who are taking care of it.

It is Byron and Claudia who are the most cautious.

And this applies to all verbs, not just be.

It is I who know the way.

It is we who see.

It is Byron and Claudia who lie.

True, these sound awkward. No doubt, that’s why people tend to avoid them. But when you’re committed to a sentence with this structure, just remember the verb matches not who but its antecedent.