Good grammar and sentence structure are vital for any piece of writing to be considered worthy of reading. Poorly written sentences that do not have subject verb agreement in place tend to reflect badly on the writer. Such errors throughout can reduce the writer’s credibility and give the impression that they don’t have the proficiency to write. This is especially true in the case of academic writing.
So, it’s a good idea to get a proper understanding of subject verb agreement to ensure that every piece of writing is flawless.
What Is Subject Verb Agreement?
It might first be helpful to be clear on what a subject and verb are before getting into the specifics of subject verb agreement.
The subject of a sentence refers to what/who the sentence is focused on. The verb, on the other hand, refers to the action the subject is involved in.
The below examples illustrate this clearly:
- My professor comes to the university only thrice a week.
Who? My professor (subject)
What does the professor do? Comes (verb) to the university
- Most birds fly south every winter.
Who? Most birds (subject)
What do the birds do? Fly (verb) south every winter
Subject verb agreement (SVA) is exactly what it sounds like – the subject and verb in a sentence must always agree with one another in number. While this sounds simple enough, there are several situations where ensuring SVA can get rather confusing.
So, the knowledge of some important subject verb agreement rules can be helpful for students to write grammatically correct sentences.
Subject Verb Agreement Rules
1. The fundamental rule of subject verb agreement is that a singular subject must be followed by a singular verb, while a plural subject must be followed by a plural verb.
One would assume that this means:
- A singular subject is followed by a singular verb (a verb that takes an “s”).
For example:
He reads the newspaper.
Here, the singular subject he takes the singular verb reads.
- A plural subject is followed by a plural verb (a verb that does not take an “s”).
For example:
They need to go to the library.
Here, the plural subject they takes the plural subject need.
However, the above fundamental rule applies mostly when sentences are written in present tense.
2. In the simple past tense, verbs retain the same form for both singular and plural subjects.
Here are a couple of examples to illustrate this rule:
- He walked to the store to buy supplies.
- They ran to the park and back.
Although the subjects in the first and second examples above are singular (he) and plural (they), respectively, the verbs have taken the same form.
3. When the subject of a sentence is the first person pronoun I or the second person pronoun you, the verb that follows takes a plural form. However, when the subject is a singular third person pronoun – he, she, or it – the verb is singular.
That said, the plural forms of the first, second, and third person – we, you, and they, respectively – take plural verbs.
The table below illustrates this with examples:
| Singular | Plural | |
| First Person | I swim | We swim |
| Second Person | You swim | You swim |
| Third Person | He/she/it swims | They swim |
4. When the subject in a sentence includes two or more nouns/pronouns that are linked by the coordinating conjunction (known as a compound subject) and, the verb that follows must be plural. This is true irrespective of whether the individual subjects are singular or plural.
For example:
- The professor and the assistant professor supervise the exams.
Although each subject (professor, assistant professor) is a singular noun, the subject of the sentence becomes a plural noun (professor and assistant professor) when both are connected by and. Hence, the verb must be plural (supervise) to agree.
Exception: This rule does not apply when the compound subject is considered a singular entity. In such a case, the verb that follows will be singular.
For example:
- Fish and chips is a popular dish in England.
5. Sentences with two or more singular nouns linked by the coordinating conjunction or or nor must always be followed by a singular verb.
For example:
- The professor or the assistant professor supervises the exams.
Although the individual subjects (professor, assistant professor) together form the compound subject (professor or assistant professor), using or indicates a choice between the two. So, the subject stays singular and is followed by a singular verb (supervises).
6. In sentences with both a singular and a plural noun/pronoun linked by or or nor, the verb must agree with the subject it is nearest to.
For example:
- The teacher or the students are late every day.
- The students or the teacher is late every day.
In the first example, the verb is nearer to the plural subject students and hence must also be plural (are) to agree. Similarly, in the second example, the verb is nearer to the singular subject teacher and hence must also be singular (is) to agree.
7. When there are multiple verbs in a sentence, all of them must agree with the subject.
For example:
- The teacher gives detailed instructions and grades assignments impartially.
- Students participate in cultural activities and do assignments every semester.
In the first example, the subject teacher is singular. Therefore, the verbs must also be singular (gives and grades) to agree. In the second example, the subject students is plural. Therefore, the verbs must take the plural forms (participate and do) to agree.
8. Ensuring subject verb agreement when indefinite pronouns are subjects can be quite tricky. Indefinite pronouns are those that do not refer to any particular person, thing, or place.
Some common ones include anyone, everyone, someone, no one, anybody, everybody, somebody, nobody, anything, everything, something, nothing, each, either, and neither.
The above indefinite pronouns are all singular and hence always agree with singular verbs.
For example:
- Someone locks the door at the end of the session.
- Nobody cares as long as the work gets done.
Many, several, few, both, and others are all plural indefinite pronouns and hence always agree with plural verbs.
For example:
- Many attend the university Christmas party every year.
- Both are included in the guest list.
Exception: Any, some, none, most and all are indefinite pronouns that take a singular or plural verb depending on the context of the sentence.
Examples:
- Some of her advice makes no sense.
Here, some refers to advice. Hence, it is considered singular and is followed by the singular verb makes.
- None of them agree to strict practices.
Here, none refers to them. So, it is considered plural and is followed by the plural verb agree.
9. Subject verb agreement for collective nouns like team, group, jury, committee, class, staff, and so on can also often be confusing.
Although such nouns refer to multiple people, they are almost always considered a single unit and usually take a singular verb.
For example:
- The soccer team often plays during spring break.
- The jury decides who is guilty based on the evidence.
Exception: Collective nouns may sometimes be considered plural while referring to individual members. In such cases, they take plural verbs.
For example:
- The team argues amongst themselves.
The above sentence can, however, be rewritten for clarity as:
- The team members argue amongst themselves.
10. Subject verb agreement can also be challenging when the subject and verb are away from one another in a sentence. This is often the case when the subject is followed by clauses starting with who, which, or that or prepositional phrases (phrases beginning with prepositions). It is also the case with questions and when the subject follows the verb.
Here are a few examples that illustrate these instances:
- A student who is early occupies the front desk.
- The rooms at the entrance of the building are vacant.
In the first example, the clause who is early does not include the subject. The subject student precedes the clause and is singular. Therefore, it is followed by the singular verb occupies.
In the second example as well, the prepositional phrase at the entrance of the building does not contain the subject. The subject rooms precedes the clause and is plural. Hence, it is followed by the plural verb are.
- There are several birds here.
In the above example, the subject is birds, not there. It is in agreement with the plural verb are, which occurs before it in the sentence.
- Where is the window?
The above example is a question, which too follows the structure of the previous example where the subject window follows the verb is.
11. Nouns that seem plural but aren’t countable like news, mathematics, and aerobics are singular and are hence usually followed by singular verbs.
For example:
The news is quite depressing these days.
Exception: Some words like dollars and statistics are followed by a singular or plural verb depending on their meaning in a sentence.
Here are examples that illustrate the difference in meaning:
- Statistics finds many real-world applications.
- The latest statistics reveal that the recovery rate has improved.
When being referred to as a subject like in the first example, statistics is considered a singular noun and hence takes a singular verb. However, when its implied meaning in a sentence is data like in the second example, it is considered a plural noun and hence takes a plural verb.
