Chapter Summary
The verb in a sentence must agree with its subject in person (first, second, third) and in number (singular, plural), but not with the intervening words or prepositional phrases that appear between the subject and verb. Good writers are very conscious of subject-verb agreement. They know errors of this type can distract their readers.

Chapter 11 analyzes some of the more difficult subject-verb agreement areas, including the use of verbs with indefinite pronouns and the challenge of working with inverted sentences.

Special consideration is given to nouns ending in ics and gerund phrases. Depending on the intended reference, singular or plural verbs may be used with words ending in ics. Singular verbs are used when gerund phrases are the subjects in sentences.

Online Links

Workforce Trends Web sites

Workforce
http://www.workforce.com/

Employment Policy Foundation
http://www.epf.org/

Office of Personnel Management, Federal Employment Statistics
http://www.opm.gov/feddata/

Working for America Institute
http://www.workingforamerica.org/

The Urban Institute
http://www.urban.org/

International Workplace Studies Program
http://iwsp.human.cornell.edu/

U.S. Department of Labor
http://www2.dol.gov/

Bonus Exercise

Objective: Check for subject/verb agreement.

1. Visit several of the workforce trends sites.
2. Print an article describing a workforce trend that you find interesting.
3. Working from the printout, choose two sentences beginning with "Here" or "There."
4. Underline the subject once and the predicate twice. If you find any errors in subject/verb agreement, indicate the correct verb.
5. Write a paragraph describing a workforce trend that bothers you. In the sentences that you write, underline the subjects once and the verbs twice. Subjects and verbs must agree.

eFlashcards
Review chapter terms and definitions with eFlashcards.

Crossword Puzzle
Sharpen your knowledge of chapter terms and concepts with an interactive crossword.

Practice Test
Test your understanding of the chapter material with a self-scoring Practice Test.

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