subject verb agreement

HUNTER COLLEGE READING/WRITING CENTER
GRAMMAR AND MECHANICS
The Verb System: Subject-Verb Agreement

     Subject-verb agreement refers to a change in the form of a

verb depending on its subject. The subject of a verb may be

singular or plural and it may be first-person (I, we) second-person

(you [singular], you [plural]), or third-person (he/she/it, they).

     In English a verb changes form only when its subject is third-

person singular (he/she/it) and only in the present tense. The

following chart illustrates this rule:

           Present                                Past

   singular       plural                singular          plural     

   I walk          We walk             I walked          We walked

   You walk        You walk            You walked        You walked

   He/she walks    They walk           He/She walked     They walked 

   It walks                            It walked         

      The rule for subject-verb agreement is that in the present

tense, a verb with a third-person singular subject must always end

in -s.  As you can see, the past tense form is the same regardless

of its subject.

     A third-person singular subject is any person or thing that

can be replaced with one of the pronouns he, she, or it.

      Nancy Colon [she] is going to lead a march on the           

      White House. The rest of the group [it] will follow         

      her. The rally [it] is scheduled for 1:15 PM. Some          

      marchers [they] may arrive early. They should wait for      

      the rest of the group before raising their placards. In     

      fact, no one [he/she] should raise a placard, sign, or      

      banner until the entire group [it] is assembled on the lawn. 

SPECIAL PROBLEMS IN SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

     There are several sentence constructions that may make it

difficult for you to determine whether the main verb should have an

-s  ending.

1. When Words Separate the Subject from Its Verb

     Words that come between a subject and its verb do not affect

the number (singular or plural) of the subject. You must determine

which word is the sentence's subject and then use it to decide

whether the verb needs an -s  ending.

     The color  of the stage setting seems drab.

     The colors of the stage setting seem drab.

      A computer  with a variety of memory chips serves a special 

      purpose.

      Computers  with a variety of memory chips serve a special   

      purpose.

     Sometimes words that come between a subject and its verb may

contain a complete clause with a subject and verb of its own.  Most

often this will be a relative clause, beginning with who, which,

that or, less often, where or when.  This can be confusing because

it's hard to tell which verb goes with which subject.  Remember, a

subject and verb need only agree when they are in the same clause.

     A woman who has a career and a family has very little time

     for herself.       

     Relative pronouns may be either singular or plural, depending

on what noun they refer to.  Therefore the verb of a relative

clause must agree with the noun that it is referring to.

     A woman who has a career can still be a good mother.

     Women who have careers sometimes wait to have children.

     Be particularly careful editing subject-verb agreement when

the words that separate a singular subject from its verb sound like

they are making the subject plural. These words include expressions

such as in addition to, as well as, including, and together with.

These expressions do not function like the word and. In other

words, they do not make the subject plural even though they sound

like they do.

     A microcomputer, as well as a mainframe, uses silicon chips.

     A microcomputer and a mainframe use silicon chips.

     The processing unit, together with all of its types of memory, 

     forms the heart of the machine.

     The processing unit and the various types of memory form the 

     heart of the machine.

     The memory, including the ROM and RAM, performs the computer's 

     operations.

     The memory unit and the ROM and RAM perform the computer's   

     operations.

2. When the Subject Comes after Its Verb

     In some sentences, you may reverse the order of a subject and

its verb in order to achieve an interesting effect. In other

sentences, you may want to begin with the words There or Here.

These sentence openers move the true subject to a position after

its verb. When you are editing your verbs, make sure that you check

these sentences very carefully to find the subject and to determine

the correct form of the verb.

     At the end of the list is the divorced man.

     At the end of the list are divorced men.

     There is one significant reason why men remarry.

     There are many reasons why men remarry.

     However, remember that when you write a sentence that begins

with the word it you must always use the singular form of the main

verb (which usually ends in -s).

     It seems that women have the greatest difficulty remarrying.

     It does not mean that men do not have any problems.

     It appears that men have a greater tendency to avoid         

     commitment than do women.

3. When Two or More Subjects are Joined by Or or Nor

     When two or more subjects in a sentence are joined by or or

nor, the verb form is usually determined by the subject that is

closest to the verb.

     Neither that woman nor her friends are unfulfilled.

     Neither those women nor this one is unfulfilled.

     It is true that a career or children affect a woman's        

     marriageability.

     It is true that children or a career affects a woman's       

     marriageability.

