Agreement with titles of works, company names, words as words, gerund phrases

Titles, company names, and words as words are considered singular.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: Lost Cities describe the discoveries of many ancient civilizations. Revised sentence: Lost Cities describes the discoveries of many ancient civilizations. Explanation: The word 'describe' has been replaced by 'describes.'

A gerund phrase consists of an -ing verb form followed by any objects, complements, or modifiers. Treat gerund phrases as singular.

Example sentence with editing. Original sentence: Encountering busy signals are troublesome to our clients, so we have hired two new switchboard operators. Revised sentence: Encountering busy signals is troublesome to our clients, so we have hired two new switchboard operators. Explanation: The word 'are' has been replaced by 'is.'

Subject-verb agreement at a glance

When to use the -s (or -es) form of a present-tense verb

Exercises:

Subject-verb agreement 1

Subject-verb agreement 2

Subject-verb agreement 3

Subject-verb agreement 4

Related topic:

Gerund phrases