Subject/Verb Agreement Part Two

Parts of a Whole

Parts of a Whole with Singular Subject/Verb

RULE: When a subject refers to a portion ("fifty percent," "one-third," "the majority of," "part of," "some," "all," "etc.") the verb matches the object of the preposition rather than the subject.

Two thirds of Dave's cake is already gone.

​preposition

​singular noun

​singular verb

Parts of a Whole

Parts of a Whole with Plural Subject/Verb

RULE: When a subject refers to a portion ("fifty percent," "one-third," "the majority of," "part of," "some," "all," "etc.") the verb matches the object of the preposition rather than the subject.

Two-thirds of Dave's brownies are already gone.

​preposition

plural noun

plural verb

Prepositional phrases

A prepositional phrase is a phrase that starts with a preposition and ends with a noun or pronoun (object).

A preposition shows the relationship between a noun and other words in a sentence.

Lucy and her cousin jumped on the bed.

​prepositional phrase

Prepositional Phrases

Prepositional phrases can also be at the beginning of sentences.

Before the meeting, Jessica practiced her presentation.

​prepositional phrase

Who, That, and Which

RULE: When "who," "that," or "which" come between a subject and a verb, use the noun before it to figure out whether the verb should be singular or plural.

The robot that does Dave's homework is malfunctioning.


The chairs that Dave left on the patio are soaking wet.

​singular noun

​singular verb

​ignore this phrase when matching subject/verb

​plural noun

​ignore this phrase when matching subject/verb

​plural verb