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Common Error in Subject-Verb Agreement

                  Errors in Subject-Verb Agreement

(1) Singular subject must have singular verb.
    
    Examples :- He writes.
                      I write.
(2) Plural subject must have plural verb.
    
    Examples :- They write.
                      We write.
(3) two subjects joined  by 'and' will always take a plural verb.

      Examples :- The doctor and nurse work together.
                       The doctor and nurses work together.
                        The doctors and nurse work together.
(4) Two singular subjects joined by 'or' and 'nor' will take a singular verb.
     Examples :- A doctor or a nurse is working in the hospital.
(5) A singular subject and a plural subject joined by 'or' or 'nor' will take a singular or plural verb
    depending on which subject is nearer the verb.

    Examples :-Neither Deepak nor his friends are joining the tour.
                     Neither his friends  nor Deepak  is joining the tour.
(6) If the subject is singular and the predicate is plural, the verb must agree with its subject and not
its predicate .

    Examples :- Physical conditioning  and mental attitute are winning combination.
                      The winning combination is physical conditioning and mental attitute.
(7) Indefinite pronouns such as someone, somebody, each, nobody, anyone, anybody, one, no one,
     everyone, everybody, either, neither etc. always take a singular verb.
 
     Examples :- Each of friends calls me once a month.
(8) Indefinite pronounswhich indicate more than one (several, few, both, many) always take a
     plural verbs.
      
     Examples :- Both of the books require careful reading.
                       Several of the fielders regularly run four or five kilometers a day.
(9) collective nouns (fleet, army, committee, crowd) are singular when the groups work together
     as a unit and hence take singular verbs.
  
     Examples :- The jury has reached its verdict.
                        The team runs in a smooth way.
(10) collective nouns are plural when the members of the group are acting individually and hence
       take plural verbs.
     
        Examples :- The jury have argued for five hours.
                           The team are putting on their uniforms.

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