SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
“AGREEMENT”:



Grammatically speaking, “agreement” refers to number –
o singular goes with singular
o plural goes with plural
In terms of Subject-Verb Agreement, then, a singular subject will take a singular verb and a plural subject
will take a plural verb.
While this sounds simple enough, we know that few matters in life are ever as simple as they seem. For
writers, S-V agreement gets complicated by the following:
o locating the true subject and the true verb
o once finding them, making them singular or plural
o and then heeding the numerous rules that go along S-V agreement
SUBJECTS & VERBS:







SUBJECTS
First, to be clear, a SUBJECT is a function, a job, as opposed to a Part of Speech –
o in general, a Noun is a Part of Speech, but it can function in a particular sentence as a subject, object,
object of preposition, or some other role
o Nouns or Pronouns and Words, Phrases, and Clauses can function as subjects
A SUBJECT does not have to be a single word –
o subjects can be words, phrases or clauses functioning in that role
o (however, in most S-V Agreement exercises, we typically use single-word subjects for clarity)
A SUBJECT is not “what the sentence is about.”
o that will inevitably lead student-writers to the wrong word
o especially when it comes to prepositional phrases
The SUBJECT of the sentence is the performer of the action.
o think of it as the “quarterback”
o where the Object is the “receiver” of the action
o Who or What is performing the action?
The SUBJECT can be anywhere in the sentence –
o so don’t look for it at the start
o in some sentence structures, it comes after the verb
o some can even come at the very end of the sentence
Examples:
o Jesus missed the test today in History 225. (1 noun as subject)
o Maria and Esteban parked in the far lot this morning. (2 nouns as subject)
o He felt sick when he discovered the truth. (pronoun as subject)
o The teacher with a bad toupee wore hats on windy days. (noun phrase as subject)
o To fail this simple test would be a sin. (infinitive phrase as subject)
o What this town needs is a new mayor. (relative clause as subject)
Hints:
o find the VERB first
o do not look for the Subject within a Prepositional Phrase
 Parts of Speech serve one role only in a sentence
 so the Object of the Preposition cannot function as the Subject of the sentence
VERBS



VERBS either show action or state of being
o state-of-being verbs are forms of “to be”
 is, am, are, was, were
Examples:
o ACTION verb: Jeremiah joked, jested, and jibed. (3 action verbs)
o S.O.B. verb: Jeremiah is a fun person to be around. (LINKING VERB "is")
Hints:
o find the Subject and ask what he/she/it did
o underline all Infinitives (to + verb: to run)
 with them eliminated, your choice for Verb should be clearer
o circle all Subordinating Conjunctions and Relative Pronouns, too
 to eliminate minor clauses
 SC: if, because, although, when, since, unless
 RP: that, which, who
HOW-TO:




Basically, when it comes to S-V Agreement, student-writers will be concerned about adding or not adding
an –s to the verb
o -s or no –s
o not –ed (which changes the tense - and therefore the meaning - of the sentence)
Most of us know how to make a Noun plural
o add an –s to make a noun plural
o most nouns obey this, while some do not (“children” provides an exception to the rule)
But what about Verbs:
o What does a singular verb look like? A plural verb?
Essentially, plural Verbs are the opposite of plural Nouns - Here’s a helpful chart:
NOUN
VERB

SINGULAR
-S
+S
PLURAL
+S
-S
(to be)
is, (I am), was
are, were
(to have, to do)
has, (I have), does
have, do
Indefinite Pronouns can also complicate this – Here’s a helpful chart for them, too:
SINGULAR
EVERYONE, EVERYBODY
ANYONE, ANYBODY
SOMEONE, SOMEBODY
NO ONE, NOBODY
EACH, MUCH, ONE
EITHER, NEITHER
EITHER
OR
Singular
Plural
*depends upon the
OBJECT of the
PREPOSITION*
ALL
ANY
SOME
MOST
MORE
NONE
PLURAL
BOTH
MANY
FEW
SEVERAL
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT PROCESS:





STEP 1: underline all Prepositional Phrases & Infinitives
STEP 2: underline all Subordinating Conjunction and Relative Pronoun clauses
STEP 3: of the words remaining, determine the Verb (typically, the action)
STEP 4: ask, “Who did that?” of the Verb to locate the Subject
STEP 5: now that you have successfully located the Subject & Verb, determine if they agree with each
other in terms of number: are they both singular, are they both plural
o if they agree, move on
o if they do not agree, change the Verb OR revise the entire sentence
RULES:








Singular goes with singular, plural with plural.
Do not be fooled by sentence arrangement.
For subjects joined by “or” or “nor,” make the verb agree with whichever word is closest.
For subjects joined by “and,” use a plural verb.
… UNLESS a single person, object, idea, or measurement is intended – singular meaning = singular verb.
Similarly, nouns plural in form that express a single unit of measurement, amount, or food dish will take a
singular verb.
Some nouns plural in form take the plural verb, such as slacks, jeans, clippers, shears, tweezers, pliers,
scissors, and tongs.
With collective noun subjects, use a singular verb if a group acts as a single unit; use a plural verb if the
members act as individuals.