Grammar Notes

1. Subject-Verb Agreement
- Singular nouns (manager, building, desk, office) must be followed by a verb in the singular form, while plural nouns (representatives, plans, devices, goods) must be followed by a verb in the plural form.
- The verbs be and have change forms according to the noun they are agreeing with. All other verbs do not change except for the third-person singular in the present tense, where an -s is added to the end of the verb. Uncountable nouns (information, satisfaction) also take the third-person singular verb.

- The proposal talks about a plan to reduce wastage when cutting out patterns.
- Information about the merger is not available at the moment.
- Board members worry that the advertising campaign is too risky.

Note: The number of a subject is not affected by the phrase or clause that separates the subject from its verb. Words naming categories or collective groups often end in a plural-looking -s but are considered singular nouns.

- This client, along with any other client with this problem, was given replacement machines instead of repairs. ,
- News about the company sponsoring the community festival was announced last week.

2. Noun/Gerund Phrases as Subjects
A. A noun phrase
- A noun phrase is a noun with one or more modifiers (the employee who was hired last week, twelve hours of work, last week's board meeting).
- Be careful of the subjects in noun phrases and beware of plural nouns that are not the subject.
- What we are looking for in our candidates is at least five years' experience in sales and knowledge of the tourism industry.
- Twelve hours of work is equal to $40.
- Twelve members of our company are leaving this week.

B. A gerund phrase
- A gerund phrase is a verb in the noun form with -ing at the end, often followed by an adverbial phrase (working on the weekends, reviewing new material, leaving bags unattended).
- Gerund phrases are concepts and only take the third-person singular verb.
- Giving small gifts to regular customers is one way we can encourage them to keep coming back.

3. Agreement with Subject Modifiers
Extra modifiers placed between the subject and the verb do not affect the number of a verb.
- The entire accounting team, including Sally and George, is moving to the new building.
- The president, as well as her family, was present at the ceremony last week.
- Everyone, except for the manager and myself, was asked to complete a survey.

4. Agreement with Phrases of Quantity and Time

Singular Quantifiers	Plural Quantifiers
the number of+ plural noun anybody, anyone, anything everybody, everyone, everything nobody, no one, nothing	a number of + plural noun many/severai/few/both + plural noun a couple of+ plural noun

- Anyone with a certification in accounting is invited to apply.
- The number of women in the company is steadily growing.
- A couple of employees are asking about maternity leave.
- Many residents have expressed interest in a new shopping center downtown.

Note: With a fraction or percentage, the noun in the following of-phrase determines whether the verb is singular or plural.
- Fifty percent of all JobCore employees own a stake in the company.
- A quarter of the information was lost in the transfer between servers.

5. Agreement with Correlative Conjunctions
In paired conjunctions that link similar words, phrases, or clauses, the subject closest to the verb determines the verb form.
- Either Sandra or Thomas has the keys to the storage closet.
- Neither these two books nor the other one I need is available online.
- Neither your experience at your last job nor any of yours in the past ten years is a match for our job position.
Note: Both. . . and is the exception. The verb is always plural.
- Both the London branch and the Dover branch are closed for repairs.
- Both the jacket and the pants are included in the price.

Grammar Notes

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