Remember, the verb must agree with the subject of a sentence. (The clowns were very funny.)

The subject of a sentence may include a group of words, for example: The flock of sheep all eat grass. My mother, father, sister and brother all jump in the pool.

When there is more than one verb in a sentence, then all the verbs must match the subject, for example: Alcohol abuse results in many teenagers dropping out of school and creates serious health problems for some. (So alcohol abuse is the singular subject, and so the verbs are results and creates – not result and create.)

There are some tricky sentences. For example:

  • Neither the dog (singular) nor the cats (plural) like the rain. (Here, the verb must agree with the subject closest to it.)
  • The meat, as well as the packets of vegetables, goes in the freezer./ The meat, along with the packets of vegetables, goes in the freezer. (Here, the verb must agree with the subject, which comes before the comma.)