Subject Verb Agreement

You Tube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEVhUEq6P1w

Rules of Subject Verb Agreement

Rule 1: The Basics

A singular subject is followed by a singular verb.

e.g. The boy walks to school every day.

Sam studies in the evenings.

A plural subject is followed by a plural verb.

e.g. The children walk to school every day.

The girls play tennis in the weekends.

The ‘s’ Rule:

Usually when the subject does not end with an ‘s’, then the verb will.

e.g. The girl dances.

When the subject does end with ‘s’, the verb will not end with an ‘s’.

e.g. The girls dance.

VERB
Subject
be do have
He
She
It is does has
The girl
John
I am do have

You are do have

We
They
are do have
The girls
The children
Table 1: Subject Pronouns and Auxiliary Verb

The table above illustrates the use of the auxiliary verb ‘be’, ‘do’, ‘have’ for different subjects/
pronouns.
Rule 2: ‘and’ Rule

When more than one subject whether the subjects are in singular or plural forms are attached with
the conjunction ‘and’, the verb is treated as plural.

e.g. John and his friends play games on their mobile phone in class.

Sam and Jack take the same bus to school every day.

Rule 3: ‘Neither…. nor’ / ‘Either……or’

When two or more subjects whether they are plural or singular in form are connected with
‘neither….no’ or ‘either….or’, the verb is determined by the subject that is the closest to the verb.

e.g. Neither James nor his friends know the answer to that question.

Either the children or their teacher is coming for the party later.

Rule 4: Uncountable Noun

Uncountable nouns take the place of singular nouns, hence the verb following is a singular verb.

e.g. Noise pollution affects the quality of our sleep.

Water is a valuable resource.

Rule 5: Singularity and Plurality of Plural Forms

There are instances where singular subjects take plural forms, hence they should be regarded as a
singular subject. As such, a singular verb form is used in the sentence.

e.g. The news starts at 8 p.m. every day.

Mathematics is one of my favourite subjects.

On the other hand, there are objects that are in plural forms but represent a singular object. For these
objects, the plural form of the verb used in the sentence.

e.g. The scissors on the table are mine.

The jeans drying outside are still wet.

Rule 6: Subjects with Subordinate Clauses

The main subject is sometimes attached to secondary subjects using subordinate clauses, such as
‘together with’, ‘along with’, ‘who’, etc. Identifying the main subject would help determine whether a
singular or plural verb is to be used.

e.g. The man, who own many cars lives in that house.

The children, along with their friends play in the field.

The student who sings beautifully is my best friend.

Rule 7: The Object of Prepositions…

The object of the preposition establishes the verb form; whether the verb should be singular or plural.
This is the case when the object(s) belong to a group of other objects of the similar kind.

e.g. One of the boys has been found.

Two of the girls were at my party last night.

Rule 8: Measurables

Uncountable nouns that are measured in units such as, height, weight, distance, time, money, etc. are
regarded as a single unit or a singular subject. Hence, a singular verb is used.

e.g. The distance from my house to my school is 10 kilometres.

Twenty thousand dollars is a lot of money.

Rule 9: Singularity of Indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns such as everyone, someone, no one, everybody, somebody, etc. are regarded as
singular in subject. Thus, a singular verb form is applied.

e.g. Someone has been knocking on the door since morning.

Everyone in the class is going on the camping trip.

There are some exceptions in the case of indefinite pronouns such as, any, none, most, many, a few,
several and some, in which the plural verb is called for when referring to the countable nouns.

e.g. Many people are waiting for the shopping mall to open.
 A few cars parked at the side of the road have been summoned.

However, the same does not apply when referring to uncountable nouns.

e.g. Some of the water in the cup has spilled onto the carpet.

Most of the air pollution is caused by heavy vehicles on the road.

Rule 10: When subjects come after…

There are instances when the verb is determined by the subjects that come after it. This is the case
when sentence begin with ‘there is…’, there are…’, ‘here is….’, ‘here are…’ and when question forms
are used.

e.g. There is an apple on the table.

Here are the keys to the house.

When do the children take their bath?

Rule 11: The Importance of Context

Collective nouns can be regarded as singular or plural subjects based on the context it is used.

e.g. The family is on a holiday to France.

The family are each doing different activity during the holiday.

Rule 12: Titles

A title of a movie, play, book etc. is regarded as singular in form. Hence, it is followed by a singular
verb.

e.g. ‘The End Game’ is still being played in the theatres.

‘Lord of the Rings’ is written by that famous writer.