Subject Verb (Dis)Agreement

Today's topic: Subject-verb (dis)agreement

Problems with subject-verb agreement definitely make the "grammar greatest hits" list.  As my granddad used to say, "if I had a nickel" for every subject-verb clash I see, I'd be able to retire pretty soon.  If you don't do anything else to improve your writing this week, take the time to read this post.  It may save you from an editor's wrath some day.

What does "subject-verb agreement" mean?  As you know, a complete sentence must have a subject (which tells us who or what is performing the action) and a verb (which tells us what that action is).  If the subject is plural, the verb must also be plural.  If the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular.  Here are some simple examples to show proper S-V agreement:

The cat loves her new bowl.  "Cat" is singular, and "loves" is singular.
           S     V

The cats love their new bowl.  "Cats" is plural, and "love" is plural.
           S     V

Each patient in the ICU has a private room.
        S                                       V

Everyone in our culture has his or her own beliefs about this difficult issue. 
         S                                          V

Most people wouldn't make mistakes with those simple, straightforward sentences, because it is very clear where the subjects and verbs are.  Some people might raise an eyebrow at the last example, because many people erroneously believe that the words "everybody" and "everyone" are plural (in fact they are singular, referring to every individual body and every individual one).  But most of us would have gotten those four right.  However, it isn't always this easy.  The more words there are between a subject and its verb, the harder it can be to ensure subject-verb agreement. 

Let's get more complicated.  Which of the following is correct?

A. Evaluation of the new innovation, with a special focus on patient safety and quality improvement, is essential.

B. Evaluation of the new innovation, with a special focus on patient safety and quality improvement, are essential. 

If you guessed A, pat yourself on the back (or have a cupcake).  You're correct! 

This is a tough one, because there are so many words between the subject ("evaluation") and the verb phrase that connects to it ("is essential"). 

It could also be confusing because at first glance you might think this sentence has more than one subject--that more than one thing is being identified as essential in this sentence.  You might think the author is saying that both evaluation of the new innovation AND a special focus on patient safety and quality improvement are essential.  But look closer, and you'll see that the focus on patient safety and quality improvement is presented as PART OF evaluation of the new innovation.  The word "with" is what clues us in to that.  You wouldn't say "Pizza with pepperoni and green peppers are my favorite dish," right?  You'd say "Pizza with pepperoni and green peppers is my favorite dish."  Same situation.
Let's do another one.  Which of these is correct?

A.  A need for improvements in patient education and follow-up care were the main topics of discussion at last week's meeting.

B.  A need for improvements in patient education and follow-up care was the main topic of discussion at last week's meeting.

If you guessed B, you are correct!  This example is tricky in a similar way to the previous example.  At first glance, it could look as though the author is simply listing two topics that have come up at recent meetings--improving patient education, and follow-up care.  However, look closer and you will see that the subject of the sentence is actually the NEED for these two things, and it is the NEED for both improved patient education and better follow-up care that was discussed at these meetings. 

Note that based on the order of the two list items we can tell that they are closely connected--they talked about a need to improve both patient education and follow-up care.  If we flipped the order of the two list items, it might be a different story.  This would actually be okay, but the meaning would be different:  The need for follow-up care and improvements in patient education were the main topics of discussion at last week's meeting.  This wording presents two separate topics, so the subject and verb are both plural  However, the original wording breaks down like this:

The need for improvements in patient education and follow-up care has been 
 S-singular                                                                                                                  V-singular
a topic of discussion at several recent meetings.   

Remember that the longer and more complex a sentence, the more likely it is that you will accidentally end up with a mismatched subject and verb pair.  This is yet another excellent reason to read your work aloud when you proofread, and to read slowly and carefully.  Make sure you are clear about which word or phrase is the subject of your sentence, and then make sure it matches the verb.

I hope this post has helped clarify the tricky topic of subject-verb agreement.  Happy scribbling!