Verb-Noun Agreement, Part II

Yesterday we talked about pesky relative clauses that throw our orderly world of noun-verb agreement into wonky shock. Here are some selective other monsters in this particular jungle:

Collective Nouns

Back in August, we discussed collective nouns and how they should be treated. Review that post if you need more detail, but for now, just remember:

Collective nouns acting as a unit are paired with singular verbs:

The Pevensie family rules Narnia for many years after the story ends.

These expressions take singular verbs:

• everyone
• everybody
• nobody
• no one
• none

Everyone gets a holiday today!
No one likes a turncoat, Edmund.
None is more revered than Aslan.

Once a Singular Noun, Always a Singular Noun

Sometimes we feel compelled to throw other nouns into the mix with our main subject:

Lucy, in addition to two brothers and a sister, was sent to the country during the war.

Lucy is our subject. Don’t let the brothers and sister deprive her of that all-important position. In addition to is a prepositional phrase that adds interest to the sentence, but because Lucy is our Almighty Subject, the verb (was sent) is singular, not plural.

You’ll likely catch me getting peevy before this Friday’s quiz ... stay tuned.