When Conjunctions Connect Subjects


Image of the words “And” and ”But”, conjunctions, hang from a tree in Austin, TX.

Source: Outdoor Grammar Décor, Adrienne Breaux, Apartment Therepy: Austin

Ensuring that verbs agree in number with their single noun subjects is one thing, but how do you edit for subject-verb agreement when sentences have two or more subjects connected by conjunctions? Two rules will help to answer this question.

Rule #1: Use a plural verb with two or more subjects connected by the conjunction and.

Sample sentence, “Pigs and sheep sleep sounder than other animals.” has a red arrow from “sleep” to “pigs”, “sheep”. Sample sentence, “Jack and Mona were not happy about the party.” has a red arrow from “were” to “Jack”, “Mona”.

This principle applies only to the use of and, not to the use of phrases such as together with, as well as, or along with because they are not conjunctions.

Sample sentence, “Jack, as well as Mona, was not happy about the party.” has a red arrow from “was” to “Jack”. Sample sentence, “Together with the senior class, juniors attend the prom.” has a red arrow from “attend” to “juniors”.

Exception to the and rule: Use a singular verb when the nouns connected by and are so closely associated with each other that they are considered to be describing one thing.

Sample sentence, “Bacon and eggs is my favorite breakfast.” has a red arrow from “is” to “Bacon”, “eggs”. Sample sentence, “My friend and ally plans all our parties.” has a red arrow from “plans” to “friend”, “ally”.


Rule #2: Use a singular verb when singular subjects are connected by the conjunctions or or nor.

Sample sentence, “Maria or Sandra is the girl for the job.” has a red arrow from “is” to “Jack”. Sample sentence, “Neither the bake nor the mechanic supports the petition.” has a red arrow from “supports” to “baker”, “mechanic”.

When connecting a singular subject and a plural subject with the conjunctions or or nor, be sure the verb agrees in number with the subject that is closer to the verb. Proximity to the verb counts, whether the subject is before the verb or not.

Sample sentence, “Is either my mother or my sisters at the grocery store?” has a red arrow from “Is” to “mother”, “sisters”. Sample sentence, “Neither the grbil nor the birds make messes.” has a red arrow from “messes” to “gerbil”, “messes”.

To avoid awkward-sounding sentences like Either my speakers or my printer is broken, some grammar experts suggest that when joining a singular subject and a plural subject with or or nor, put the plural subject closer to the verb, thus requiring a plural verb. That’s just a suggestion, however, and is not mandatory.

In the sentences that follow, practice recognizing subject-verb agreement by choosing “Yes” if they agree in number and "No" if they don’t agree.