Revised as of
27 Jan 2023
In spite of the convoluted categories below, subject-verb agreement is very simple — a singular noun, ball, must agree with a singular verb, bounces. If it were a plural noun, balls, it would require a plural verb, bounce.
If your noun is singular, there’s no s and the verb must include an s.
If your noun is plural, there is an s, and the verb must drop the s.
It’s simplistic, but gives you a leg up.
Explore “person in the “Verb” post for the details on singular and plural verbs.
Grammar Explanations is . . .
. . . an evolving list of the structural rules and principles that determines where words are placed in phrases or sentences as well as how the language is spoken. Sometimes I run across an example that helps explain better or another “also known as”. Heck, there’s always a better way to explain it, so if it makes quicker and/or better sense, I would appreciate suggestions and comments from anyone on an area of grammar with which you struggle or on which you can contribute more understanding.
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| Subject-Verb Agreement | ||||||||||||||
| Definition: Subjects and verbs must match: singular subjects require singular verbs while plural subjects require plural verbs. Subjects can be nouns, pronouns, or a set of words that the verb acts on.
Also check out the collective/group in nouns or antecedents for more on its singular or plural possibilities. POST CONTENTS:
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| Singular | Plural | |||||||||||||
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| One student is handing in her homework. | All the students are handing in their homework. | |||||||||||||
| Mary is going to the theatre after work. | Mary and Jane are going to the theatre after work. | |||||||||||||
| He gives great presents. | They give great presents. | |||||||||||||
| The kitten is absorbed by the fish swimming in their bowl. | The kittens are absorbed by the fish swimming in its bowl.
Legend:
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| Singular Agreements | ||||||||||||||
| Compound Nouns are Singular | Rule: When using a compound noun as a subject, it uses a singular verb.
Also see two subjects connected by and. |
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Legend:
Breaking-and-entering is against the law. The bed-and-breakfast was charming. The kittens were playing. |
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| Of Conundrum | Rule: The subject comes before a phrase beginning with of.
This of phrase conundrum has caused a’many subject-verb mistakes. |
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Legend:
A bouquet of yellow roses lends color and fragrance to the room. Several bouquets of yellow roses lend color and fragrance to the room. A cloud of brown dust rises up across the plains. Clouds of brown dust rise up across the plains. |
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| Or/Nor with Singular | Rule: When the subject is two or more singular nouns (or pronouns) connected by or or nor, use a singular verb.
Also see Or/Nor with Singular + Plural. |
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Legend:
The book or the pen is in the drawer. The brush or the marker is on the table. The brushes and the markers are on the table. |
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| Singular Collective Noun | Rule: A collective noun that is considered singular requires a singular verb.
Other collective subjects include: Plural Form Singular Subject, Plural Collective Noun, and SINGULAR Plural-Looking Subject That Takes Plural. |
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| Partial List of Singular Collective Nouns | ||||||||||||||
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| Examples | ||||||||||||||
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Legend:
The team practices during the summer. The committee has voted against it. The family has a long history of criminal behavior. The jury is still out. The herd is starting to move down to the winter pastures. |
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| Plural Form Singular Subject | Rule: Some nouns look like they’re plural, but are actually treated as singular nouns, and they require singular verbs.
Other collective subjects include: Singular Collective Noun, Plural Collective Noun, and SINGULAR Plural-Looking Subject That Takes Plural. |
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| Partial List of Plural-Looking Singular Nouns | ||||||||||||||
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| Examples: | ||||||||||||||
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Legend:
The news is on at six. Mathematics is one of my favorite subjects. The measles is running rampant throughout her class. Civics was my least favorite class. |
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| Titles | Rule: Titles of single entities (books, organizations, countries, movies, etc.) are always singular. | |||||||||||||
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Legend:
Star Wars is a classic. Honduras is where I did my dive test. International Campaign to Ban Landmines is a coalition that had Diana, the Princess of Wales, as a major supporter. The Ghostfaces is a John Flanagan book. |
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| Plural Agreements | ||||||||||||||
| And Plural | Rule: When the subject is two or more nouns (or pronouns) that are connected by and, use a plural verb. | |||||||||||||
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Legend:
She and her friends are at the fair. Mark and Mary are getting married this fall. |
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| Plural Collective Noun | Rule: A collective noun that is a single item consisting of two parts requires plural verbs.
