Subject-Verb Agreement:

Subject-verb agreement is an important topic to remember when grasping grammar. Today, we will learn some rules of subject-verb agreement.

1. Two or more subjects joined by “and” are considered plural and require a verb form without an “s.”

Example:

• Sarah, Mike, and Lisa run in the marathon.
• The dog and the cat play in the garden.
• Rafi and his brothers walk to the store.

2. If a subject is modified by the words “each” or “every” that subject is singular and will take a verb form that ends in “s.”

Examples:

• Every student and teacher attends the assembly.
• Each boy and girl walks to the store

3. If plural subjects are joined by “or,” “nor,” or “but,” the verb must only agree with the subject that is closest to it.

Examples:

• Either Anna or her friends are coming to the party.
• Neither the manager nor the employees work on weekends.
• Not the neighbors but the children make the noise.
• Not the kids, but the neighbor calls the police.

4. When two subjects are joined by “either…or,” “neither…nor,” or “not only… but also,” the verb must only agree with the subject that is closest to it.

Examples:

• Neither Nahin nor his friends are going to the movies.
• Not only the principal but also the teachers have had their pay increased.

5. “Either” and “Neither” are singular if they are not used with “or” and “not”

Examples:

• Either of the options is acceptable.
• Neither of the answers makes sense.

6. Indefinite pronouns are usually singular and take a verb form that ends in “s.”

Examples:

• Somebody knows the answer.
• Everyone walks to the store.

7. The subject of a verb is never in a prepositional or verbal phrase. Therefore, you must isolate the phrase and find the proper subject.

Examples:

• The teacher with all of her lesson plans(musplaced comma here), arrives early
• The captain, including all his crew, prepares for departure.

8. If two subjects are joined using the following expressions, the verb agrees with the first subject:

Examples:

• Muna, along with her friends, is going to a party.
• The three sisters, together with their uncle, were going to the market.

9. Some indefinite pronouns and nouns will be singular or plural depending on the object of the prepositional phrase. These words are always about number or amount such as: all, half, some, none, most, part, etc.

Examples:

• Most of the cookies are gone.
• Some of the students are gone.
• The mother duck and all of her ducklings walk to the store

10. When a collective noun, such as family, group, committee, or class, is the subject, the verb will end in “s.”

Examples:

• The committee, with all its members decides the agenda.
• My family, with all my crazy cousins always walks to the store.

11. A few nouns, such as economics, mumps, measles, or news, end in “s” but are considered singular. You can tell these “s” words are singular because if you take the “s” away, you don’t have a noun.

12. When the subject is a unit of measurement of time, distance, money, weight, etc. The unit is considered singular, and the verb will end in “s.”

Examples:

• Five kilometers is a short distance to run.
• Thirteen feet of kite string tangle very easily.

13. When the subject is a portion word—like percent, fraction, part, majority, some, all, none, remainder, etc.—the verb must agree with the object of the preposition (the noun that follows ‘of’).

• If the object is singular, use a singular verb.
• If the object is plural, use a plural verb.

Examples:

• Sixty percent of the cake has been eaten. → “Cake” is singular → use has
• Sixty percent of the cookies have been eaten. → “Cookies” is plural → use have
• Half of the team is ready to play. → “Team” is singular → use is
• Half of the players are ready to play. → “Players” is plural → use are

14. In a question or in a sentence that begins with there or here, the verb will often come before the subject.

Examples:

• Where are my keys?
• There is a book on the table.

15. Gerunds (“ing” words) can be subjects and follow all the same rules above.

Example:

• Swimming in the ocean is very refreshing.
• Hiking up the hill and cycling down the path are his favorite activities.

16. When using who, that, or which, you must look to the noun these relative pronouns are referring to in order to determine whether the subject is singular and will have a verb ending in “s” or is plural and have a verb without an “s.”

Example:

• The boys who play soccer are talented.
• The boy who plays soccer is tired.

17. “A number of” vs “The number of”

“A number of” means several and is treated as plural → use a plural verb.

“The number of” refers to the total amount and is singular → use a singular verb.

Examples:

• A number of students have applied for the scholarship.
• The number of applicants is increasing every year

18. Nationality Words

When a nationality word refers to a language, it is singular.

When it refers to the people of that nationality, it is plural.

Examples:

• Spanish is spoken in many countries around the world.
• The Spanish are known for their vibrant festivals.

19. Verb Before Subject

Even if the verb comes before the subject, it must agree with the true subject, not with any nearby words.

Examples:

• Are your brother and sister attending the event?
• Hiding under the table was a frightened kitten.
• Several emails are waiting in your inbox.
• There is a message on the whiteboard

20. Introductory Words (What, Who, Where, There, etc.)

Words like what, who, where, here, and there do not affect the verb.

The verb must agree with the real subject of the sentence.

Examples:

• Where are the keys to the main gate?
• Who are the students presenting today?
• There goes the school bus.

Hope these Subject-verb agreement rules will help you to understand error detection and correct those.