Subject-Verb Agreement Rules and Tricky Cases

Subject-verb agreement sounds like a technical rule, but you use it every time you speak. You say the dog barks and the dogs bark without thinking. Mistakes creep in when the sentence gets longer and the subject is harder to spot. This lesson shows you how to find the true subject and how to handle the cases that trip up even careful writers.

The basic rule

In the present tense, most verbs add -s when the subject is he, she, it or a singular noun:

Notice the oddity: in nouns, -s usually signals a plural (players), but in verbs, -s signals a singular (plays). That is why a sentence often has exactly one -s between its subject and verb: The player wins, The players win.

Step 1: find the real subject

The most common agreement mistake happens when a phrase separates the subject from its verb. The verb agrees with the subject, not with the noun that happens to sit next to it.

• The list of winners is posted online. (The list is posted, not the winners.)
• One of my friends plays in a Scrabble club. (One plays.)
• The players, along with their coach, are arriving. (Phrases such as along with, as well as and together with do not change the subject.)

A quick test: cover up the phrase between the subject and verb, and read what remains. The list... is posted. If it sounds right without the interruption, it is right with it.

Step 2: watch the indefinite pronouns

Words like each and everyone look as if they refer to a group, but grammatically they are singular:

• Each of the answers is correct.
• Everyone has a turn.
• Neither of the words is valid in Scrabble.

Some indefinite pronouns are always plural: both, few, many, several.

• Both of the words are valid.

And a small group can go either way depending on what they refer to: all, any, most, none, some. Look at the noun that follows.

• Some of the cake is left. (cake = singular)
• Some of the cookies are left. (cookies = plural)

None is the famous one. Traditionally it was treated as singular (none of them is ready), but plural use (none of them are ready) is now standard in most writing. Either is acceptable; choose one and be consistent.

Step 3: compound subjects

When two subjects are joined by and, they usually form a plural:

• Scrabble and Boggle are both word games.

The exception is a pair that names a single thing or idea: Fish and chips is my favourite meal. Rock and roll was born in the 1950s.

When subjects are joined by or, either... or or neither... nor, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it:

• Either the players or the referee decides.
• Either the referee or the players decide.

If the result sounds awkward, put the plural subject second. It almost always reads more naturally.

Step 4: collective nouns

A collective noun names a group: team, family, committee, audience, jury. In American English these usually take a singular verb because the group acts as one unit:

• The team is winning.

In British English, plural verbs are common when you think of the members as individuals:

• The team are arguing about tactics.

Both are correct in their own variety. What matters is consistency: do not write the team is... their tactics in one sentence and switch back and forth.

Step 5: inverted sentences

When the verb comes before the subject, find the subject after it:

• There is one word left.
• There are two words left.
• Here come the results.

Sentences starting with there is or there are trip people up because the real subject arrives late. Ask yourself what is being counted.

Other tricky subjects

• Titles and names of single works are singular, even if they look plural: "The Birds" is a classic film.
• Amounts of money, time and distance are usually singular when treated as one quantity: Ten dollars is too much. Five miles is a long walk.
• Nouns ending in -s that are singular: news, mathematics, physics: The news is good.
• The number of is singular; a number of is plural: The number of players is growing. A number of players are absent.

Practice quiz