Subject Verb Agreement

• Subject verb agreement


  The subject and the verb in English sentences must agree. They must match.
• The first thing that many English learners forget is subject verb agreement
• Subject verb agreement rules

  • There are simple standard rules that can be used to help master subject verb agreement in English
  • There are two main areas where subject verb agreement can cause problems: writing and speaking
• Singular and plural noun usage

  1. Singular nouns usually add 'S' to show they are plural

  2. Plural nouns do not add 'S' to the verb
• Subjects I and you are exceptions to the rule, they take the plural form of the verb
• Subject verb agreement with auxiliary verbs

  1. The auxiliary verb becomes the agreeing verb, the verb that agrees with the subject

  2. Modal verbs like may, could, will, must, should are also auxiliary verbs but the verb following them is never in the 'S' form, it's always in the infinitive form
• The same structure and rules apply even as sentences become more complex, the verb must always match the subject regardless of the words that come in between
• Indefinite pronouns


  Words like everybody, nobody, anybody, someone - they usually take singular verbs
• Compound subjects


  1. Two singular subjects joined by 'and' become a plural subject and need a plural verb

  2. Two singular subjects joined by 'or' are treated as a singular subject
• Gerunds and gerund phrases as subjects


  1. Gerunds take the singular form of the verb

  2. Gerunds linked by 'and' take the plural form of the verb
• Group nouns


  Single nouns that describe a group of people or things - they can be either singular or plural depending on the meaning of the sentence
• Some nouns look plural but take a singular form, like 'news' and uncountable nouns like 'furniture'
• Subjects and verbs change positions in English questions, so you need to identify the subject before choosing the verb form
• The more complex the sentence, the harder it is to locate the subject and verb and ensure they agree
• If there are two singular nouns joined by "and," use a singular verb.
• In sentences with plural subjects, use plural verbs to agree with them.
• The subject is the person or thing doing the action.
• If two subjects are connected by "and," use a plural verb if they act as one unit.
• When using pronouns as subjects, choose the correct one based on whether the subject is singular or plural.
• Use a singular verb when referring to a single person, even if their name ends in "-ies."
• Verbs must match their subjects in number (singular or plural).
• Agreement between subject and verb can be tricky when using pronouns as subjects.
• In sentences with collective nouns, if the focus is on the whole group, use a singular verb; if the focus is on individual members, use a plural verb.
• When using pronouns like he/she, his/her, their, etc., always choose the correct gender based on the subject's gender.
• A compound subject consists of two or more words that join together to make up the subject of a sentence.
• Subject-Verb Agreement


  1. Circle the correct verb

  2. Refer to the clues on the following page
• Clues/Rules for Subject-Verb Agreement


  • Make the subject and verb agree when words intervene between them
  • The grammatical number of the subject does not change with the addition of expressions beginning with such words as the following: accompanied by, along with, as well as, in addition to, including, no less than, not to mention, together with
  • Subjects joined by and are usually plural
  • Singular subjects joined by or, either...or, neither...nor take a singular verb
  • If one subject is singular and one is plural, the verb agrees with the nearer subject
  • The verb also agrees with the nearer subject in person
  • Do not let inverted word order cause you to make a mistake in agreement
  • When used as subjects, such words as each, either, one, everybody, and anyone regularly take singular verbs
  • Every or each preceding singular subjects joined by and calls for a singular verb
  • Collective nouns take a singular verb when they refer to the group as a unit
  • Collective nouns take a plural verb when they refer to individuals or parts of the group
  • Some nouns (such as athletics, politics, series, deer, and sheep) can be either singular or plural depending on meaning