Subject-Verb Agreement

Subjects (mostly nouns) must agree with verbs in a sentence. If a subject is singular, its verb
must also be singular; if a subject is plural, its verb must also be plural.

Examples:
Present Tense : Singular

noun subject verb

The dog chases the cat.

singular singular

Plural

The dogs chase the cat.

plural plural

Examples: Examples:
Past Tense : Singular Singular

The dog chased the cat. The dog has chased the cat.

singular singular singular

same verb
Plural form Plural

The dogs chased the cat. The dogs have chased the cat.

plural plural plural

Bear in mind that after words like “will”, “would”, “can”, “could”, “shall”, “should” and “may”, the verbs
must be written in base form.

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 1. SINGULAR SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

i. a singular noun

e.g. The blue pen belongs to me.

A ripe apple is normally red in colour.

ii. this / that

e.g. This is the movie that I want to watch.

That girl goes to the cinema every month.

iii. indefinite pronouns such as “each”, “anyone”, “something” and “nothing”

e.g. Each person has a book.

Is there anything in your car?

iv. uncountable subject

e.g. Sugar is sweet.

Rice contains some good nutrients.
There is only a little coffee left in the mug.

v. after phrases like “one of”, “each of”, “every one of”, “none of”, “neither of” – followed by a
plural noun

e.g. One of the players was injured.

None of them knows Samantha.

vi. abstract nouns

e.g. True happiness is not easy to be found.

Wisdom doesn’t involve hard work.

vii. titles of books, TV series, movies, newspapers or novels

e.g. Twelve Monkeys airs every Wednesday.

The New Straits Times is available in this store.

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viii. a quantity or an amount of a plural noun

e.g. Five thousand ringgit is a lot of money.

Thirty days is actually quite short.

ix. some collective nouns like “furniture”, “cutlery”, “equipment”, “traffic”, “luggage”,
“machinery” and “advice”

e.g. All the furniture in your house is new.

The machinery has many flaws.

x. a singular noun – followed by a phrase starting with words like “with”, “together with” and
“as well as”

e.g. The actor, with all the actresses, was successful.

She, as well as the workers, has a meeting later.

xi. the phrase “the number of” – followed by a plural noun

e.g. The number of hotels in Penang is increasing

annually.
The number of hotels with international awards
in Sabah has increased.

xii. a gerund or an infinitive

e.g. Walking helps to improve my health.

To help someone in need is a noble thing to do.

xiii. two singular subjects referring to the same person, thing or idea

e.g. Jennifer is my best friend. She always helps me

whenever I am in need. We always go to school
together as her house is just opposite mine. In
addition, my good friend and neighbour is a top
student.

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 2. PLURAL SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

i. a plural noun

e.g. The cars belong to Madeline.

The pages of this magic book are missing.

ii. these / those

e.g. These students have a test today.

Those are some expensive watches.

iii. countable subject

e.g. Several books were theirs.

Many girls play football these days.
A lot of students speak English well.
All parents love their children.

iv. the phrase “a number of” – followed by a plural noun

e.g. A number of tourists are going to Sarawak this

year.
A number of cats are chasing the mouse.

v. use plural verb with things that come in pairs such as “scissors”, “trousers”, “binoculars”,
“shoes” and “spectacles”

e.g. The trousers cost RM50.

Take note that:

A pair of trousers costs RM50

What about two pairs of trousers?

“Two pairs of trousers cost RM100.” or “Two pairs of trousers costs RM100.”

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 vi. two different subjects joined by “and”

e.g. Thornberry and Charles are good friends.

An apple and an orange have different vitamins.

vii. a plural noun – followed by a phrase starting with words like “with”, “together with” and “as
well as”

e.g. The cats, together with the little dog, are playing
together in the field.
The nurses, as well as the doctor, have access to
the staff room.

viii. some nouns in singular form but can be plural in meaning

e.g. The police have caught the culprit.

Take not that this is also correct:

The police has caught the culprit.

3. SINGULAR/PLURAL SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

i. either… or

e.g. Either Jason or Phillip has taken the bag.

Either Jason or his friends have taken the bag.

ii. neither… nor

e.g. Neither Ravi nor his sister knows the way to the
nearest town.
Neither Ravi nor his parents know the way to
the nearest town.

