Subject-Verb Agreement
EVERY VERB MUST AGREE
WITH ITS SUBJECT
Plural
Subject
Singular
Subject
Singular
Verb
Plural
Verb
Watch the present tense verb
endings!
Singular
o I walk
o You walk
o He/She/It walk s
o Joe walk s
o The girl walk s
Plural
o We walk
o You walk
o They walk
o Joe and Maria
walk
o The girls walk
Remember these three irregular
verbs:
Singular
o DO
o He does
Plural
They do
o HAVE
o She has
They have
o BE
o He is
o She was
They are
They were
Tip for present tense
subject-verb agreement:
Generally, if the subject doesn’t end in -s,
the verb will.
If the subject does end in -s, the verb
won’t.
No -s on
subject
The
girl
-s on
verb
dances.
-s on
subject
The
girls
dance.
No -s
on verb
Compound subjects joined by and
o If there are two or more subjects joined by
and, the subject must be plural, so the verb
will not end in -s.
o Example:
o The boy and the girl dance.
(= They dance.)
No -s on
verb
Compound subjects joined by or
o If there are two or more subjects joined by or,
the verb agrees with the part of the subject
closest to it.
o Examples:
o The professor or the students walk the halls.
o The students or the professor walks the halls.
What about indefinite pronouns?
o An indefinite pronoun does not refer to a
specific person, place, or idea.
o EXAMPLES:
o Someone is waiting for you.
o Anything can happen at this school.
o Many of his questions were answered.
o Several of my disks are damaged.
A few indefinite pronouns are plural.
many
several
few
both
These will all take
plural verbs.
some
Many of the students have A’s.
Few of the students are discouraged.
Most indefinite pronouns are singular.
Most singular indefinite pronouns
begin with
and
end with
some
-body
any
-one
every
-thing
no
Examples of singular indefinite
pronouns:
Does anybody here like grammar?
Everybody loves grammar!
Is anybody lying?
No one is lying!
Well, someone is stretching the truth!
Each of the students denies that.
Possible Pitfalls
Sometimes several words come between the
subject and the verb.
The student, though she had lots of
problems in other schools, finds/find (?)
her new class easy.
Correct: The student, though she had lots
of problems in other schools, finds her new
class easy.
In other words: The student finds her new
class easy.
Possible Pitfalls
Sometimes people think the subject is one of the
words in a prepositional phrase. It’s not!
The subject can never be part of a prepositional
phrase.
Example
The students in my class study / studies hard.
X
Possible Pitfalls
o
o
o
Sometimes the subject comes after the verb,
particularly in questions or when the sentence begins
with there.
Examples:
o Why are they falling asleep?
o There are no excuses for such behavior!
TIP!
o The subject can come anywhere in a sentence.
o Identify the subject correctly, and you’ll be okay!
First locate the verb and then just ask yourself who
or what is doing it.
Possible Pitfalls
o Relative pronouns (who/which/that) can be
either singular or plural, depending on the
word they refer to.
o The student who works hard will succeed.
o Students who work hard will succeed.
How do I get this right?
o Identify the verb.
o Ask who or what is doing the verb; this will
identify the subject.
o Read the subject and verb together. Do they
sound right?
o See if the subject and verb match in number.
The Biggest Problems:
o Forgetting about word endings
altogether
o Confusing the subject with another
noun in the sentence
Remember:
o Subject:
o Find the verb and then ask yourself who or what is
performing that action.
o The subject is never part of a prepositional phrase.
o
Verb:
o The verb is always plural when subjects are joined by and.
o The verb agrees with the part of the subject closest to it
when subjects are joined by or.
o Pronouns:
o Most indefinite pronouns are singular.
o Relative pronouns can be either singular or plural
The subject and verb form the
skeleton of every sentence. Make sure
you fit the parts together correctly!
To review subject-verb
agreement, see Chapter 16.