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Time to study language

You have learnt that a subject is the person, animal or thing that the sentence is about.
For example,
• Sumita was tall, dark and frail.

• Mummy and Daddy were planning to move to the new house in April.

• I met Sumita at the gate of Minto Towers.

In a sentence, the subject must agree with the verb. If the subject is singular, the verb must
also be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.

Here are a few rules of subject-verb agreement.

1. When the subjects are joined by and, we use a plural verb. For example,

• Ajanta and Sumita are playing.

2. When two singular subjects are joined by or, either…or, neither…nor, we use a singular
verb. For example,

• Either Mummy or Daddy is at home.

3. When two subjects—singular and plural—are joined by or, either…or, neither…nor,
the verb agrees with the subject closest to it. For example,

• Either Ajanta or her parents are at home.

4. A collective noun, if taken as a whole, agrees with a singular verb. For example,

• A swarm of bees is buzzing around.

5. Words like there and here are not the subjects of a sentence. The subject follows the
verb. For example,

• Here is the key.

6. When distances, periods of time and sums of money are considered as a unit, we use a
singular verb. For example,

• Ten kilometres is quite a distance to walk.

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the verb.
1. Neither the teacher nor the students in the classroom.
was / were

2. Sunscreen and towels necessary for a trip to the beach.
are / is

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