8 Tricky Situation: Compound Subjects

You may recall from a previous discussion that sometimes a subject is made up of multiple parts, as in the following sentence.

Delilah and Surbaz own a minivan.

The verb here is own, and the subject is both the names (Delilah and Surbaz). That’s called a compound subject.

Deciding which verb to use when you have a compound subject can be a little tricky, so let’s go through the possibilities slowly, one at a time.

Compound Subjects: Both Parts are Singular

In this situation, you look at the word that joins them: and/or/nor.

If the two parts are joined by and, then you use the plural verb (because you’re talking about two people/things).

Delilah and Surbaz are at home.

If the two parts are joined by or, then you use the singular verb (because you’re talking about either one or the other).

Delilah or Surbaz is at home.

Neither Delilah nor Surbaz is at home.

Compound Subjects: One is Singular, Other One is Plural

If the two parts are joined by and, then you use a plural verb.

The roast beef and the vegetables taste delicious.

However, if they are joined by either or or nor, then you choose the verb based on the closest subject.

The roses or the chocolate aggravates my allergies.

In this sentence I have a compound subject made up of two parts: roses (plural) and chocolate (singular). The singular subject chocolate is closer to the verb, so I use the singular verb.

If I flip the order of the subjects, though, things change:

The chocolate or the roses aggravate my allergies.

Now the plural subject roses is closer to the verb, so I use the plural form of the verb.