Concord or Subject-Verb Agreement

Collins English Dictionary defines Concord as “the way that a word has a form appropriate to the number or gender of the noun or pronoun it relates to. For example, in 'She hates it', there is concord between the singular form of the verb and the singular pronoun 'she'.”

Concord means harmony, an agreement or to be at peace. It has been derived from the Latin word concordis, con means the same and cordis is heart ; which indicates perfect harmony. In grammar, the subject and the verb have to be in perfect harmony. Its French version is concorde which also means the same. In English grammar, Concord mainly focuses on subject-verb agreement. This is subdivided into three categories:

• Grammatical concord
• Concord of proximity
• Notional concord

Grammatical Concord

The concept of singular verb with singular subject and plural verb with plural subject, in grammar, is called grammatical concord. The grand rule of subject-verb concord is that a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb. Singular verbs are inflected with suffix ‘-s’ while plural verbs maintain the base form. In other words, a singular verb ends with an ‘s’ and a plural verb has no ‘s’.

Verb
Singular	Plural
comes	come
greets	greet
prays	pray

Let’s check some of the guiding rules under grammatical concord:

Rule 1: Singular subjects take singular verbs.

• The student advocates for free lunch after the extra mural lesson.
• A serious situation calls for a serious approach.
• The period between pregnancy and childbirth is sometimes critical.
• Anxiety solves no problem.
• The quality of these pens is very good.

Rule 2: Plural subjects take plural verbs.

• The children wake up late every day.
• Serious issues call for serious approaches.
• The young boys on the pitch play
• What you see and how you react determine the outcome.
• My father and his friend believe in corporal punishment.

Note: The focus is on the subject of the verb, not what comes in between the subject and the verb.

In case of two or more than two subjects the rules are as follows :

a)      Two or more singular subjects joined by and take a plural verb. e.g.,

-         Rahul and his sister are going.

-         Jatin and I study together.

-         Lokesh and Mahesh were brothers.

Similarly if there are two clauses in one subject, they take a plural verb e.g.

-         What he earns and how be spends, are none of your business.

b)     Two singular subjects joined by and and qualified by each/every take a singular verb, e.g.,

-         Each boy and each girl was interested in the postponement of the examination.

-         Each successive day and each night was adding to his miseries.

-         Every man and woman in this colony is looking tense.

c)      If two subjects are joined by as well as, with, together with, in addition to, and not, the verb agrees with the first subject e.g.

-         You as well as he are guilty.

-         The ship with its crew was lost.

-           Rita and not her sister is interested in this property.

d)     Either, neither, each, every, everyone and many a, used as part of the subject take a singular verb e.g.

-         Either of these two boys is guilty.

-         Neither of those two girls was present in the class.

-         Every Indian is ready to die for his country.

-         Many a delegate is interested in an excursion trip.

e)      The principal of proximity also applies here Two singular subjects joined by either… or, neither… nor, or , nor, take a singular verb.

-         A pen or pencil is needed by her.

-         Neither Mr. Khanna nor his son wants to join the party.

In case the subjects joined by any of these alternative conjunctions are in plural they obviously take a plural verb, e.g.,

-         Either the officers or the subordinates have to take an initiative to make the cleanliness campaign a success.

f)      When the subject is a complete clause, the verb is always singular e.g.,

-         What they wanted at that moment was the police protection.

g)     If two subjects are connected by rather than/more than the verb agrees with the first subject, e.g.,

-         Sheebu, more than others is responsible for letting the secret out.

h)     The principle of proximity also applies here. If two singular subjects are connected with nobody, not even, not only… but also, they take a singular verb and  if the subject is in plural, it takes a plural verb, e.g.,

-         Nobody, not even the Dean, was interested in the change.

-         Not only the warden but also the prefect was insisting on punishing the accused.

-         Nobody, not even his brothers were ready to stand a surety for such a cheat.

i)       It the subject of the verb is a relative pronoun, the verb agrees in number and person with the antecedent of the relative e.g.,

-         You, who are the eldest in the family, ought to be respected.

-         It is I who am responsible for the smooth sailing of this unit.