EXCEPTION: If the plural collective noun is preceded by pair of, then pair becomes the noun, and it is singular, which means it uses a singular verb. Other collective subjects include: Singular Collective Noun, Plural Form Singular Subject, and SINGULAR Plural-Looking Subject That Takes Plural. |
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| Partial List of Plural Collective Nouns | ||||||||||||||
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| Examples: | ||||||||||||||
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Legend:
Blue indicates the plural (subject and/or verb) These scissors are dull. Those trousers are made of wool. Where are my tweezers? Your pajamas are in the drawer. The pliers are missing again. The gardening shears are out in the garage. A pair of plaid trousers is in the closet. |
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| Singular-Looking Subject That Takes Plural | Rule: Some nouns look like they’re singular, but are actually treated as plural nouns, and they require plural verbs.
Below are the plural-looking subjects that are actually singular and STILL take the plural verb. |
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| Partial List of Singular-Looking Plural Nouns | ||||||||||||||
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| Examples: | ||||||||||||||
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Legend:
The media have often created false celebrities. Scientific data confuse the layman. |
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| SINGULAR Plural-Looking Subject That Takes Plural | Rule: Some nouns look like they’re plural, but are actually singular, and STILL treated as plural nouns, requiring plural verbs.
Other collective subjects include: Singular Collective Noun, Plural Form Singular Subject, and Plural Collective Noun. You may also want to check out the above to compare against the Singular-Looking Subject That Takes Plural. |
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| Partial List of Plural-Looking Singular Nouns That are Plural | ||||||||||||||
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| Examples: | ||||||||||||||
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Legend:
My assets were wiped out in the depression. The average worker’s earnings have gone up dramatically. Our thanks go to the workers who supported the union. |
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| Sports Teams | Rule: The names of sports teams are considered plural and use plural verbs. | |||||||||||||
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Legend:
The Green Packers are looking for a new quarterback. The Boston Celtics are planning to get rid of J.R. Smith. The Miami Heat are benching Chris Roth. The Connecticut Sun are hoping that new talent will pull them out of their slump. |
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| Singular or Plural | ||||||||||||||
| Indefinite Pronouns | Rule: Indefinite pronouns may be singular using a singular verb, or it may be plural and using a plural verb — depending on what it’s referring to. | |||||||||||||
| Partial List of Indefinite Pronouns | ||||||||||||||
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| Examples: |
Legend:
Each of these hot dogs is juicy. Everybody knows Mr. Jones. Either is correct. Neither one of us is right. Hey, dude, nobody knows whassup. No one, and I mean, no one is allowed inside this room. Some of the beads are missing. Some of the water is gone. |
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| Relative Pronouns | Rule: When the subject is a relative pronoun, it is either singular or plural, depending on the words to which they refer. | |||||||||||||
| Partial List of Relative Pronouns | ||||||||||||||
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| Examples: |
Legend:
She is a brilliant student who studies many hours each night. They are brilliant students who study many hours each night. |
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| Doesn’t Don’t |
Rule: Doesn’t = does not, which is a singular compound verb. Don’t = do not, which is a plural compound verb. The exception is when the pronoun is I or you, then use don’t. |
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Legend:
He doesn’t like it. They don’t like it. I don’t like it. *grin* |
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| Dollars | Rule: Use a singular verb when talking about an amount of money. Use a plural verb when talking about the dollars themselves. |
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Legend:
Five dollars is a lot of money. Dollars are often used instead of rubles in Russia. Shekels are used instead of dollars in Israel. Before the European Community, francs were the currency of choice in France. Five marks is the equivalent of two dollars and eighty-one cents. Ten one-dollar bills were scattered across the floor. A ten-dollar bill was on the floor. |
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| Here is, are There is, are |
Rule: The subject in sentences that begin with here is, here are, there is, or there are FOLLOW the verb, so the verb must agree with what follows the there is or are. | |||||||||||||
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Legend:
Here are the keys. Here is Mark now. Here are the kids now. There are many questions. There is a question. There’s the boat now. There’re the boats now. |
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| Ignore Phrases and Parentheses | Rule: It’s the subject of the sentence that counts; ignore a phrase that comes between that subject and the verb or parentheses that encloses a phrase, for the verb agrees with the subject. | |||||||||||||
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Legend:
One of the boxes is open. The people who listen to that music are few. The team captain, as well as his players, is anxious. The book, including all the chapters in the first section, is boring. The woman with all the dogs walks down my street. The president, accompanied by his wife, is traveling to India. All of the books, including yours, are in that box. Joe (and his trusty mutt) was always welcome. They (and their dog) were always welcome. |
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| Mathematical Expressions | Rule: Sums and products of mathematical processes are considered singular nouns and require singular verbs. | |||||||||||||
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Legend:
Two and two is four. Four times four divided by two is eight. Five miles is too far to walk. |
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| Numbers Of: a, the |
Rule: When using the number of, use a singular verb; when using a number of, use a plural verb.
