30 rules of subject verb agreement and their examples pdf

30 rules of subject-verb agreement and their examples pdf.

Subject-verb agreement means that the subject of the sentence matches the verb describing its action. This helps your reader understand who or what is doing something and makes your writing easier to read.

First, identify the subject (the person or thing doing the action) and the verb (the action word) in a sentence. If the subject is singular, the verb describing its action should be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb should be plural. Verb Singular subject + verb Plural subject + verb Be The result is significant. The results are significant. Do The
student does her best. The students do their best. Become The child becomes happier. The children become happier. Cause That tree causes hay fever. Those trees cause hay fever.

Analyze The author analyzes the text.

The authors analyze the text. While subject-verb agreement is easy in simple sentences like these, it can become tricky in more complex sentences.

This article teaches you the most important rules and common mistakes. Sometimes two or more subjects are linked to one verb. These are called compound subjects.
To decide whether to use a singular or plural verb, consider how the subjects are linked. Subjects linked with “and” When subjects are linked with and, use a plural verb. A bicycle and a pedestrian were involved.
The goose and the chickens eat early in the morning. Exception: When the two nouns don’t refer to separate things but to a single entity, use a singular verb. The new bed and breakfast opens this week. Macaroni and cheese is a delicious meal. Subjects linked with “or” When singular subjects are linked with or, either…or, nor, neither…nor, use
a singular verb. Just a card or a balloon is enough.
Either the measurement or the calculation has created a problem. If all the subjects are plural, use a plural verb.

Either the measurements or the calculations have created a problem. If the compound subject contains both singular and plural nouns, the verb takes the form of the closest subject. Neither the batteries nor the machine operates as intended. Often the verb does not directly follow the subject, which can lead to agreement mistakes. Make sure to
match the verb with the correct subject, especially in long sentences with phrases or clauses in between subject and verb. Critics of the study highlights its errors. Critics of the study highlight its errors. A basket of puppies were in the kitchen. A basket of puppies was in the kitchen. Twelve organizations, each of which is an expert in its field and a
key stakeholder in the negotiation process, is participating in the conference. Twelve organizations, each of which is an expert in its field and a key stakeholder in the negotiation process, are participating in the conference. “As well as” and other tricky phrases The phrase as well as is not the same as the conjunction and. Subjects linked by
and always take a plural verb. In contrast, phrases like as well as, in addition to, or along with are not linked to the verb. If the subject is singular, the verb should stay singular. The candidate and her supporters leaves the building. The candidate and her supporters leave the building. The candidate, along with her supporters, leave the building.