-         She is one of the best teachers that have contributed a lot to make it a prime institute of the state.

j)       Many, most and several take plural verb when they are used as subject whereas, little, less, more much etc. take a singular verb, e.g.,

-         Little has been done to improve the standard of teaching.

-         Many were interviewed, but none was found suitable.

Rule 3: When a subject is joined to another noun by subordinator, disregard the subjoined noun or noun phrase. Focus on the first noun.

• The chairman alongside other members visits the orphanage quarterly.
• The teachers with the principal encourage the students to perform well.
• The senior prefect, as well as, other students never likes the physics teacher.

From the examples above, we have two nouns in each subject slot as highlighted below:

• The chairman alongside other members …
• The teachers with the principal …
• The senior prefect, as well as, other students…

The subjoined nouns are members, principal and students. Going by the rules, the focus of the expression is on chairman, teachers and senior prefect. Hence, they determine the nature of the verbs. Moreover, the sentence can be restructured thus for further clarity:

• *Alongside other members, the chairman visits the orphanage quarterly.
• *With the principal, the teachers encourage the students to perform well.

So, the main subject determines the status of the verb.

Other examples:

• The man with his children attends to customers.
• The soldiers as well as the vigilante team watch over the small community.

Rule 4: When more than one is used as a subject of a verb in simple present tense, the verb should be singular because the headword is one.

• More than one man was asked to embark on the journey.
• More than one mango was shared among the children.

Rule 5: When two nouns refer to one person at the subject position, the verb should be singular, of course, because it is one person.

See these:

• My husband and boss never goes late for meetings.
• Here the speaker’s husband is also her boss. So, one pre-modifier us used for both nouns as it is one person. Compare, “My husband and my boss never go late to meeting”. Here, the speaker is referring to two different people.
• The president and Commander-in-chief of the armed forces lives his life fighting corruption.
• The class captain and best student of our set is just too proud.

·         My friend and patron is Mr. Khokher.

·         The doctor and singer has arrived.

·         The statesman and poet has taken over as Prime Minister.

In all these sentences the two nouns each, refer to the same person. If they were two different persons the second noun would have been preceded by the article ‘the’ e.g.

·         The doctor and the singer have arrived. Here the doctor and the singer are two different individuals.

Note: Always check for the pre-modifier when you have two nouns in the subject slot. When the nouns refer to one person, we use one pre-modifier.

Rule 6: When an indefinite pronoun pre-modifies a subject or acts as the main subject, the verb should be singular.

• Everyone loves to be respected.
• Every boy and girl loves his or her mother.
• Nobody cares for everybody’s job.

Rule 7: Some nouns end with ‘s’ but they are singular. You need to be careful because they are meant to go with singular verbs.

• Measles is caused by uncleanliness.
• Mathematics has been the problem of most students.
• Statistics was the only course accredited in that institution.

Rule 8: When a relative/adjectival clause qualifies a noun, the verb in the relative/adjectival clause works with the noun it qualifies.

For instance, ‘One of the girls that sit in the front row has been suspended’. ‘sit’ in the relative clause agrees with ‘girls’ as the relative clause, ‘that sit in the front row’ qualifies the noun, ‘girls’. Then, the main verb in the sentence ‘has’ agrees with ‘one’.

Semantically, it means many girls sit in the front row only one has been suspended.

Other examples:

• Algebra is one of the topics that confuse
• Dr Verma is one of the lecturers who teach this course.

Rule 8: when a generic reference is used with the definite article ‘the’ as a subject of the verb, the verb should be plural.

Generic reference is used when you make a reference to all the members of a class of people or things.

Examples:

• The rich also cry.
• The less privileged look after one another.
• The young dream
• The wise don’t talk too much.

Rule 9: When a result of a survey is issued or reported, caution should be exercised to avoid error of overgeneralization.

For instance, ‘One in ten prefer coffee to tea’; Not, ‘One in ten prefers coffee to tea’. In the real sense, more than one person prefers coffee. So, if we have thirty-two people in a group and we say one in ten,  it means at least two. With such expressions verb in plural is used .

