Agreement with Compound Subjects

A compound subject is made up of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by coordinating conjunctions such as and, or, nor, either…or, or neither…nor.

Determining whether a compound subject is singular or plural requires following specific grammatical rules.

1. Subjects Connected by “And”

As a general rule, when two or more subjects are connected by and, they form a plural unit and require a plural verb.

  • The teacher and the student are discussing the project. (Subject A + Subject B = Plural).
  • Red and blue make purple.

The Single-Concept Exception:

If the two nouns connected by and refer to a single, combined item, idea, or food dish, they are treated as singular and require a singular verb.

  • Bread and butter is my favorite breakfast. (Viewed as a single meal).
  • Law and order is essential for a stable society.
  • Fish and chips tastes delicious.

2. Subjects Connected by “Or” or “Nor”

When subjects are connected by or or nor (including either…or and neither…nor), the verb does not automatically become plural. Instead, we use the proximity rule (the rule of proximity).

The Proximity Rule: The verb agrees in number with the subject that is closest to the verb.

Examples:

  • Either the manager or the employees are attending the meeting.
    • Explanation: The plural noun employees is closest to the verb, so the verb is plural (are).
  • Either the employees or the manager is attending the meeting.
    • Explanation: The singular noun manager is closest to the verb, so the verb is singular (is).
  • Neither the teacher nor the students were present.
  • Neither the students nor the teacher was present.

Complete Sentence Examples

Here are more examples of SVA with compound subjects:

  1. My mother and my father are visiting tomorrow.
  2. Macaroni and cheese is a popular dish in the US.
  3. Either Sarah or John has the keys.
  4. Neither the driver nor the passengers were injured.
  5. A notebook or two pens are required for class.
  6. Two pens or a notebook is required for class.
  7. The singer and songwriter is performing tonight. (Note: Since there is no “the” before songwriter, it refers to the same person, thus singular).
  8. The singer and the songwriter are performing tonight. (Two separate people, thus plural).

Next, we will explore Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns to learn how to deal with words like everyone, nobody, some, and all.