4. When the Subject is a Singular Pronoun

     When used as a subject, the following pronouns are always

considered singular and need verbs with -s endings on them in the

present tense: each, either, neither, every, everybody, everyone,

everything, anybody, anyone, anything, somebody, someone,

something, nobody, no one, nothing.

     Everything contributes to the problem.

     Someone who was abused as a child is likely to victimize his

     or her own children.

     Nobody who deals with the problem has all of the answers.

     In terms of subject-verb agreement, the most troublesome

pronouns on the list above are everybody, everyone, either,

neither, every, and each. Everybody and everyone sound like groups

but grammatically they behave like singular subjects.

     Everybody has to be concerned about family violence.

     Everyone who deals with families sees these problems.

Either, neither, each, and every are always singular subjects

unless they are used with or or nor.

     Neither is going to explode soon.

     Either his sister or his parents are going to explode soon.

     Each family member has control over his/her aggression.

5. When Words Separate a Singular Pronoun Subject from Its Verb

     When a singular pronoun, such as either, neither, each, or 

every is separated from its verb by other words, it is easy to get

confused about the form of the verb. Remember that words that come

between a subject and its verb do not affect the number of the

subject or the form of the verb.

       Either of the parents is going to explode soon.

       Neither parent is in control.

       Each of the family members has to control his or her       

       aggression.

     Each and every cause subject-verb agreement confusion when

they are separated from their verbs by the phrase of them or by two

nouns joined by and.

       Each of them seems to be prone to violence.

       Each of their parents has a repressed personality.

       Every father and mother has to be careful.

     The pronouns some, none, any, and most can be either singular

or plural subjects depending upon the words that follow them.  For

example, some can mean "more than one," in which case the subject

is plural, or it can mean "a part of one," in which case the

subject is singular.

       Some of the families studied commit emotional abuse.

       Some of the problem is caused by television.

       Most of the family members remain silent about it.

       Most of the information comes from their neighbors.

6. When the Subject is a Collective Noun

     A collective noun is the name of a group that usually

functions like a single unit. Some examples include family, class, 

audience, crowd, committee, team, jury, orchestra and group. If you

are referring to the group as a single unit, then the noun is a

singular subject (and needs an -s  ending on its verb).  If you are

referring to the individual members of the group, then the noun is

a plural subject.

     The team of scientists monitors the Milky Way.

     The team of scientists disagree about those stars.

     This group of stars is known as the Andromeda Galaxy.

     That group of stars have separated to form new galaxies.

     There is one collective noun that does function like the

others listed above: the word number. When it is used in the phrase

the number of, it is always a singular subject, and when it is used

in the phrase a number of, it is always a plural subject.

     A number of galaxies are shaped like disks.

     The number of disk-shaped galaxies is growing.

7. When the Subject is a Quantity

     Like collective nouns, words that state a quantity or an

amount usually function like singular subjects, but they can

function like plural subjects when they refer to a part of

something, not the whole thing.  Usually in this case, the quantity

is followed by the word of.  Words of quantity include amounts of

time, money, height, length, width, space, and weight.

     One hundred thousand light years is an extremely long time.

     Three million dollars is the cost of the typical telescope.

     Two-thirds of the galaxies are elliptical in shape.

8. When the Subject Looks Plural But is Singular in

Meaning

     There are many subjects that look plural (in other words, that

end in -s) but are singular in meaning. These include the names of

school subjects--mathematics, linguistics, physics, economics, 

civics--and the names of some diseases--measles, mumps, AIDS, and

herpes. They also include miscellaneous words like politics and

news.

     Physics is the study of vector and scalar quantities.

     Herpes is now impossible to cure.

     The news about spiral galaxies seems unbelievable.

     Mumps makes one's cheeks hurt and causes swelling and fever.

9. When the Subject is a Title

     Even when a title is plural (like The New York Times), it

functions like a singular subject, and it needs an -s ending on its

verb.

     The Hales Observatories tracks comets and meteors.

     Principles of Astronomy explains the rotations of that galaxy.

     One Hundred Thousand Galaxies provides fascinating

     explanations about the content of the universe.

10. When the Subject is a Verbal Phrase

     Sometimes an -ing or to + infinitive verb form is used as a

noun.  A phrase containing one of these forms may appear as the

subject of a sentence.  In these cases, the subject is always

singular.

     Learning how to do something well takes practice and

     determination.

     To see is to believe.