Other examples: One in every five boys go to the local cinema.                   

Rule 10.  When an uncountable noun is introduced with a quantifier or percentage, it attracts a singular verb. In the same vein, when a countable noun is introduced in percentage, it goes with a plural verb.

• A quarter of the land is occupied by the aborigines.
• Two cups of flour is enough for the cake.
• Only ten percent of people in the world actually believe in self-actualization.
• A two-third of the ECOMOG forces were involved.

Rule 11. When a modal auxiliary verb precedes a main verb, the verb maintains the base form.

• The boy might come
• He came in so that we could discuss the issue.
• The matter should go to court.

Rule 12: Mandative Subjunctive: Mandative Subjunctive is used to express a demand, requirement, request, recommendation or suggestion. When it is used with either a the singular or the plural subject, the verb takes the base form:

• I recommend he attend the seminar alone.
• I pray she come early tomorrow.
• The board suggests the chairman resign immediately.

 

Concord of proximity

The rule here says when a subject of a sentence is initiated by ‘either…or, ‘neither…nor, ‘not only…but’ only the noun after the correlative conjunction, that is, the one closer to the main verb is considered to determine the status of the verb.

For instance

• Neither the vice principal nor the teachers honour the principal.
• Neither the teachers nor the vice principal honours the principal.
• Either the main man or I am supposed to anchor the event.
• Not only the king but his subjects swear to the gods of the land.
• Not only the people of the land but also the priest defies the tradition.

 

 

 

Notional concord

Here under notional concord we consider the relationship between collective nouns and their verbs. A collective noun is a noun used to refer a group of people or thing e.g. committee, team etc. With collective nouns, the context determines whether the verb is singular or plural. In some sentences the choice of the verb depends not on the number of the subject but on the fact whether it is thought of as one or many, viz., in case of a collective noun care is to be taken whether the group is thought of as an individual or a unit. Similarly if two singular nouns joined by ‘and’ refer to a single object or a person or a notion or are taken as a unit, they take a singular verb. The rule is to follow the logic. In grammar it is called a notional concord.

Examples:

• The committee meets once in a year.
• The committee contribute to issues as they are empowered.
• The jury vote according to their consciences.
• The jury was dissolved after the case.

 

a)      Collective nouns  like band, committee, crowd, faculty, jury, etc. take singular verbs and nouns of multitude take plural verbs e.g.,

-         The herd of cattle is grazing.

-         The herd were scattered in all directions.

-         The committee is unanimous on this point.

-         The committee are divided on this point.

-         The faculty of the college is an eminent one.

-         The faculty have voted in favour of external examination.

b)     If two nouns joined by ‘and’ serve as one unit or refer to the same person or an idea, they take a singular verb, e.g.,

-         Slow and steady wins the race.

-         Bread and butter is my favourite food.

-         Rice and curry is a popular food in U.P.

-         My friend and patron is dead.

c)      When a plural noun is the name of a discipline, a country, or a title of a book, etc., it takes a singular verb e.g.,

Gulliver’s Travels was written by Swift. The United States has the strongest hold on the earth. Politics is a dirty game.

d)     When a plural noun shows some specific quantity or amount considered as a whole and qualifies a singular object, it takes a singular verb, e.g.,

-         Eighty kilogram is a huge weight.

-         Five thousand rupees is not a small amount for me.

e)      When the noun phrase as a whole expresses plural idea, it takes a plural verb in spite of the head-word like majority, number etc. being in singular, e.g.,

-         A large number of students have applied for admission to this course.

-         The majority of the students are boys.

-         More than 260 MP’s have opted in favour of Sh.  A.B. Vajpayee.

f)      Some nouns which are plural in form but singular in meaning take a singular verb, e.g.,

-         The wages of sin is death.

-         This news is too good to be true.

g)     Nouns which are singular in form but plural in meaning take a plural verb, e.g.,

-         Her hair are grey.

-         Fish in this pond are of a good species.

