Subject - Verb Agreement

Dalam suatu kalimat, bentuk verba harus disesuaikan dengan subjeknya. Berikut ini adalah daftar kesesuaian subjek-subjek dengan beberapa verba:

Subjek	Verba (be/to be)		Verba (Simple present tense)	Verba (auxiliary ‘have’)
	Present	Past
Pertama tunggal (I)	Am	was	V1	have
Pertama jamak (we)	are	were	V1	have
Kedua (you)	are	were	V1	have
Ketiga tunggal (he, she, it)	Is	was	V+s	has
Ketiga jamak (they)	are	were	V1	have

Aturan-aturan dasar dalam Subject-Verb Agreement:

1. Each, every, much selalu diikuti oleh verba tunggal

Contoh: Each student has got the workbook.

2. Uncountable noun (waktu, uang, jarak, dll) selalu diikuti verba tunggal

Contoh: Three minutes is all I need to fix the computer.

3. “The” + adjective selalu diikuti oleh verba jamak

Contoh: The young need guidance from the old.

4. Public, police, people, cattle, clergy selalu diikuti verba jamak.

Contoh: The police ask everybody to obey the rules.

5. Jika dua subjek dihubungkan dengan and, maka diikuti verba jamak.

Contoh: Steve and Noel are siblings.

6. Gerund yang berfungsi sebagai subjek kalimat selalu diikuti verba tunggal.

Contoh: Planting trees is necessary to decrease the level of pollutants in the air.

7. Pada kata other:
1. Jika Other diikuti nomina tunggal, maka verbanya tunggal.

Contoh: There isn’t any other way to do it.

2. Jika Other diikuti nomina jamak, maka verbanya jamak.

Contoh: There aren’t any other ways to do it.

Subjet-Verb Agreement pada correlative conjunction:

Correlative conjunction	Menggunakan verba tunggal:	Menggunakan verba Jamak:
both … and …	Tidak	Ya
not only … but also …	Ya, jika setelah but also nomina tunggal, misalnya: Not only my sisters, but also my brother is happy for my graduation.	Ya, jika setelah but also nomina jamak, misalnya: Not only my brother, but also my sisters are happy for my graduation.
either … or …	Ya, jika setelah or nomina tunggal, misalnya: Either the  students or the teacher has initiated this competition.	Ya, jika setelah or nomina jamak, misalnya: Either the teacher or the students have initiated this competition.
neither … nor …	Ya, jika setelah nor nomina tunggal, misalnya: Neither my parents nor my sister is here.	Ya, jjika setelah nor nomina jamak, misalnya: Neither my sister nor my parents are here.

Soal dan Jawaban

1.     Either the physicians in this hospital or the chief administrator ____ going to have to make a decision.

Answer : is -> because when subjects are connected by or, the subject closer to the verb (which is, in this case, singular) determines the number of the verb.

2.    The tornadoes that tear through this county every spring _____ more than just a nuisance.

Answer : are -> The subject is tornadoes. You were not confused by the words and phrases that came between the subject and its verb.

3.    Everyone selected to serve on this jury _____ to be willing to give up a lot of time.

Answer : has -> Everyone! seems to be a plural word, but it is always singular.

4.    Kara Wolters, together with her teammates, _________ a formidable opponent on the basketball court

Answer : presents  -> The subject is not compounded by phrases such as along with, together with, and as well as.

5.    A high percentage of the population _________ voting for the new school.

Answer : is -> "Percentage" is a mathematical proportion, expressing here a singular lump sum.

Source : https://linggris.wordpress.com/2010/07/13/concord-subject-verb-agreement/ 
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sv_agr.htm