Subject Verb Agreement | Examples and Rules

This article discusses the subject verb agreement in English language. You will find a detailed explanations with suitable examples in the section below:

Basic Rule of Subject Verb Agreement

The basic rule of subject verb agreement states that a singular subject takes a singular verb, while a plural subject takes a plural verb.

My brother is a nutritionist. My sisters are mathematicians.

Important here is to know whether the subject is singular or plural and to recognize a singular or plural verb.

Verbs do not form their plurals by adding an‘s’ as nouns do. In order to determine which verb is singular and which one is plural, think of which verb you would use with he or she and which verb you would use with they.

Example:

talks, talk
Which one is the singular form? Which word would you use with he? We say, “He talks.” Therefore, ‘talks’ is singular. We say, “They talk.” Therefore, ‘talk’ is plural.

Rule 1

Two singular subjects connected by either/or OR neither/nor require a singular verb. 

  Examples:  Neither Jabir nor Tina is available.

          Either Javed or Kamran is helping today with stage decorations.

Rule 2

When I is one of the two subjects connected by either/or or neither/nor, put it second and follow it with the singular verb am. 

  Example: Neither she nor I am going to the festival.

Rule 3

When a singular subject is connected by or OR nor to a plural subject, put the plural subject last and use a plural verb. 

  Example: The serving bowl or the plates go on that shelf.

Rule 4

When a singular and plural subject are connected by either/or OR neither/nor, put the plural subject last and use a plural verb.

  Example: Neither Jenny nor the others are available.

Rule 5

As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected by and. 

  Example: A car and a bike are my means of transportation.

Rule 6

Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by words such as along with, as well as, besides, or not. Ignore these expressions when determining whether to use a singular or plural verb. 

  Examples:  The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly. 

          Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking.

Rule 7

The pronouns each, everyone, every one, everybody, anyone, anybody, someone, and somebody are singular and require singular verbs. Do not be misled by what follows of. 

 Examples:  Each of the girls sings well. 

         Every one of the cakes is gone.

NOTE: Everyone is one word when it means everybody. Every one is two words when the meaning is each one.

Rule 8

With words that indicate portions—percent, fraction, part, majority, some, all, none, remainder, and so forth —look at the noun in your ‘of’ phrase (object of the preposition) to determine whether to use a singular or plural verb. If the object of the preposition is singular, use a singular verb. If the object of the preposition is plural, use a plural verb.

  Examples: Fifty percent of the pie has disappeared.

(Here, Pie is the object of the preposition of.)

Fifty percent of the pies have disappeared.

(Here, Pies is the object of the preposition of.)

One-third of the city is unemployed.

One-third of the people are unemployed.

All of the pie is gone.

All of the pies are gone.

Some of the pie is missing.

Some of the pies are missing.

None of the garbage was picked up. 

None of the sentences were punctuated correctly. 

Of all her books, none have sold as well as the first one. 

Rule 9

 When either and neither are subjects, they always take singular verbs. 

  Examples: Neither of them is available to speak right now. 

         Either of us is capable of doing the job.

Rule 10

The words here and there have generally been labeled as adverbs even though they indicate place. In sentences beginning with here or there, the subject follows the verb.

  Examples: There are four hurdles to jump. 

         There is a high hurdle to jump.

Rule 11

Use a singular verb with sums of money or periods of time. 

  Examples: Ten dollars is a high price to pay. 

         Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense.

Rule 12

Sometimes the pronoun who, that, or which is the subject of a verb in the middle of the sentence. The pronouns who, that, and which become singular or plural according to the noun directly in front of them. So, if that noun is singular, use a singular verb. If it is plural, use a plural verb. 

  Examples: Salma is the scientist who writes/write the reports.

         The word in front of who is scientist, which is singular. Therefore, use the singular verb writes.

He is one of the men who does/do the work.

The word in front of who is men, which is plural. Therefore, use the plural verb do.

Rule 13

Collective nouns such as team and staff may be either singular or plural depending on their use in the sentence. 

  Examples: The staff is in a meeting.

Staff is acting as a unit here.

The staff are in disagreement about the findings.

The staff are acting as separate individuals in this example. 

The sentence would read even better as:

The staff members are in disagreement about the findings.

The bottom line is that the knowledge and understanding of the rules of subject verb agreement are as vital for your fluency in English Language as the vocabulary.

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