Also see Of Conundrum. |
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Legend:
The number of volunteers grows each year. A number of people grow tomatoes each year. |
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| Or/Nor with Singular + Plural | Rule: When the subject is a singular and a plural noun (or pronoun) that are connected by or or nor, the verb must agree with the noun/pronoun nearest the verb.
Also see Or/Nor with Singular. |
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Legend:
The boy or his friends run every day. His friends or the boy runs every day. Neither the cat nor the dogs are happy about the move. Neither the dogs nor the cat is happy about the move. Either the scissors or the pen is in the drawer. Either the pen or the scissors are in the drawer. |
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| Positive & Negative Subjects | Rule: When a sentence contains a positive and a negative subject and one is singular and the other plural, the verb must agree with the positive subject. | |||||||||||||
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Legend:
The department members but not the chair have decided not to teach on Valentine’s Day. It is not the faculty members but the president who decides this issue. It was the speaker, not his ideas, that has provoked the students to riot. |
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| Words That Indicate Portions | Rule: Words that express a unit or portion are sometimes singular and sometimes plural, depending on the meaning. | |||||||||||||
| Partial List of Portion Words | ||||||||||||||
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| Examples: | ||||||||||||||
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Legend:
Some of the voters are still angry. A large percentage of the older population is voting against her. Two-fifths of the troops were lost in the battle. Two-fifths of the vineyard was destroyed by fire. Forty percent of the students are in favor of changing the policy. Forty percent of the student body is in favor of changing the policy. A lot of the pie has disappeared. A lot of the pies have disappeared. |
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| Rule: The expression more than one modifies the actual subject which is singular, which takes a singular verb. | ||||||||||||||
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Legend:
More than one student has tried this. More than one dog has been put down in the past week. More than one drink has found its way down his gullet. |
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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Grammar Explanations by exploring its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Word Confusions, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Subject-Verb Agreement
Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.
Darling, Dr Charles. “Subject-Verb Agreement.” Capital Community College Foundation. n.d. Web. n.d. <https://www.guidetogrammar.org/grammar/sv_agr.htm>.
“Making Subjects and Verbs Agree.” English Mistakes Welcome. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://englishmistakeswelcome.com/making_subjects_and_verbs_agree.htm>.
Purdue OWL. n.d. Web. n.d. <https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/599/01/>.
“Subject-Verb Agreement.” Grammar Book. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://www.grammarbook.com/grammar/subjectVerbAgree.asp>.
“Usage – Subject-Verb Agreement.” Towson.edu. n.d. Web. n.d. <https://webapps.towson.edu/ows/sub-verb.htm>.
Pinterest Photo Credits
Portrait of a Sitting Bearded Collie Dog by Karen Arnold which is in the public domain, via PublicDomainPictures.net and I was Impressed, Very Impressed! by Ian Kirks from Broadstone, Dorset, UK, is under the CC BY 2.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons.
