If you feel confident about forming plurals in English by adding an “s” or “es” at the end of the word, I’m about to make you feel a little wobbly. Although most noun plurals are formed this way, verb plurals are formed by removing the “s.”

For example, which verb is plural, talk or talks? Because you would say, “He talks,” talks is the singular verb. You would say, “They talk.” Therefore, talk is the plural verb.

Example: The position listed on the university Web site caught my attention because my education, experience, and training closely parallel/parallels your needs.

Answer: This sentence has two sets of subjects and verbs. The first subject/verb combination is position/caught. The second set of subjects is education, experience, and training, which is plural. We would say, “They parallel” so we must write or say, “…my education, experience, and training closely parallel your needs.”

Example: If he or she needs/need me, I will be in the other room.

Answer: In this sentence, he and she are the subjects; however, they are connected by or so we use the singular verb needs.

Pop Quiz

1. When he and Jenny walks/walk to work, they hold hands.
2. They leaves/leave at the end of the year for a month-long vacation.
3. Her dog, cat, and chicken gets/get along well together.
4. When he gets/get angry, his face turns red.
5. She goes/go away every August.

Answers

1. walk (plural)
2. leave (plural)
3. get (plural)
4. gets (singular)
5. goes (singular)

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Wordplay

A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

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