What is Subject–Verb Agreement?

 

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1. What is Subject–Verb Agreement?

Definition: Subject–Verb Agreement means that the verb must agree with its subject in number and person.

In simple words:

• A singular subject generally takes a singular verb.

• A plural subject generally takes a plural verb.

Examples:

Subject	Correct verb	Example sentence
He	plays	He plays cricket.
She	sings	She sings beautifully.
It	works	It works well.
They	play	They play cricket.
We	sing	We sing together.
The boys	work	The boys work hard.

Remember: In the simple present tense, we generally add -s or -es to the verb with he, she, it, or a singular noun.

• He eats an apple. 

• They eat apples. 

2. Important Rules of Subject–Verb Agreement

Rule 1: A singular subject takes a singular verb

Examples:

1. Ram plays football.

2. The girl dances well.

3. My father works in a bank.

4. The dog barks at strangers.

5. This book belongs to me.

Incorrect: Ram play football.

Correct: Ram plays football.

Rule 2: A plural subject takes a plural verb

Examples:

1. The boys play football.

2. The girls dance well.

3. My friends live nearby.

4. The dogs bark loudly.

5. These books belong to me.

Incorrect: The boys plays football.

Correct: The boys play football.

Rule 3: Use the correct verb with I and You

In the simple present tense, I and you take the base form of the verb, even though I refers to one person.

Examples:

• I play cricket.

• I go to school.

• You speak English.

• You work hard.

Incorrect: I plays cricket.

Correct: I play cricket.

Rule 4: Use is, am, and are correctly

Subject	Helping verb	Example
I	am	I am happy.
He	is	He is intelligent.
She	is	She is reading.
It	is	It is a cat.
Ram	is	Ram is sleeping.
You	are	You are kind.
We	are	We are students.
They	are	They are playing.

Remember:

• I am a student.

• He is a student.

• They are students.

Rule 5: Use has and have correctly

Subject	Correct verb
He	has
She	has
It	has
Ram	has
I	have
You	have
We	have
They	have
The boys	have

Examples:

1. She has a beautiful dress.

2. Rahul has a bicycle.

3. I have two pencils.

4. They have a big house.

5. We have enough time.

Incorrect: She have a doll.

Correct: She has a doll.

Rule 6: Use was and were correctly

Subject	Correct verb
I	was
He	was
She	was
It	was
Singular noun	was
You	were
We	were
They	were
Plural noun	were

Examples:

• I was absent yesterday.

• She was happy.

• The child was sleeping.

• You were late.

• We were playing.

• The children were excited.

Rule 7: Two subjects joined by and usually take a plural verb

When two subjects are joined by and, we generally use a plural verb.

Examples:

1. Ram and Shyam are friends.

2. My mother and father work hard.

3. A pen and a pencil are on the table.

4. Riya and Priya play badminton.

5. The teacher and the students are present.

Incorrect: Ram and Shyam is friends.

Correct: Ram and Shyam are friends.

Special case: When two words refer to one person, one thing, or one combined idea, a singular verb may be used.

Example: Bread and butter is my favourite breakfast.

Rule 8: With either…or and neither…nor

When two subjects are joined by either…or or neither…nor, the verb generally agrees with the subject nearest to it.

Examples:

1. Either Ram or Shyam is coming.

2. Either the teacher or the students are responsible.

3. Neither the boys nor the girl is ready.

4. Neither the girl nor the boys are ready.

This rule is often called the proximity rule.

Rule 9: With each and every, use a singular verb

Words such as each, every, everyone, everybody, someone, and nobody generally take singular verbs in standard English.

Examples:

1. Each student has a notebook.

2. Every child likes stories.

3. Everyone is present.

4. Everybody wants to win.

5. Someone is knocking at the door.

6. Nobody knows the answer.

Incorrect: Everyone are happy.

Correct: Everyone is happy.

Rule 10: Collective nouns usually take a singular verb when the group acts as one unit

Collective nouns include team, family, class, committee, and crowd.

Examples:

1. The team is playing well.

2. My family lives in Bhubaneswar.

3. The class is quiet.

4. The committee has made a decision.

In British English, a plural verb may also be used when the members are considered individuals.

Example: The team are arguing among themselves.

Rule 11: Uncountable nouns generally take singular verbs

Words such as water, milk, information, advice, furniture, and sugar are generally uncountable in standard English.

Examples:

1. Water is essential for life.

2. Milk is good for health.

3. This information is useful.

4. The furniture is expensive.

5. Her advice is helpful.

Incorrect: The information are correct.

Correct: The information is correct.

Rule 12: Some nouns ending in -s take singular verbs

Some subjects look plural but are singular in meaning.

Examples:

• Mathematics is an interesting subject.

• Physics is difficult for some students.

• The news is important.

• Measles is a disease.

However, some nouns ending in -s, such as scissors, trousers, and glasses, generally take plural verbs.

Examples:

• The scissors are sharp.

• My trousers are new.

• These glasses are clean.

We can say a pair of scissors is on the table.

Rule 13: With there is and there are

The verb agrees with the noun that follows it.

