The budget agreementl is one more of the grammatical particularities, so we must pay attention to the question of rules and possible exceptions, and, of course, put them into practice whenever necessary.
In addition, it is present in the syllabus belonging to most competitions and entrance exams. Something that apparently may seem complicated, becomes subject to total apprehension through familiarity with writing and improving our linguistic knowledge.
In an attempt to improve them even more, we will observe below a composite relationship with specific cases of simple subject, which deserves full attention:
# partitive expressions – The formation is given by the subject constituted by an expression that denotes "part of something" (half of, most of, large part of, most of), followed by a noun or pronoun in the plural:
The verb can be written both in the singular and in the plural.
Ex: Most employees approved/approved the decision.
# The expression more than one – When it is associated with verbs that portray reciprocity:
The verb will necessarily remain plural.
Ex: More than one college entrance exam embraced each other during the victory celebration.
# Approximate quantity –It is the case where the subject is formed by expressions that indicate approximate quantity (about, less than, more than, close to) followed by numeral and noun:
The verb will agree with the noun.
Ex: More than one student attended the delivery of results.
About a thousand people participated in the demonstration.
Own names – agreement in this case must be made taking into account the presence or absence of the article.
With the article, the verb is misspelled in the plural and without it, the verb is spelled in the singular.
Ex: The United States is the great world power.
Goiás is a very welcoming state.
Interrogative or indefinite plural pronoun – When the subject is an interrogative or indefinite plural pronoun (which, how many, some, any) followed by the personal pronoun “we” or “you”:
The verb will agree with the first pronoun (in the third person plural) or with the personal pronoun.
Ex: Which of us are/are able to perform this task?
Did any of you have/were aware of this case?
# Relative pronoun “that” – When the subject is formed by the relative pronoun that:
The agreement in number and person takes place with the antecedent of the same.
Ex: I brought the order.
We were the ones who prepared the event.
# The expression “one of what” – According to the formal language:
The verb remains plural.
Ex: Pedro was one of the students who passed the entrance exam.
# Percentages – In case the subject is formed by an expression that denotes percentage, followed by a noun:
The verb will agree with the noun.
Ex: 1% of the population approves the measures taken by the opposition candidate.
50% of candidates failed the federal exam.
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
By Vânia Duarte
Graduated in Letters
Brazil School Team
Verbal and Nominal Agreement - Grammar - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
DUARTE, Vânia Maria do Nascimento. "Verbal agreement – Special cases of a simple subject"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/gramatica/concordancia-verbalcasos-especiais-sujeito-simples.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
