Agreement between Subject and Predicate

SUBJECT	PREDICATE A verb must agree in number with its subject. This is a simple and absolute rule.
Indefinite pronoun (anyone, no one, everything, everybody etc., either, neither)	Singular predicate: Everybody knows it. Either of the rubber rods is attracted by a glass rod. None of the candidates hasmuch support. Neither of King Henry's sons wasborn in France. She shouted, 'None of you havea chance.' He's complaining that neither of them wereasked.
Gerund or Infinitive	Singular predicate: Melting takes place at the temperature called melting point.
Collective Noun (team, committee, family audience, class, crowd, enemy, family, government, orchestra, staff etc.)   - Note that, in American English, a singular verb is typically used after a group noun: My wife's family always has a big get-together with a barbecue on July 4th.	Singular or plural predicate (either the subject is taken as a group or a collection of similar individuals): A woman tried to fight her way back to the thick of the crowd... but the crowd was helpless. The fleeing crowd were scattered by the mounted police. Langley's research staff is well-known for its achievements in aeronautics. Langley's research staff do not all publish their results in report form.
Noun in the plural denoting time, measure or distance = the amount or mass as a whole	Singular predicate: 300,000,000 is the velocity of light in meters per second. Thirty miles is a day's Journey in these hills. The twelve dollars a month you pay me is enough. BUT: While 1 mm of aluminium will stop all alpha-rays 6 cm are required to stop all beta-rays.
Two homogeneous subjects connected by and or Both… and	Plural predicate: The earth and other planets move around the sun. Both the dog and his master were dragged ashore by Pete and Hans.
Here/ There + a number of subjects	Singular predicate: And here was a man of few words.
- Two noun or prepositions connected by neither... nor, either... or, not only... but also	Predicate agrees with the last subject: Either Margaret or I am going with you. Neither Margaret nor her sister was ready.
Two subjects connected by as well as	Predicate agrees with the first subject: Liquid, as well as solids, becomes radioactive when put through a nuclear reactor. Gases, as well as liquids, return to their original volume as soon as the applied force is removed.
- Singular subjects joined by or or nor, two nouns connected by with, together with   - Singular subject and a plural subject joined by or or nor	- Singular predicate: My mother or father is surely at home now. A woman with the child is on the third floor. - Predicate agrees in number with the subject nearer to it: This bushes or the tree has to be cut.
Such words as most, all, some, half, part, a variety of, the majority of, a lot of, plenty of, a mass of, percent, a number of is governed by the number of the noun in the phrase that follows, or that could follow them	Most members leave their cars outside the parking lot.
none of and neither of in formal situations	Singular predicate, but plural predicate is used in informal situations: None of the children was wounded. (!)
Subjects that seem to be plural: some nouns ending in -s, phrases describing an amount and some combinations with and	Singular predicate: The news wasn'ttoo bad. Cards ismore than a game for some people. Measles isa disease. Fifty pounds istoo much. Twenty miles wastoo far and two days wasn'tenough time. Tom and Jerry isa rather violent cartoon. • Sausage and beans doesn'tcost very much.
People, infantry, cavalry, gentry, cattle, poultry, jury and police	Plural predicate: The police aretrying to stop speeding in the city, but people arestill driving too fast.
Some nouns have confusing singular or plural forms, for example, aeronautics, sing. equipment, sing. apparatus, sing. hardware, sing. apparatuses, pl. phenomena, pl. data, pl. 1 criteria, pl.	Consult the dictionary or a usage book when there is a question concerning the number of a particular noun.
One noun-subject+ two defining attributes	Singular predicate when one person, thing or idea is meant: This strange social and political situation is now being analyzed by the scientists. Plural predicate: Classical and light music have both their admirers.
Interrogative (who, what) and relative (who, which, that) pronoun	Predicate agrees with its antecedent: Harry, who had been sitting in a kind of horrified trance, had a sudden idea.
Emphatic it	Singular predicate always, no matter what follows it: It is only English girls who can behave themselves in any circumstances.
Many a …	Singular predicate: Many a lie has been told in nobleness name.

LONGMAN Advanced Learners’ Grammar pp. 250-251,254;

Oxford Practice Grammar, p.5, 75.

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