4. Double subjects with a singular verb

When two nouns refer to the same person or thing, the verb is in the singular form. 

Examples:

  • My uncle and handyman   is  very skilled at repairing things.
  • Not : My uncle and handyman  are  very skilled at repairing things.

    (My uncle and handyman are the same person.) 

  • The owner and manager of the store  is  very friendly.

  • Not : The owner and manager of the store are  very friendly.

  • My neighbor and friend has  been a magician for many years.
  • Not : My neighbor and friend have  been a magician for many years.

When two nouns are so commonly used together that they are treated as a single item, the verb that follows is singular.

Examples:

  • Bread and butter is  my daily breakfast.

    Not : Bread and butter are  my daily breakfast.

  • Fish and chips was my favorite meal when I was in England.
  • Milk and fruit has  been known to be a good diet.
  • Time and tide waits  for no man.

When two nouns refer to the same person, the article ‘the’ is used only once and the verb is in the singular.  When two nouns refer to two different persons, the article ‘the’ is repeated and the verb is in the plural.

Examples:

  • The nurse and sister of the patient cares  deeply for him. (Nurse and sister are the same person as no the is used again, so singular verb cares is used..) Not : The nurse and sister of the patient care deeply for him.
  • The nurse and the sister of the patient were  very caring.
  • The owner and the occupant of the red-brick house we re  cellmates.
  • The teacher and the father of the student are  arguing about him.

An amount regardless of how much it is, and measurements of weight and distance are followed by a singular verb.

Examples:

  • The fifty dollars  you lent me was  not enough.
  • Two hundred dollars  nowadays  is  not a big sum.
  • How many  cents is  equal to ten dollars?
  • She said seventy kilograms was  her weight.
  • Five kilograms  of flour is  enough for baking the cakes.
  • Two litres  of oil  was  used to fry those things.
  • Ten kilometers  is  a long distance to walk.
  • According to the survey, 54%  of the people are  going to vote for him.   ( People  is a plural noun and 54% of the people must therefore take a plural verb.)
  • Only fifteen percent  of the building was  damaged in the fire. ( Building  is a singular noun and 15% of it is therefore singular and has to take a singular verb.)