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Subject-verb Concord
Prepared by:
Dr. PARUL MISHRA
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DCE, GURGAON
doctorparulmishra@ggnindia.dronacharya.info

Introduction:
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 Concord, also termed “agreement”, can be defined as
“the relationship between two grammatical units such
that one of them displays a particular feature (e.g.
plurality) that accords with a displayed (or semantically
implicit) feature in the other. ”
 Concord refers to the agreement relationship between
two grammatical units.

Subject-verb concord
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The most important type of the concord is:
The number agreement between the subject and
the verb.

1. Guiding principles
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Grammatical concord
Notional concord
proximity

2. Grammatical concord
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The Verb must match its subject both in person
and number. Singular subjects take singular verbs,
and plural subjects take plural verbs.
e.g.
Each boy has his own book.
Two girls were standing on the corner.
Much effort is wasted.

Notional concord: agreement in
meaning
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The verb can sometimes agree with the
subject according to the notion of number rather
than to the actual presence of the grammatical
marker of that notion.
e.g.
Fifteen miles seems like a long walk to me.
The government have asked the country to
decide by a vote.

3. Proximity
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The verb agree with a closely preceding noun
phrase in preference to with the head of the
noun phrase that functions as subject.
The verb should agree with the closer of the
two subjects.
e.g. Either you or I am responsible for the
mistake.
No one except his own supporters agree with
him.

Brief summary of the three principles
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 The grammatical concord is the basic
principle, and generally applies to formal
English. The other two, on the otherhand, play
an auxiliary role in informal english.
 Usually grammatical concord and notional
concord coincide. Problems often arise when
the grammatical concord comes into the
conflict with the other two.

Problems of concord with collective
nouns as subject
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Collective nouns are singular in form but
plural in meaning.
The choice between grammatical and notional
concord is mostly governed by usage.
Gentry, Mankind, Police, Cattle, Poultry, Clergy,
Peasantry, Vermin, Nation, Folk, Public,
Committee, Team, Jury.
Ex: The Committee has passed the decision.
The Committee were divided in the decision.

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1. Disease and game names ending in –s1. Disease and game names ending in –s
They are mostly treated as singulars.They are mostly treated as singulars.
A few such names can be used either as singular orA few such names can be used either as singular or
as plural.as plural.
2. Subject names ending in –ics2. Subject names ending in –ics
Such names are generally singular nouns, but someSuch names are generally singular nouns, but some
such nouns are treated as plural when used in othersuch nouns are treated as plural when used in other
senses than subject names.senses than subject names.
3. Geographical names ending in –s3. Geographical names ending in –s
Plural except for a few treated as singular when used asPlural except for a few treated as singular when used as
country names.country names.
Problems of concord with nouns
ending in -s

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Other nouns ending in –s
measles, mumps, goods, wages, premises,
thanks, riches, pantaloons, stockings,
mathematics, economics, gymnastics,
news, mechanics, classics, ethics, innings,
gymnastics, billiards, arms, trousers,
calipers, compasses, flares, forceps/
tongs, glasses/bifocals, jeans, pants,
pincers, pliers, scales, scissors, shades,
shorts, suspenders, spectacles, etc.

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problems of concord with collective
nouns as subject
1) Collective nouns usually used as plural
People, police, cattle, military , poultry, vermin, etc.
2) Collective nouns usually used as singular
Foliage, cutlery, poetry, machinery, equipment,
furniture, merchandise, etc.
3) Collective nouns used either as plural or as singular
Couple, crew, government, majority, opposition , etc
4) A committee, etc + plural noun
A committee /jury/ board / panel of

Collective nouns used as plural
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They include people, police, cattle, poultry,
vermin etc.
e.g.
The police are searching for the murderer.
Domestic cattle provide us with milk, beef and
hides.
Poultry are less expensive in rural areas.

Collective nouns used as Singular
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They include foliage, machinery, furniture,
jewelry, merchandise, etc.
e.g.
All the machinery in that country is made in
China.
Jewelry is no longer a mark of wealth.

Collective nouns used either as plural
or as singular
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They include army, audience, family, team,
committee, class, etc.
The choice of the verb form depends on the
exact meaning of the noun in a specific context.
when the noun is used as a whole, the verb
takes the singular form. If the noun is used as
the individuals that make the collective, the verb
takes the plural form.

Examples:
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The audience is requested to remain seated
during the intermission.
The audience are listening to a Beethoven
symphony.
The class are busy taking notes.
The class is a modal one.

Problems of concord with nouns ending
in -s
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The regular plural is formed by adding –s or –
es to the base.
Quite a few nouns ending in –s are
uncountable.
Some are treated as singular, some as plural,
and some either as singular or as plural.

Disease and game names
ending in –s
They are mostly treated as singular.
e.g.
Mumps is a kind of infectious disease.
Generally, measles occurs in children.
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Subject names ending in –ics
They are generally singular nouns, but some
are treated as plural when used in other
senses.
e.g.
Mathematics is the study of numbers.
His mathematics are not good.
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2) Subject names ending in – ics
Such names are
generally singular nouns, but some such
nouns are treated as plural when used in
other senses than subject names.
acoustics, classics, electronics,
information, linguistics, mechanics,
optics, plastics, thermodynamics, etc.

