Subject-Verb Agreement

Subjects and verbs form a significant part of any statement that you make. So, if your aim is to have perfect grammar, you need to memorize the rules that apply when a subject and a verb are put together. These rules are collectively known as subject-verb agreement. We agree that this subject-verb agreement can be a bit tricky and complicated but once you learn these rules, you will use verbs in their correct form with ease. To make your work easier, here is a list of the most common subject-verb agreement rules with examples. Go through them, and you are ready to ace any test on subject-verb agreement. 

Meaning of Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement, also known as “subject-verb concord,” is the matching of a sentence’s subject and verb in tense, aspect, and mood (abbreviated as TAM), which translates to number, person, and gender.

Except for pronouns, English does not utilise grammatical gender, and only the verb be changed depending on whether it is in the first, second, or third person. That means that the majority of English subject-verb agreement is based on quantity: if the subject is singular, the verb must be singular; if the subject is numerous, the verb must be plural.

When the subject follows the verb (especially in sentences beginning with the expletives “there is” or “there are”), special care is needed to determine the subject and to make certain that the verb agrees with it. For example, if you use a single subject ‘He’ then the single verb ‘is’ would appear- ‘He is talking too much. The two subjects and verbs must be aligned to ensure agreement.

Even this can be perplexing because the first-person singular (“I climb the fence”) has the identical verb pattern as the first-person plural (“We climb the fence”). Subject-verb agreement in English, aside from the verb be, adapts verbs to the third-person singular (“It climbs the fence”).

12 Rules of Subject-Verb Agreement with Examples

Let’s begin with the 12 most common and important rules of Subject-Verb Agreement:

Subject = underlined
Verb = Italicized

Rule 1. A Singular Subject Goes with a Singular Verb

A singular subject goes with a singular verb.

Incorrect	Sohra play the guitar every day.
Correct	Sohra plays the guitar every day.

In this statement, Sohra is singular and therefore will take on a singular verb i.e., plays. 

Rule 2. A Plural Subject Goes with a Plural Verb

The second rule of Subject-Verb Agreement is as follows: A plural subject goes with a plural verb.

Incorrect	They plays the guitar every day.
Correct	They play the guitar every day.

In this statement, They is a plural pronoun and therefore will take on a plural verb i.e., play. 

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Rule 3. Joined by And

The next rule of Subject-Verb Agreement says that if in a sentence two or more nouns or pronouns are connected using “and” then the verb used will be plural. 

Incorrect	Rahul and Anekha is siblings.
Correct	Rahul and Anekha are siblings

In this statement, there are two nouns Rahul and Anekha connected by “and” and therefore the verb used is plural i.e., “are”. 

Incorrect	Rahul and Anekha sings together
Correct	Rahul and Anekha sing together

In this statement also, there are two nouns and therefore the verb used is plural i.e., sing. 

Rule 4. A Conjunction connects Singular and Plural Subjects

The next rule of Subject-Verb Agreement focuses on the use of or/nor. If in a sentence two or more nouns or pronouns are connected using “or/nor” then the verb used will be singular.  

Incorrect	Your class teacher or the principal sanction your leave application.
Correct	Your class teacher or the principal sanctions your leave application.

In this statement, the two nouns class teacher and principal are connected using “or” and therefore the verb used is singular i.e. sanctions. 

Rule 5. A Sentence Contains Both a Singular and a Plural Pronoun

In this rule of Subject-Verb Agreement, when a sentence contains both a singular and a plural pronoun, the verb used will be according to the pronoun closer to the verb. 

Incorrect	Shiva and his friends meets every week at the cafeteria
Correct	Shiva and his friends meet every week at the cafeteria.

In this statement, the plural noun “friends” is closest to the verb and therefore will be plural i.e., meet. 

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Rule 6. Using “Do not” and “Does not” in Sentences

A singular pronoun uses “does not” and a plural one uses “do not”. But there is an exception to this rule. This rule of Subject-Verb Agreement explains that “Do not” is used with the singular pronouns “I” and “You” instead of “do not” as it ideally should be. 

Incorrect	She do not eat ice cream
Correct	She does not eat ice cream

In this statement, she is singular and therefore, the verb will not be used. 

Incorrect	They does not eat ice cream.
Correct	They do not eat ice cream.

In this statement, they is plural and therefore, the verb do not will be used. 

Exception:

Incorrect	I does not eat ice cream
Correct	I do not eat ice cream

In this statement, I am a singular pronoun but do not will be using it along with it instead of does not. And that’s why it’s an exception. 

Rule 7. The Sentence Has an Additional Phrase

In case a sentence has an additional phrase, the verb should always agree with the subject of the statement and not be influenced by the pronouns or nouns of the additional phrase. 

Incorrect	This book, as well as all the other books of this writer are boring.
Correct	This book, as well as all the other books of this writer is boring.