The candidate, along with her supporters, leaves the building. The employees of the organization, as well as the CEO, has an interest in the project’s success. The employees of the organization, as well as the CEO, have an interest in the project’s success. Indefinite pronouns These refer to non-specific persons, places, and things (e.g., someone, other,
anyone, anything, somewhere, every, none). Most indefinite pronouns are treated as singular subjects. However, some are always treated as plural, as they refer to multiple items or amounts. Certain indefinite pronouns may be treated as either singular or plural, depending on whether they refer to multiple items or to a proportion of a single item.
Rule Indefinite pronouns Examples Always singular Pronouns ending in –thing, –where, –body or –one (e.g., somewhere, anybody), every, one, each, another… Something falls from the table. Each of the participants responds promptly. Anyone is able to use the software. Always plural Many, few, several, both, others Both of the twins are lazy. Few
know what really happened that day. May be singular or plural None, all, some, most, more, any, either All of the cookies are gone. All of the cookie is gone. Sometimes the subject follows the verb, especially when the sentence begins with there or here. In this case, there is not the subject – the true subject should be identified and matched with the
correct verb form. There are many gaps in the literature. Here is the answer. Note: Identifying the true subject can be difficult when using these phrases in a long sentence, which can be confusing for your readers, so be careful when starting a sentence in this way. Numbers and amounts When using numbers, percentages or proportions, the correct
form of verb agreement depends on exactly what you’re referring to. It’s helpful to look beyond the numbers and find the true subject.
If you’re referring to a specific number or amount of something, match the verb with the noun rather than the number. Only 25% of the measurements are reliable.
Three meters of wire surrounds the core. Over 300 civilians reside in the area. This also applies when the number refers to an unnamed noun. I invited 10 people to the party, but only nine are coming. 30% say they will vote in the next election. If the subject of the sentence is a number referring to a unified quantity of something, use a singular verb.
One thousand dollars is too much.
In fact, 63% is a better result than expected. Proportions Terms that describe a proportion of something are usually followed by “of” (such as most of). First look at the noun you are describing to determine if it’s singular or plural, then match it to the verb. The majority of the samples are contaminated. The majority of the sample is contaminated. One
third of the participants were given the placebo.
Collective and uncountable nouns It can be hard to work out whether to treat collective and uncountable nouns as singular or plural. Collective nouns A collective noun refers to a group of people or things as a singular whole (e.g., population, team, committee, staff). The form of verb depends on the style of English you are using. US English tends to
use a singular verb, while UK English tends to use a plural verb. This also applies to the names of companies and organizations. However, in both styles of English, this rule is somewhat flexible depending on whether you want to emphasize the actions of the collective as a whole or the individual actions of its members. US English UK English The
team usually wins. The team usually win. The herd migrates in summer. The herd migrate in summer. The WWF invites its members to a meeting. The WWF invite their members to a meeting. Walmart is the world’s largest company. Walmart is the world’s largest company.* The staff argue with each other.** The staff argue with each other. *A
singular verb makes more sense here, as the emphasis is on the company as a unified entity. **A plural verb makes more sense here, as the emphasis is on the individual staff members. Uncountable nouns These nouns describe abstract concepts or masses that can’t be counted (e.g., research, power, water and vegetation). They take a singular verb.
This equipment is unusable.
The research goes smoothly. Water flows through the streets. Note: Data is technically a plural noun, but it is widely treated as an uncountable noun, so it is acceptable to use either the singular or plural verb form. This research aims to gather additional data on bee behaviour, which is currently lacking. Data were collected over a period of three
months. Abbreviations and acronyms Abbreviations and acronyms usually take a singular verb. If you’re unsure, check if the full version of the acronym or abbreviation is a singular, plural or collective noun, and refer to the rules above. It’s most important to use one form of agreement consistently. The country’s GDP correlates with its birth rate. The
RPM falls rapidly. In addition to oil, HNS are a common form of cargo. In the examples above, RPM (“revolutions per minute”) refers to a stand-alone number, so it takes a singular verb. HNS (“hazardous and noxious substances”), on the other hand, is used to describe multiple things, so it takes a plural verb. We strongly encourage students to use
sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below. This Scribbr article Middleton, F. (2023, April 18). Subject-Verb Agreement | Examples, Rules & Use. Scribbr. Retrieved June 13, 2023, from Sources Aarts, B.
(2011). Oxford modern English grammar. Oxford University Press. Butterfield, J. (Ed.). (2015). Fowler’s dictionary of modern English usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. Show all sources (3) Garner, B. A. (2016). Garner’s modern English usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. What is the Subject-Verb Agreement in English Grammar? The
subject-verb agreement can be defined as the agreement of a subject and its corresponding verb in a sentence in reference to the number. To download the lesson in PDF format, please find the downloadable link attached below in the article.