Back to on-line resource file
Back to RWC home

Last updated Thursday, 25-February-99 02:14:00 EDT.
All pages Copyright © 1998 Hunter College Reading/Writing Center.
Please contact WebMaster with any questions or comments.

HUNTER COLLEGE READING/WRITING CENTER
GRAMMAR AND MECHANICS
The Verb System: Subject-Verb Agreement

     Subject-verb agreement refers to a change in the form of a

verb depending on its subject. The subject of a verb may be

singular or plural and it may be first-person (I, we) second-person

(you [singular], you [plural]), or third-person (he/she/it, they).

     In English a verb changes form only when its subject is third-

person singular (he/she/it) and only in the present tense. The

following chart illustrates this rule:

           Present                                Past

   singular       plural                singular          plural     

   I walk          We walk             I walked          We walked

   You walk        You walk            You walked        You walked

   He/she walks    They walk           He/She walked     They walked 

   It walks                            It walked         

      The rule for subject-verb agreement is that in the present

tense, a verb with a third-person singular subject must always end

in -s.  As you can see, the past tense form is the same regardless

of its subject.

     A third-person singular subject is any person or thing that

can be replaced with one of the pronouns he, she, or it.

      Nancy Colon [she] is going to lead a march on the           

      White House. The rest of the group [it] will follow         

      her. The rally [it] is scheduled for 1:15 PM. Some          

      marchers [they] may arrive early. They should wait for      

      the rest of the group before raising their placards. In     

      fact, no one [he/she] should raise a placard, sign, or      

      banner until the entire group [it] is assembled on the lawn. 

SPECIAL PROBLEMS IN SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

     There are several sentence constructions that may make it

difficult for you to determine whether the main verb should have an

-s  ending.

1. When Words Separate the Subject from Its Verb

     Words that come between a subject and its verb do not affect

the number (singular or plural) of the subject. You must determine

which word is the sentence's subject and then use it to decide

whether the verb needs an -s  ending.

     The color  of the stage setting seems drab.

     The colors of the stage setting seem drab.

      A computer  with a variety of memory chips serves a special 

      purpose.

      Computers  with a variety of memory chips serve a special   

      purpose.

     Sometimes words that come between a subject and its verb may

contain a complete clause with a subject and verb of its own.  Most

often this will be a relative clause, beginning with who, which,

that or, less often, where or when.  This can be confusing because

it's hard to tell which verb goes with which subject.  Remember, a

subject and verb need only agree when they are in the same clause.

     A woman who has a career and a family has very little time

     for herself.       

     Relative pronouns may be either singular or plural, depending

on what noun they refer to.  Therefore the verb of a relative

clause must agree with the noun that it is referring to.

     A woman who has a career can still be a good mother.

     Women who have careers sometimes wait to have children.

     Be particularly careful editing subject-verb agreement when

the words that separate a singular subject from its verb sound like

they are making the subject plural. These words include expressions

such as in addition to, as well as, including, and together with.

These expressions do not function like the word and. In other

words, they do not make the subject plural even though they sound

like they do.

     A microcomputer, as well as a mainframe, uses silicon chips.

     A microcomputer and a mainframe use silicon chips.

     The processing unit, together with all of its types of memory, 

     forms the heart of the machine.

     The processing unit and the various types of memory form the 

     heart of the machine.

     The memory, including the ROM and RAM, performs the computer's 

     operations.

     The memory unit and the ROM and RAM perform the computer's   

     operations.

2. When the Subject Comes after Its Verb

     In some sentences, you may reverse the order of a subject and

its verb in order to achieve an interesting effect. In other

sentences, you may want to begin with the words There or Here.

These sentence openers move the true subject to a position after

its verb. When you are editing your verbs, make sure that you check

these sentences very carefully to find the subject and to determine

the correct form of the verb.

     At the end of the list is the divorced man.

     At the end of the list are divorced men.

     There is one significant reason why men remarry.

     There are many reasons why men remarry.

     However, remember that when you write a sentence that begins

with the word it you must always use the singular form of the main

verb (which usually ends in -s).

     It seems that women have the greatest difficulty remarrying.

     It does not mean that men do not have any problems.

     It appears that men have a greater tendency to avoid         

     commitment than do women.

3. When Two or More Subjects are Joined by Or or Nor

     When two or more subjects in a sentence are joined by or or

nor, the verb form is usually determined by the subject that is

closest to the verb.

     Neither that woman nor her friends are unfulfilled.

     Neither those women nor this one is unfulfilled.