In this statement, “this book” is the subject and it’s singular. Therefore, the verb used will also be singular i.e., “is” and not “are”. 

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Rule 8. Words like Each, Every and No are the subject

The next rule of Subject-Verb Agreement is about the use of each, each one, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone, nobody, somebody, someone, and no one as words which are singular in nature and therefore will always use a singular verb. 

Incorrect	Each one of you are going to give a live presentation.
Correct	Each one of you is going to give a live presentation.

In this statement, “each one” is used and therefore, the singular verb “is” will be used. 

Incorrect	Neither one of you are allowed to go home.
Correct	Neither one of you is allowed to go home.

In this statement, “neither” is used and therefore, the singular verb “is” will be used. 

Rule 9. Mass nouns like Civics, Mathematics, and Dollars are the Subject

Mass nouns like civics, mathematics, dollars, measles, and news which cannot be counted use singular verbs under the rules of Subject-Verb Agreement.

Incorrect	Mathematics are my favourite subject.
Correct	Mathematics is my favourite subject.

In this statement, the mass noun “mathematics” is used along with a singular verb i.e., is. 

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Rule 10. Plurale Tantum are the Subject

In English, there is a set of nouns called Plurale Tantum which doesn’t have a singular form like trousers, scissors, pants, etc. Such nouns always use a plural verb. 

Incorrect	Those black trousers is mine
Correct	Those black trousers are mine.

In this statement, black trousers refer to a single object but use the plural verb i.e., are. 

Rule 11. Collective Nouns are the Subject

In this rule of Subject-Verb Agreement, collective nouns like class, committee, family, group, etc take on singular verbs. 

Incorrect	The history class start at 9 a.m.
Correct	The history class starts at 9 a.m.

In this statement, history class is a collective noun and therefore the singular noun “starts” will be used along with it. 

Rule 12. If the subject is singular, the verb will also be singular

The number of subjects is not influenced by expressions like accompanied by, in addition to or including. If the subject is singular, the verb will also be singular and it will remain so irrespective of such expressions. 

Incorrect	Neha, accompanied by her sister, are going to perform today.
Correct	Neha, accompanied by her sister, is going to perform today.

In this statement, the subject “Neha” is singular and therefore the verb used is also singular i.e., “is”. The phrase accompanied by has no impact on the verb. 

15+ Examples of Subject-Verb Agreement

We move on to make a comprehensive list of examples of subject-verb agreement.

Compound Subjects

The examples of subject-verb agreement with compound subjects are as follows:

Exceptions to the Subject-Verb Agreement Rules

• “Neither” and “either” require singular verbs even though they seem to be referring to two separate things.
• When a sentence compounds a positive and a negative subject and only one is plural, the verb should agree with the positive subject.
• “Anyone,” “everyone,” “someone,” “no one,” and “nobody” always require singular verbs.
• Words that indicate portions of a whole, such as “percent,” “fraction,” “some,” “none,” and “remainder,” require a singular verb only if the object of the preposition is singular.
• “Who,” “that,” and “which” can be singular or plural, according to the noun directly in front of them.
• The phrase introduced by “as well as” or “along with” modifies the earlier word but doesn’t compound the subjects.
• Modifiers between the subject and verb do not affect whether the verb is singular or plural.

DIY: Exercises for Subject-Verb Agreement

So, these are the major rules of subject-verb agreement. We hope you understand each and every rule. Now it’s time to test your knowledge. Solve these questions and let’s see how many of them you get right on the first go. 

1. John and his brother (is/are) playing football. 
2. Aryan (do not/does not) like to play basketball. 
3. Either of you (have/has) stolen the book. 
4. Your pants (is/are) in the top shelf. 
5. My family (belongs/belong) to the Mahou tribe. 
6. Mr, Swamy as well as his family (is/are) quite humble. 
7. Mary (sing/sings) very well. 
8. The novel, including all the essays (take/takes) about two hours to read. 
9. They (eat/eats) lunch together everyday. 
10. The players as well as the coach (want/wants) to win. 
11. My parents (lives/live) in Australia.
12. Do anyone (knows/know) where the grocery store is?
13. The little boy (do not/does not) like apples for some reason.
14. Kavita and her sister (is/are) here to see you.
15. You (has/have) brought all that I had asked for.

Answers

1. Is
2. Does not
3. Has
4. Are
5. Belongs
6. Is
7. Sings
8. Takes
9. Eat
10. Want
11. Live
12. Know
13. Does not
14. Are
15. Have

FAQs

With this blog, we hope that you understood what Subject-Verb Agreement rules are and how they are applied. Gearing up for exams like IELTS or TOEFL? Reach out to our Leverage Live experts and we will help you curate a winning preparation strategy to achieve your dream score! Call us immediately at 1800 57 2000 for a free 30-minute counselling session.