-         Cattle were inoculated against thelariosis.

h)     Expletive constructions have ‘it’ and ‘these’ as anticipatory subject with the true subject coming later in the sentence. Such constructions tend to be weak and their overuse is not advisable. Still they are often used and in such sentences ‘it’ is always followed by a singular verb and in case of ‘there’ number of the verb is determined by the true subject e.g.,

-         It is certain that the refresher course brush up the knowledge of the faculty.

-         There is no reason for delay.

-         There are many roads to Wisdom.

Exercise :

 

Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject.

 

1. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school.

2. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the meeting.

3. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside.

4. Either my shoes or your coat (is, are) always on the floor.

5. George and Tamara (doesn't, don't) want to see that movie.

6. Benito (doesn't, don't) know the answer.

7. One of my sisters (is, are) going on a trip to France.

8. The man with all the birds (live, lives) on my street.

9. The movie, including all the previews, (take, takes) about two hours to watch.

10. The players, as well as the captain, (want, wants) to win.

11. Either answer (is, are) acceptable.

12. Every one of those books (is, are) fiction.

13. Nobody (know, knows) the trouble I've seen.

14. (Is, Are) the news on at five or six?

15. Mathematics (is, are) John's favorite subject, while Civics (is, are) Andrea's favorite subject.

16. Eight dollars (is, are) the price of a movie these days.

17. (Is, Are) the tweezers in this drawer?

18. Your pants (is, are) at the cleaner's.

19. There (was, were) fifteen candies in that bag. Now there (is, are) only one left!

20. The committee (debates, debate) these questions carefully.

21. The committee members (leads, lead) very different lives in private.

22. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, (greets, greet) the press cordially.

23. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, (is, are) in this case.

 

Answers :

1. Annie and her brothers are at school.

2. Either my mother or my father is coming to the meeting.

3. The dog or the cats are outside.

4. Either my shoes or your coat is always on the floor.

5. George and Tamara don't want to see that movie.

6. Benito doesn't know the answer.

7. One of my sisters is going on a trip to France.

8. The man with all the birds lives on my street.

9. The movie, including all the previews, takes about two hours to watch.

10. The players, as well as the captain, want to win.

11. Either answer is acceptable.

12. Every one of those books is fiction.

13. Nobody knows the trouble I've seen.

14. Is the news on at five or six?

15. Mathematics is John's favorite subject, while Civics is Andrea's favorite subject.

16. Eight dollars is the price of a movie these days.

17. Are the tweezers in this drawer?

18. Your pants are at the cleaner's.

19. There were fifteen candies in that bag. Now there is only one left!

20. The committee debates these questions carefully.

21. The committee members lead very different lives in private.

22. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, greets the press cordially.

23. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, are in this case.

 

Top of Form

2.  For each of the following, choose the sentence in which the subject and verb agree.

	A)	Every one of the shirts has a green collar.
	B)	Every one of the shirts have a green collar.

2. 

	A)	This singer, along with a few others, play the harmonica on stage.
	B)	This singer, along with a few others, plays the harmonica on stage.

3. 

	A)	Sandals and towels are essential gear for a trip to the beach.
	B)	Sandals and towels is essential gear for a trip to the beach.

4. 

	A)	The president or the vice president are speaking today.
	B)	The president or the vice president is speaking today.

5. 

   A)    Either Cassie or Marie pays the employees this afternoon.

    B)    Either Cassie or Marie pay the employees this afternoon.

6. 

	A)	Either the sculpture or the paintings are in the museum today.
	B)	Either the sculpture or the paintings is in the museum today.

7. 

	A)	The coat or the hats are in that closet.
	B)	The coat or the hats is in that closet.

8. 

	A)	Neither she nor I is getting the lunch special.
	B)	Neither she nor I am getting the lunch special.
	C)	Neither she nor I are getting the lunch special.

9. 

	A)	Each of the dancers twirls brilliantly.
	B)	Each of the dancers twirl brilliantly.

10. 

	A)	Mustard greens are my favorite vegetable.
	B)	Mustard greens is my favorite vegetable.

11. 

	A)	Everybody at the party was enjoying the food.
	B)	Everybody at the party were enjoying the food.