     It is true that a career or children affect a woman's        

     marriageability.

     It is true that children or a career affects a woman's       

     marriageability.

4. When the Subject is a Singular Pronoun

     When used as a subject, the following pronouns are always

considered singular and need verbs with -s endings on them in the

present tense: each, either, neither, every, everybody, everyone,

everything, anybody, anyone, anything, somebody, someone,

something, nobody, no one, nothing.

     Everything contributes to the problem.

     Someone who was abused as a child is likely to victimize his

     or her own children.

     Nobody who deals with the problem has all of the answers.

     In terms of subject-verb agreement, the most troublesome

pronouns on the list above are everybody, everyone, either,

neither, every, and each. Everybody and everyone sound like groups

but grammatically they behave like singular subjects.

     Everybody has to be concerned about family violence.

     Everyone who deals with families sees these problems.

Either, neither, each, and every are always singular subjects

unless they are used with or or nor.

     Neither is going to explode soon.

     Either his sister or his parents are going to explode soon.

     Each family member has control over his/her aggression.

5. When Words Separate a Singular Pronoun Subject from Its Verb

     When a singular pronoun, such as either, neither, each, or 

every is separated from its verb by other words, it is easy to get

confused about the form of the verb. Remember that words that come

between a subject and its verb do not affect the number of the

subject or the form of the verb.

       Either of the parents is going to explode soon.

       Neither parent is in control.

       Each of the family members has to control his or her       

       aggression.

     Each and every cause subject-verb agreement confusion when

they are separated from their verbs by the phrase of them or by two

nouns joined by and.

       Each of them seems to be prone to violence.

       Each of their parents has a repressed personality.

       Every father and mother has to be careful.

     The pronouns some, none, any, and most can be either singular

or plural subjects depending upon the words that follow them.  For

example, some can mean "more than one," in which case the subject

is plural, or it can mean "a part of one," in which case the

subject is singular.

       Some of the families studied commit emotional abuse.

       Some of the problem is caused by television.

       Most of the family members remain silent about it.

       Most of the information comes from their neighbors.

6. When the Subject is a Collective Noun

     A collective noun is the name of a group that usually

functions like a single unit. Some examples include family, class, 

audience, crowd, committee, team, jury, orchestra and group. If you

are referring to the group as a single unit, then the noun is a

singular subject (and needs an -s  ending on its verb).  If you are

referring to the individual members of the group, then the noun is

a plural subject.

     The team of scientists monitors the Milky Way.

     The team of scientists disagree about those stars.

     This group of stars is known as the Andromeda Galaxy.

     That group of stars have separated to form new galaxies.

     There is one collective noun that does function like the

others listed above: the word number. When it is used in the phrase

the number of, it is always a singular subject, and when it is used

in the phrase a number of, it is always a plural subject.

     A number of galaxies are shaped like disks.

     The number of disk-shaped galaxies is growing.

7. When the Subject is a Quantity

     Like collective nouns, words that state a quantity or an

amount usually function like singular subjects, but they can

function like plural subjects when they refer to a part of

something, not the whole thing.  Usually in this case, the quantity

is followed by the word of.  Words of quantity include amounts of

time, money, height, length, width, space, and weight.

     One hundred thousand light years is an extremely long time.

     Three million dollars is the cost of the typical telescope.

     Two-thirds of the galaxies are elliptical in shape.

8. When the Subject Looks Plural But is Singular in

Meaning

     There are many subjects that look plural (in other words, that

end in -s) but are singular in meaning. These include the names of

school subjects--mathematics, linguistics, physics, economics, 

civics--and the names of some diseases--measles, mumps, AIDS, and

herpes. They also include miscellaneous words like politics and

news.

     Physics is the study of vector and scalar quantities.

     Herpes is now impossible to cure.

     The news about spiral galaxies seems unbelievable.

     Mumps makes one's cheeks hurt and causes swelling and fever.

9. When the Subject is a Title

     Even when a title is plural (like The New York Times), it

functions like a singular subject, and it needs an -s ending on its

verb.

     The Hales Observatories tracks comets and meteors.

     Principles of Astronomy explains the rotations of that galaxy.

     One Hundred Thousand Galaxies provides fascinating

     explanations about the content of the universe.

10. When the Subject is a Verbal Phrase

     Sometimes an -ing or to + infinitive verb form is used as a

noun.  A phrase containing one of these forms may appear as the

subject of a sentence.  In these cases, the subject is always

singular.