Geographical names ending in –s
They are usually used as plural except a
few country names..
e.g.
The Himalayas have a magnificent variety of
plant and animal life.
The West Indies are commonly divided into
two parts.
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Country names ending with -s
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* The United States is a country of people with
varied origins.
The United Nations was founded in 1945.

other nouns ending in –s
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Names for things made of two parts such as
scissors, glasses, trousers, shorts, etc. are used
as plural.
His trousers are torn.
Nouns usually taking plural endings such as
arms, clothes, contents, goods, etc. are used as
plurals.
High wages often result in high prices.

Problems of concord with a coordinate
subject
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Coordination with “and” or “both… and”
It is usually treated as plural when it refers to
two or more persons/things, but as singular
when it refers to only one person or thing.
e.g.
Peter and Bob are deadly rivals.
Both John and his son have gone fishing.

More examples:
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*The poet and musician visits our school today.
Ham and egg is a good breakfast.
Every boy and every girl was asked to complete
the form.

coordination with “or”/ “either… or”, “nor”/
“neither… nor”, “not only… but also”
It is generally dealt with according to the principle
of proximity.
e.g.
Neither you nor your husband is responsible for the
mistake.
Not only the students but also their teacher has
participated in the game.
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subject + as well as, in addition to, together
with, etc.
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Subjects linked by as well as, etc, normally comply
with the principle of the grammatical concord.
e.g. The President, as well as his advisors, was aware of
the risk of the mission.
The head coach, together with his team, was
overjoyed when they won the NBA final.

Expressions of quantity as subject
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Definite quantity as subject
a. When it is regarded a single unit, the verb
takes a singular form.
Six months is too short a time.
A hundred dollars is a large sum of money to
a university student.

“a fraction/percentage + of-phrase” as subject
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The verb form is determined by the noun in
the of-phrase.
e.g.
Over 60% of the city was destroyed in the
war.
Two-thirds of the students are willing to take
the test.

“one in/out of + plural noun” as subject
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The verb takes the singular form in formal
style, but plural in informal style.
e.g.
One in ten students has / have failed the
exam.

Indefinite quantity as subject
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a. “all of, some of, none of, half of + noun” as
subject
The verb is determined by the noun in of-
phrase.
e.g.
Some of the money has been stolen.
Half of the students are girls.

b. “a portion of, a series of, a pile of, or
this kind/sort/type of, + noun” as
subject
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The verb invariably takes the singular form.
e.g.
A substantial portion of the report is missing.
A series of accidents has been reported.

c. “many a/more than one + noun” as subject
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This kind of noun phrase, though notionally plural, is
treated as singular.
e.g.
Many a man has done his duty.
More than one student has failed the exam.

Other problems
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Nominal clauses as subject
Generally, a one-clause subject takes the
singular verb, and a two-clause subject, the
plural verb.
e.g.
What caused the accident was a complete
mystery.
What he did and what he said are totally
different.
*What she wanted from him were just promises.

Non-finite clauses
The verb usually as subject takes the
singular form.
e.g.
Playing tennis is a very good exercise.
To eat well is all he asks.
* Singing and dancing are her favorite
hobbies.
To eat to live and to live to eat
constitute two different attitudes towards
life.
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Concord in existential sentence
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The verb agrees with the notional subject.
e.g.
There is a note left on the desk.
There are three routes you can take.
*There is a sofa and two chairs in the room.
(principle of proximity)

Concord in relative clauses
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a. In the construction of “one of + plural noun +
relative clause”, the principle of proximity is
generally preferred (especially in BE).
e.g.
She is one of the girls who have trouble making up
their minds.

b. When one is premodified by the or the
only/very , the verb can only be singular.
e.g.
She is the only one of her family who has
trouble making up her mind.
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Exercises :
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1. The committee ( has, have) agreed to the
proposal.
2. The suite of furniture he bought (was, were) of
contemporary design.
3. The statistics on traffic accidents in this city
(is, are) increasing
4. The New York Times (is, are) published daily.
.

5. War and peace (is, are) a constant theme in
history.
6. Thirty miles (seems, seem) a long walk to
me.
7. Many a boy (was, were) disappointed after
seeing the film.
8. There (is, are) more than one answer to
the question.
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9. All of the fruit (looks, look) ripe.
10. The greater part of the valley (was,
were) flooded.
11. What they want (is, are) some financial
aids.
12. She is the only one of these women
who never (cares, care) her look.
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Assignment:
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1. The Secretary asked us the immediately assemble in the hall .
2. He promised to soon send the article .
3. You should not hesitate to once more check the figures .
4. She was asked to thoroughly revise the draft .
5. Why has these letters not been posted.
6. One of the vice –presidents have resigned.
7. When it rains , dust turn into mud.
8. The furnitures you wish to buy is very expensive.
9. His good were stolen in transit.
10. The committee have submitted its report.
11. The jury have given its verdict .
12. Neither the members nor the chairman have turned up for the meeting.
13. All the students has gone.
14. Three mile a day is a good walk.
15. To succeed as a speaker , the preparation must be thorough.

Thank you!
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Lecture xi- xiii sub- verb concord

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