English Preparation

When using either/or neither/nor, the verb agrees with the subject the closest to it.

Example:

• Neither my friend nor her parents have arrived yet.
• Either my brothers or my sister is going to help you.

In case of group of people, the subject-verb agreement depends on whether the group is acting as one unit or as individuals:

• If the group acts as a single unit, use a singular verb.

Example: The group is planning a trip.

• If the group members are acting individually, use a plural verb.

Example: The group are arguing among themselves

No. Some nouns like mathematics, news, and politics end in “s” but are singular and take a singular verb.

Example: Mathematics is difficult.

Here are some examples of subject-verb agreement:

• The girl is reading a book.
• The boys are playing football.
• Each of the books has a different topic.
• Each of the players has a unique skill.
• The children were playing in the park.
• Ten kilometers is a long distance to walk.

There are 26 rules in subject-verb agreement. These cover a wide range of situations, such as rules for singular/plural subjects, compound subjects, collective nouns, indefinite pronouns, distances, time, money, and exceptions.

Subject-verb agreement means the verb in a sentence must match the subject in number. If the subject is singular, the verb should be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb should be plural.

Example:

• He runs fast. (singular subject + singular verb)
• They run fast. (plural subject + plural verb)

The rule of the simple present tense is as follows:

• Positive Sentence or Affirmative Sentence: Subject + verb (base form) + object (e.g., "He plays football").
• Negative Sentence: Subject + does not/do not + verb (base form) + object (e.g., "She does not like coffee").
• Questions or Interrogative Sentences: Do/Does + subject + verb (base form) + object? (e.g., "Does he work here?").