     Learning how to do something well takes practice and

     determination.

     To see is to believe.

HUNTER COLLEGE READING/WRITING CENTER
GRAMMAR AND MECHANICS
The Verb System: Subject-Verb Agreement

     Subject-verb agreement refers to a change in the form of a

verb depending on its subject. The subject of a verb may be

singular or plural and it may be first-person (I, we) second-person

(you [singular], you [plural]), or third-person (he/she/it, they).

     In English a verb changes form only when its subject is third-

person singular (he/she/it) and only in the present tense. The

following chart illustrates this rule:

           Present                                Past

   singular       plural                singular          plural     

   I walk          We walk             I walked          We walked

   You walk        You walk            You walked        You walked

   He/she walks    They walk           He/She walked     They walked 

   It walks                            It walked         

      The rule for subject-verb agreement is that in the present

tense, a verb with a third-person singular subject must always end

in -s.  As you can see, the past tense form is the same regardless

of its subject.

     A third-person singular subject is any person or thing that

can be replaced with one of the pronouns he, she, or it.

      Nancy Colon [she] is going to lead a march on the           

      White House. The rest of the group [it] will follow         

      her. The rally [it] is scheduled for 1:15 PM. Some          

      marchers [they] may arrive early. They should wait for      

      the rest of the group before raising their placards. In     

      fact, no one [he/she] should raise a placard, sign, or      

      banner until the entire group [it] is assembled on the lawn. 

SPECIAL PROBLEMS IN SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

     There are several sentence constructions that may make it

difficult for you to determine whether the main verb should have an

-s  ending.

1. When Words Separate the Subject from Its Verb

     Words that come between a subject and its verb do not affect

the number (singular or plural) of the subject. You must determine

which word is the sentence's subject and then use it to decide

whether the verb needs an -s  ending.

     The color  of the stage setting seems drab.

     The colors of the stage setting seem drab.

      A computer  with a variety of memory chips serves a special 

      purpose.

      Computers  with a variety of memory chips serve a special   

      purpose.

     Sometimes words that come between a subject and its verb may

contain a complete clause with a subject and verb of its own.  Most

often this will be a relative clause, beginning with who, which,

that or, less often, where or when.  This can be confusing because

it's hard to tell which verb goes with which subject.  Remember, a

subject and verb need only agree when they are in the same clause.

     A woman who has a career and a family has very little time

     for herself.       

     Relative pronouns may be either singular or plural, depending

on what noun they refer to.  Therefore the verb of a relative

clause must agree with the noun that it is referring to.

     A woman who has a career can still be a good mother.

     Women who have careers sometimes wait to have children.

     Be particularly careful editing subject-verb agreement when

the words that separate a singular subject from its verb sound like

they are making the subject plural. These words include expressions

such as in addition to, as well as, including, and together with.

These expressions do not function like the word and. In other

words, they do not make the subject plural even though they sound

like they do.

     A microcomputer, as well as a mainframe, uses silicon chips.

     A microcomputer and a mainframe use silicon chips.

     The processing unit, together with all of its types of memory, 

     forms the heart of the machine.

     The processing unit and the various types of memory form the 

     heart of the machine.

     The memory, including the ROM and RAM, performs the computer's 

     operations.

     The memory unit and the ROM and RAM perform the computer's   

     operations.

2. When the Subject Comes after Its Verb

     In some sentences, you may reverse the order of a subject and

its verb in order to achieve an interesting effect. In other

sentences, you may want to begin with the words There or Here.

These sentence openers move the true subject to a position after

its verb. When you are editing your verbs, make sure that you check

these sentences very carefully to find the subject and to determine

the correct form of the verb.

     At the end of the list is the divorced man.

     At the end of the list are divorced men.

     There is one significant reason why men remarry.

     There are many reasons why men remarry.

     However, remember that when you write a sentence that begins

with the word it you must always use the singular form of the main

verb (which usually ends in -s).

     It seems that women have the greatest difficulty remarrying.

     It does not mean that men do not have any problems.

     It appears that men have a greater tendency to avoid         

     commitment than do women.

3. When Two or More Subjects are Joined by Or or Nor

     When two or more subjects in a sentence are joined by or or

nor, the verb form is usually determined by the subject that is

closest to the verb.

     Neither that woman nor her friends are unfulfilled.

     Neither those women nor this one is unfulfilled.

     It is true that a career or children affect a woman's        

     marriageability.