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 Exercise 1
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the words given in brackets.

e.g. One of the boys is my brother. (be)

1. Each of the visitors __________

has (have) to register at the reception.
2. Each visitor __________
has (have) to register at the reception.
3. Either Harry or Louise __________
is (be) to be blamed for the mistake.
4. knows
One of the children in this class __________ (know) how to speak French.
5. My luggage __________
is (be) in my car boot.
6. The secretaries, along with her colleague, __________
does (do) work right now.
7. Four hours of driving from Kuala Lumpur to Penang __________
is (be) rather long and tiring
for us.
8. __________
does (do) either your mother or your sisters know how to cook chicken curry?
9. A crew of sailors __________
have (have) just entered the pub.
10. Mathematics __________
require (require) us to do a lot of calculations.
11. Neither my father nor my two brothers __________
smoke (smoke).
12. Nobody __________
wishes (wish) to take part in the debate competition.
13. Everybody __________
wishes (wish) to take part in the debate competition.
14. The traffic on the road this morning __________
is (be) the worst this week.
15. Fish and chips __________
are (be) sold at this restaurant.
16. Business Administration and Accountancy __________
are (be) my favourite courses.
17. E-commerce and Marketing __________
are (be) my favourite course.
18. The stationery __________
is (be) in one of the drawers.
19. __________
has you (have) a band of musicians arrived to the music competition?
20. __________
have you (have) the musicians arrived to the music competition?

21. No news __________

is (be) good news.
22. Paul and Paula __________
have (have) different interests.
23. This __________
is (be) all the information that I found on the internet.
24. All this clothing __________
belongs (belong) to Mimi.
likes
25. Samantha, like her sister, __________ (like) cooking.

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 Exercise 2
Each of the sentences has one error. Identify and correct the errors.

are
e.g. The children is playing at the playground

is
1. Science are my favourite subject.
has
2. One of the children have gone missing.
3. Neither Justin nor Selena are attending the event.
4. The computer monitor, along with the keyboard, are faulty.
5. Your pants really matches your shirt.
was
6. I were absent from the workshop yesterday.
has
7. The committee have unanimously agreed to my suggestion.
8. The police in my neighbourhood has been patrolling consistently every day in their car.
9. Everybody prefer watching the movie to reading the book.
is
10. A pride of lions are resting comfortably under the tree.
is
11. Six months are a long duration for this simple course
12. A lot of our furniture look worn out.
is
13. Either you or I are going to see the coach.
14. The longest version of her novel have been criticised by the readers.
15. My pair of short pants have a hole in the pocket.
16. The uniform, together with the badges, belong to my brother.
17. The car and all his belongings was destroyed in the fire.
18. Japanese linguistics are difficult for me to learn.
19. The crowd have finally dispersed.
20. Neither Lisa nor her sister are coming for the practice.
21. The water in the rivers flows to the valleys and hills.
22. The school choir sing only classical songs.
23. Saroja is one of those who study really hard.
24. My alarm clock go off at seven every morning.
25. “I know all of you puts in a lot of effort in this project,” said Ms Norma to her students.

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 Exercise 3
Complete the following passage about Malaysian National Zoo with the correct verbs.

Reading
Over 4,000 animals from 400 different species of
mammals, reptiles, birds and fish are believed to __________
(live) at the zoo. Of course, visitors __________ (not see) all 4,000
of them. The zoo also __________ (boast) an open concept with
spacious exhibits beautifully landscaped. The notable exhibits
__________ (include) the Reptile House, Malaysian Elephants,
Nocturnal Exhibits, Bear Complex, Mammal Kingdom, Savannah
Walk, Ape Centre and the Cat Walk.

Besides exhibits, Zoo Negara __________ (conduct)

A hornbill Is common in Sarawak.
performances such as the elephant show as well as the nocturnal
animal show. The natural odour of the animals __________
(permeate) the entire zoo and its natural landscape __________
(be) unspoilt. Another unique feature is that the zoo __________
(go) green to save costs as well as to help preserve its natural
environment.

Exercise 4
Complete the following passage about Bill Gates’ achievement with the correct verbs.

Reading
Gates’ foresight and vision for personal computing
__________ (have) been central to the success of Microsoft
Office. Along with his wife, he set up the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation. It __________ (support) disease immunization
programmes, research into HIV/Aids and education for the poor
through an endowment of $30 billion. This __________ (make)
the foundation the largest charity in the world.

Gates __________ (feel) positive about the changes that

have been made. In today’s world, paper has __________
(become) a thing of the past. There __________ (be) no
magazines or newspapers. Instead, we will carry an object he
__________ (call) a tablet to cater to all our information and
entertainment needs.

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