Subject Verb Agreement Rule 6 Examples

Sub­ject verb agree­ment is an impor­tant com­po­nent of good writ­ing. It ensures that sen­tences are clear and easy to under­stand, and it can help pre­vent con­fu­sion and mis­un­der­stand­ing. One of the most impor­tant rules of sub­ject verb agree­ment is rule 6, which states that sin­gu­lar sub­jects joined by “or” or “nor” require a sin­gu­lar verb.

This rule can be a bit con­fus­ing, so let‘s look at some exam­ples to help clar­ify it.

1. Nei­ther the teacher nor the stu­dents (is/are) happy about the can­cel­la­tion of the field trip.

In this sen­tence, we have two sin­gu­lar sub­jects joined by “nor”. Since they are both sin­gu­lar, we need to use a sin­gu­lar verb. The cor­rect answer is “is”.

2. Either my sis­ter or my brother (is/are) going to pick me up from the airport.

Once again, we have two sin­gu­lar sub­jects joined by “or”. The cor­rect verb in this case is “is”.

3. Either the cat or the dogs (is/are) respon­si­ble for the mess in the liv­ing room.

This sen­tence is a bit tricky because we have a sin­gu­lar sub­ject (cat) and a plural sub­ject (dogs) joined by “or”. In this case, you should match the verb to the sub­ject clos­est to it, which is “dogs”. The cor­rect answer is “are”.

4. Nei­ther my friends nor I (has/have) seen the new Star Wars movie.

This sen­tence is sim­i­lar to the first exam­ple, with two sin­gu­lar sub­jects joined by “nor”. Since both sub­jects are sin­gu­lar, we need to use a sin­gu­lar verb. The cor­rect answer is “has”.

5. Either the book or the movie (was/were) great.

This sen­tence is also a bit tricky because we have a sin­gu­lar sub­ject (“book”) and a plural sub­ject (“movie”) joined by “or”. How­ever, in this case, we are talk­ing about two sep­a­rate things and not a group of things. There­fore, the cor­rect verb is sin­gu­lar, and the cor­rect answer is “was”.

By fol­low­ing sub­ject verb agree­ment rule 6, you can ensure that your writ­ing is clear and easy to under­stand. Remem­ber to use a sin­gu­lar verb when you have two sin­gu­lar sub­jects joined by “or” or “nor”. With a lit­tle prac­tice, this rule will become sec­ond nature and your writ­ing will be all the bet­ter for it.