Also referred to as verb-subject concord, the existing agreement between a subject and its verb is governed by a series of rules and principles that determine how the two relate. In other words, both the verb and its subject must be in either singular or in the plural as dictated by a set of rules, unless otherwise. His little sister is playing with her new
toy — singular. For this sentence, the subject is “his little sister” and the verb is “playing”. Their little sisters are playing with their new toys outside — plural. For this sentence, the subjects are “the little sisters” and the verb is “playing”. All the sentences above are in the present continuous [External Link], and as you can see, the subject has no
influence on the verb. So worth noting is that the principles of the subject-verb agreement only apply to finite verbs [External Link] that are in the present tense, and in some way, to the past tense of the verbs to be, such as was and were. Examples in a sentence: The dog eats minced meat.The dogs eat minced meat.Mary loves fishing. Mary and her
friends love fishing.
From the sentence, a singular subject is only grammatically correct when its corresponding verb is in the singular, as well. The same can be said about a plural subject, which is only grammatically correct when the corresponding verb is in the plural, as well. Rule 1 (The Basic Rule): As already mentioned, a singular subject should only take a singular
verb.
Same for a plural subject, which should only take a plural verb. It’s to be however noted that verbs pluralize in the opposite fashion as nouns. Where you’ll be adding an “s” to a noun to pluralize it, you’ll be adding it to a verb to make it singular. So play becomes plays in the singular.Run becomes runs in the singular.Cheat becomes cheats in the
singular … and so forth. Examples in a sentence: The subject cat is in the singular and so is the verb chases.
The subject cats are in the plural and so is the verb chase. The subject June is in the singular and so is the verb loves. June and her siblings love reading. The subject June and her siblings are in the plural and so is the verb love. The road that leads to heaven is narrow. The subject road is in the singular and so is the verb leads.
The roads that lead to heaven are narrow. The subject roads are in the plural and so are the verb lead. Rule 2: When there’s a Prepositional Phrase Between the subject and the Verb. Prepositions are the words that both govern and precede a noun or pronoun, and they’re meant to express the relationship the word has to another word or element
within the same clause. Examples include of, over, at, on, in, under, beneath and so forth. Prepositional phrases, on the other hand, signify a group of words that don’t feature a verb or subject, and which functions as a unified part of a speech. Examples include: after, about, during, in, for, over, past, up, with, to, and with, to name a few. Where a
sentence features a prepositional phrase, the object of the preposition is treated as the subject of the sentence even when it’s NOT in the real sense. For instance, a pack of wolves. If this phrase appears in a sentence, then the word “pack” will be considered the subject of that sentence and NOT wolves. Examples in a sentence: A pack of wolves lives
in the nearby forest. Here the subject pack is in the singular, so it makes grammatical sense to pair it up with a verb that’s also in the singular. Packs of wolves live in the nearby forest.
“Packs” is the subject in this, and is in the plural and so is the verb “live” that’s paired up with. Rule 3: Expressions that indicate amount or quantity that are treated as a unit should take up singular verbs. Examples include 10 dollars, 20 kilometers, 50 liters and so forth. Examples in a sentence. 10 dollars is enough money to pay for uber. 20
kilometers is all the distance we have to run. 50 liters is a lot of milk. Rule 4: Compound Subjects [External Link] that are Joined by the Conjunction “and”. Any subject that’s joined by the conjunction “and” will be taking up a plural verb. Examples in a Sentence. Cate and James travel a lot.The cat and the dog love playing together.Rice and beef make
a good dish. Mother and daughter love walking together. A few exceptions apply here, when a compounded word in the plural is popularly used together, then it’s grammatically regarded as singular.
Examples include: Cooked potatoes and beef is one of my favorite delicacies. The mastermind and mover of the group are NOT playing today.Egg and bread is my favorite breakfast meal. Rule 5: Coordinated Noun Phrases. If the subject consists of coordinated noun phrases, the verb agreement will be in accordance with the second noun phrase
should they happen to differ in number. Either John or his brothers are planning to attend the meeting.Neither my uncles or mother is attending the meeting. Rule 6: Indefinite Pronouns and Collective Nouns. Collective nouns [External Link] in the line of family, furniture, majority, team, and minority or any noun that encompasses a group of
individuals can either take up a singular or plural verb depending on context and the meaning it’s conveying.
The family has traveled.The majority of the students won’t be attending my class.The majority is in attendance. Singular in-form nouns such as rest, remainder, and number take up the plural forms in certain contexts, but their number is mostly dependent on the modifier. The rest of the chairs are needed in the church.A number of students are
attending the teacher’s wedding. The same system of the subject-verb agreement also applies to indefinite pronouns such as all, enough, and some. Examples in a Sentence: Some of the students are attending the meeting.All the biscuits were thrown away. And when the subject modified is singular, the sentence changes to a singular form: The rest of
the cake was eaten.All the bread was thrown away. I hope you liked this lesson on Subject-Verb Agreement if so do not forget to share it with your friends, and feel free to surf more of Parts Of Speech!