Deepen your understanding of Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord) and related English skills with these resources:
Match singular and plural subjects to the right verbs - collective nouns, indefinite pronouns, there is/are, and tricky concord rules.
Subject-verb agreement means the verb must match the subject in number. A singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb. In the present simple, this often means adding -s to the verb with he, she, or it: she walks, the boy plays, the company grows. • Be careful with the verbs be, have, and do because they change form more noticeably than other verbs. • Singular: am, is, has, does. Plural: are, have, do. • Some subjects look plural but are singular in meaning, such as news, mathematics, physics, measles, and the titles of books or films. Words that come between the subject and the verb can be distracting. The real subject is usually the noun before the phrase, not the noun inside the phrase. For example, the box of chocolates is heavy: box is the subject, not chocolates. This is one of the most common exam traps. There is and there are also depend on the subject that follows the verb. Use there is with a singular subject or an uncountable noun, and there are with a plural subject. For amounts of money, time, and distance, treat the phrase as singular when it refers to a single total: ten dollars is enough, two hours is a long time.
• She walks to school every day. (singular subject) • The students walk to school together. (plural subject) • The box of chocolates is on the table. (subject is box) • There are many reasons for the delay. (plural noun after there) • Ten dollars is enough for lunch. (amount as one total) • Physics is my favorite subject. (singular in meaning)
Find the real subject before choosing the verb. Ignore extra words in the middle. Memorize the special singular verbs: is, has, does.
When two subjects are joined by and, the subject is usually plural: Anna and Ben are ready. However, if the two nouns describe one person, one idea, or one thing, the verb can be singular: peanut butter and jam is my favorite sandwich. In most intermediate grammar tasks, the safe rule is that and makes a plural subject unless the meaning is clearly one unit. • When subjects are joined by or or nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearest the verb. This is called the proximity rule. • Neither the teacher nor the students are prepared. The verb agrees with students because it is closer. • Either the books or the magazine is missing. The verb agrees with magazine. Indefinite pronouns can be singular or plural. Always singular: everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, anyone, anybody, each, either, neither, one, nobody, nothing. Usually plural: both, few, many, several. Some, all, most, and none depend on the noun or idea that follows. For example, most of the cake is gone, but most of the cookies are gone. Words like each, either, and neither are especially important in exams because they look plural in meaning but take singular verbs when used alone or as a subject.
• My brother and sister are at home. (and = plural) • The manager and owner is speaking now. (one person in two roles) • Neither the coach nor the players are happy. (proximity rule) • Everyone is invited to the meeting. (indefinite pronoun, singular) • Most of the water is clean. (uncountable noun) • Most of the students are present. (plural noun)
With or and nor, match the verb to the subject closest to it. Treat everyone, each, and somebody as singular even though they refer to many people.
Collective nouns such as team, family, committee, staff, class, and audience can be singular or plural depending on meaning. In British English, they are often singular when the group acts as one unit: The committee is meeting now. They are plural when the members act separately: The committee are arguing among themselves. In many school tests, the meaning decides the verb. • Phrases like a number of take a plural verb: A number of students are absent. • The number of takes a singular verb: The number of students is increasing. • Fractions and percentages depend on the noun that follows: 50 percent of the cake is left, but 50 percent of the students are absent. • One of, each of, either of, and neither of usually take singular verbs when the focus is on one person or thing. Relative clauses can also cause mistakes. In one of the students who are late, the verb are matches students. In the student who is late, the verb is matches student. Questions and inverted sentences still follow agreement rules: Is the manager here? Are the reports ready? The verb comes before the subject, but the subject still controls agreement.
• The team is winning the match. (group as one unit) • The family are arguing about dinner. (members acting separately) • A number of workers are on strike. (a number of = plural) • The number of workers is rising. (the number of = singular) • One of the girls is absent. (one of = singular) • One of the girls who are absent has called. (relative clause agrees with girls)
Use the meaning of the noun phrase, not just the form, especially with collective nouns and percentages. Remember: a number of = plural, the number of = singular.