     It is true that children or a career affects a woman's       

     marriageability.

4. When the Subject is a Singular Pronoun

     When used as a subject, the following pronouns are always

considered singular and need verbs with -s endings on them in the

present tense: each, either, neither, every, everybody, everyone,

everything, anybody, anyone, anything, somebody, someone,

something, nobody, no one, nothing.

     Everything contributes to the problem.

     Someone who was abused as a child is likely to victimize his

     or her own children.

     Nobody who deals with the problem has all of the answers.

     In terms of subject-verb agreement, the most troublesome

pronouns on the list above are everybody, everyone, either,

neither, every, and each. Everybody and everyone sound like groups

but grammatically they behave like singular subjects.

     Everybody has to be concerned about family violence.

     Everyone who deals with families sees these problems.

Either, neither, each, and every are always singular subjects

unless they are used with or or nor.

     Neither is going to explode soon.

     Either his sister or his parents are going to explode soon.

     Each family member has control over his/her aggression.

5. When Words Separate a Singular Pronoun Subject from Its Verb

     When a singular pronoun, such as either, neither, each, or 

every is separated from its verb by other words, it is easy to get

confused about the form of the verb. Remember that words that come

between a subject and its verb do not affect the number of the

subject or the form of the verb.

       Either of the parents is going to explode soon.

       Neither parent is in control.

       Each of the family members has to control his or her       

       aggression.

     Each and every cause subject-verb agreement confusion when

they are separated from their verbs by the phrase of them or by two

nouns joined by and.

       Each of them seems to be prone to violence.

       Each of their parents has a repressed personality.

       Every father and mother has to be careful.

     The pronouns some, none, any, and most can be either singular

or plural subjects depending upon the words that follow them.  For

example, some can mean "more than one," in which case the subject

is plural, or it can mean "a part of one," in which case the

subject is singular.

       Some of the families studied commit emotional abuse.

       Some of the problem is caused by television.

       Most of the family members remain silent about it.

       Most of the information comes from their neighbors.

6. When the Subject is a Collective Noun

     A collective noun is the name of a group that usually

functions like a single unit. Some examples include family, class, 

audience, crowd, committee, team, jury, orchestra and group. If you

are referring to the group as a single unit, then the noun is a

singular subject (and needs an -s  ending on its verb).  If you are

referring to the individual members of the group, then the noun is

a plural subject.

     The team of scientists monitors the Milky Way.

     The team of scientists disagree about those stars.

     This group of stars is known as the Andromeda Galaxy.

     That group of stars have separated to form new galaxies.

     There is one collective noun that does function like the

others listed above: the word number. When it is used in the phrase

the number of, it is always a singular subject, and when it is used

in the phrase a number of, it is always a plural subject.

     A number of galaxies are shaped like disks.

     The number of disk-shaped galaxies is growing.

7. When the Subject is a Quantity

     Like collective nouns, words that state a quantity or an

amount usually function like singular subjects, but they can

function like plural subjects when they refer to a part of

something, not the whole thing.  Usually in this case, the quantity

is followed by the word of.  Words of quantity include amounts of

time, money, height, length, width, space, and weight.

     One hundred thousand light years is an extremely long time.

     Three million dollars is the cost of the typical telescope.

     Two-thirds of the galaxies are elliptical in shape.

8. When the Subject Looks Plural But is Singular in

Meaning

     There are many subjects that look plural (in other words, that

end in -s) but are singular in meaning. These include the names of

school subjects--mathematics, linguistics, physics, economics, 

civics--and the names of some diseases--measles, mumps, AIDS, and

herpes. They also include miscellaneous words like politics and

news.

     Physics is the study of vector and scalar quantities.

     Herpes is now impossible to cure.

     The news about spiral galaxies seems unbelievable.

     Mumps makes one's cheeks hurt and causes swelling and fever.

9. When the Subject is a Title

     Even when a title is plural (like The New York Times), it

functions like a singular subject, and it needs an -s ending on its

verb.

     The Hales Observatories tracks comets and meteors.

     Principles of Astronomy explains the rotations of that galaxy.

     One Hundred Thousand Galaxies provides fascinating

     explanations about the content of the universe.

10. When the Subject is a Verbal Phrase

     Sometimes an -ing or to + infinitive verb form is used as a

noun.  A phrase containing one of these forms may appear as the

subject of a sentence.  In these cases, the subject is always

singular.

     Learning how to do something well takes practice and

     determination.

     To see is to believe.