Subject Verb Agreement

What is Subject-Verb Agreement?

Subject verb agreement refers to the fact that the subject and verb in a sentence must agree in number. In other words, they both must be singular or they both must be plural. You can’t have a singular subject with a plural verb or vice versa. The tricky part is in knowing the singular and plural forms of subjects and verbs.

RULES 1

Singular subject must be accompanied by singular verb, plural subject must be accompanied by plural verb.

ex : She writes letter for her scholarship application

RULES 2

If there is a noun phrase containing "of", then the verb is recognized as a subject and followed by the form is the noun before of.

ex : The biggest slice of pizza is given to my brother

RULES 3

The singular subject associated with or, either / or, and neither / nor use the singular verb.

ex : Black or white does not matter, it's still monochrome

RULES 4

If the two subjects in the sentence are different (singular / plural), the verb in the sentence that has or, either / or, and neither / nor follows the closest subject.

ex : My dad or my uncle is going to pick me up

RULES 5

Two subjects that are linked to and use a plural verb (unless the subject is a compound noun).

ex : 2nd year students and 3rd year students have to take this assignment

RULES 6

If there are additional phrases (along with ...,as well as..., besides..., not..., etc) separating subject and verb, those phrases are not considered in the agreement.

ex : Love, as well as hatred, is something every human has

RULES 7

In sentences that use there or here, the subject is usually behind the verb, and the verb must still follow the subject.

ex : Here is the book you borrowed yesterday

RULES 8

Singular verb can be used for plural subjects, as long as the plural subject is considered as singular in the context of the sentence.

ex : At concert, the crowd is screaming their idol's name

RULES 9

In sentences that use determiner a lot of, all, some, etc, verb follows the form of the subject that precedes it.

ex : Some program is being fixed by programmer

RULES 10

In sentences that use collective noun (family, team, population, etc), you can use plural or singular verb.

ex : My family is the most valuable things i have ever had

RULES 11

Verb to be "were" can be used in any sentence to indicate contrast / presupposition conditions, no matter the subject is singular or plural.

ex : if I were you, i would buy the cheapest one