Examples:

• There is a book on the desk.

• There is a boy in the room.

• There are three books on the desk.

• There are many students in the class.

Incorrect: There is five students.

Correct: There are five students.

Rule 14: Ignore words between the subject and the verb

The verb agrees with the main subject, not with a noun in a phrase between the subject and verb.

Examples:

1. The box of chocolates is on the table.

2. The teacher, along with the students, is present.

3. The boy with his friends plays cricket.

4. The books on the shelf are mine.

Remember: In “The box of chocolates is heavy,” the subject is box, not chocolates.

Rule 15: Use a singular verb with one of

The expression one of + plural noun takes a singular verb because the subject is one.

Examples:

1. One of my friends is a doctor.

2. One of the boys has won the prize.

3. One of these books belongs to me.

Incorrect: One of the students are absent.

Correct: One of the students is absent.

Rule 16: Use the correct verb with who, which, and that

The verb agrees with the noun or pronoun that the relative pronoun refers to.

Examples:

1. He is the boy who plays cricket.

2. They are the boys who play cricket.

3. She is one of the students who work hard.

4. She is the only student who works hard.

Notice the difference:

• “One of the students who work hard” refers to students who work hard.

• “The only student who works hard” refers to one student.

Rule 17: Use singular verbs with amounts and periods treated as one unit

When an amount of money, a period of time, or a distance is considered a single unit, use a singular verb.

Examples:

1. Ten kilometres is a long distance.

2. Five hundred rupees is enough.

3. Two hours is sufficient for this test.

4. Seven days is a week.

But when individual items are being counted, a plural verb may be appropriate.

Example: Ten coins are lying on the table.

Rule 18: Some indefinite pronouns take plural verbs

Words such as both, few, many, and several generally take plural verbs.

Examples:

1. Both are intelligent.

2. Many students are absent.

3. Few people know the answer.

4. Several books are missing.

Compare:

• Everybody is ready.

• Many are ready.

4. Common Mistakes

Incorrect sentence	Correct sentence
He go to school.	He goes to school.
She have a pen.	She has a pen.
They is happy.	They are happy.
I am agree with you.	I agree with you.
Everyone are present.	Everyone is present.
The news are good.	The news is good.
Ram and Mohan is playing.	Ram and Mohan are playing.
One of my friends are here.	One of my friends is here.
There is two cats.	There are two cats.
The box of apples are heavy.	The box of apples is heavy.

5. Practice Worksheet – 30 Questions

Choose the correct verb in each sentence.

Subject–Verb Agreement Test

Choose one answer for each question. Check your score when you finish.

1. She ___ to school every day.

A. go

B. goes

C. going

2. The boys ___ football in the park.

A. plays

B. play

C. playing

3. I ___ a new school bag.

A. has

B. have

C. having

4. Rahul ___ a good student.

A. am

B. are

C. is

5. They ___ watching television.

A. is

B. are

C. am

6. Every student ___ a notebook.

A. have

B. has

C. having

7. Ram and Shyam ___ good friends.

A. is

B. am

C. are

8. The milk ___ hot.

A. are

B. is

C. were

9. My parents ___ in Bhubaneswar.

A. lives

B. live

C. living

10. The dog ___ loudly at night.

A. bark

B. barks

C. barking

11. There ___ three apples in the basket.

A. is

B. are

C. was

12. Neither Ram nor his friends ___ ready.

A. is

B. are

C. was

13. One of the girls ___ very well.

A. sing

B. sings

C. singing

14. The news ___ very interesting.

A. are

B. were

C. is

15. We ___ happy yesterday.

A. was

B. were

C. is

16. Each of these books ___ useful.

A. are

B. is

C. were

17. The teacher, along with the students, ___ present.

A. are

B. is

C. were

18. Mathematics ___ my favourite subject.

A. are

B. is

C. were

19. Both of my brothers ___ doctors.

A. is

B. are

C. was

20. Five kilometres ___ a long distance to walk.

A. are

B. is

C. were

21. Either the teacher or the students ___ coming.

A. is

B. are

C. was

22. Someone ___ knocking at the door.

A. are

B. is

C. were

23. The scissors ___ on the table.

A. is

B. are

C. was

24. A pair of shoes ___ under the bed.

A. are

B. is

C. were

25. The children ___ their homework every evening.

A. does

B. do

C. doing

26. My brother ___ not like coffee.

A. do

B. does

C. is

27. Neither the boys nor the girl ___ absent.

A. are

B. were

C. is

28. The family ___ having dinner together.

A. are

B. is

C. were

29. Several students ___ absent today.

A. is

B. are

C. was

30. He is one of the players who ___ hard.

A. works

B. work

C. working

                     Subject–Verb Agreement – Answer

1. goes

2. play

3. have

4. is

5. are

6. has

7. are

8. is

9. live

10. barks

11. are

12. are

13. sings

14. is

15. were

16. is

17. is

18. is

19. are

20. is

21. are

22. is

23. are

24. is

25. do

26. does

27. is

28. is

29. are

30. work

Mishra Sir Online Spoken Classes, Bhubaneswar

Call-7978136874