Subject-Verb Agreement | Examples, Rules & Use

Published on 22 August 2022 by Fiona Middleton. Revised on 2 December 2022.

Subject-verb agreement means that the subject of the sentence matches the verb
describing its action. This helps your reader understand who or what is doing something and
makes your writing easier to read.

First, identify the subject (the person or thing doing the action) and the verb (the action
word) in a sentence. If the subject is singular, the verb describing its action should be
singular. If the subject is plural, the verb should be plural.

Be

The result is significant.

The results are significant.

Do

The student does her best.

The students do their best.

Become

The child becomes happier.

The children become happier.

Cause

That tree causes hay fever.

Those trees cause hay fever.

Analyse

The author analyses the text.

The authors analyse the text.

While subject-verb agreement is easy in simple sentences like these, it can become tricky in
more complex sentences. This article teaches you the most important rules and common
mistakes.

 Table of contents

1. Compound subjects
2. Subjects separated from verbs
3. Indefinite pronouns
4. Subjects that come after the
verb
5. Numbers and amounts
6. Collective and uncountable
nouns
7. Abbreviations and acronyms

Compound subjects
Sometimes two or more subjects are linked to one verb. These are called compound subjects.
To decide whether to use a singular or plural verb, consider how the subjects are linked.

Subjects linked with ‘and’

When subjects are linked with and, use a plural verb.

A bicycle and a pedestrian were involved.

The goose and the chickens eat early in the morning.

Exception: When the two nouns don’t refer to separate things but to a single entity, use a
singular verb.

The new bed and breakfast opens this week.

Macaroni and cheese is a delicious meal.

Subjects linked with ‘or’

When singular subjects are linked with or, either…or, nor, neither…nor, use a singular verb.

Just a card or a balloon is enough.

Either the measurement or the calculation has created a problem.

If all the subjects are plural, use a plural verb.

 Either the measurements or the calculations have created a problem.

If the compound subject contains both singular and plural nouns, the verb takes the form of
the closest subject.

Neither the batteries nor the machine operates as intended.

Subjects separated from verbs

Often the verb does not directly follow the subject, which can lead to agreement mistakes.
Make sure to match the verb with the correct subject, especially in long sentences with
phrases or clauses in between subject and verb.

 Critics of the study highlights its errors.

 Critics of the study highlight its errors.

 A basket of puppies were in the kitchen.

 A basket of puppies was in the kitchen.

 Twelve organizations, each of which is an expert in its field and a key stakeholder in the
negotiation process, is participating in the conference.

 Twelve organizations, each of which is an expert in its field and a key stakeholder in the
negotiation process, are participating in the conference.

‘As well as’ and other tricky phrases

The phrase as well as is not the same as the conjunction and. Subjects linked by and always
take a plural verb. In contrast, phrases like as well as, in addition to, or along with are not
linked to the verb. If the subject is singular, the verb should stay singular.

 The candidate and her supporters leaves the building.

 The candidate and her supporters leave the building.

 The candidate, along with her supporters, leave the building.

 The candidate, along with her supporters, leaves the building.

  The employees of the organisation, as well as the CEO, has an interest in the project’s success.

 The employees of the organisation, as well as the CEO, have an interest in the project’s success.

Indefinite pronouns
These refer to non-specific persons, places, and things (e.g., someone, other, anyone,
anything, somewhere, every, none).

Most indefinite pronouns are treated as singular subjects. However, some are always treated
as plural, as they refer to multiple items or amounts.

Certain indefinite pronouns may be treated as either singular or plural, depending on whether
they refer to multiple items or to a proportion of a single item.

Always singular

Pronouns ending in –thing, –where, –body or –one (e.g., somewhere, anybody), every, one, each,
another…

Something falls from the table.

Each of the participants responds promptly.
Anyone is able to use the software.

Always plural

Many, few, several, both, others

Both of the twins are lazy.

Few know what really happened that day.

May be singular
or plural

None, all, some, most, more, any, either

All of the cookies are gone.

All of the cookie is gone.

Subjects that come after the verb

Sometimes the subject follows the verb, especially when the sentence begins with there or
here. In this case, there is not the subject – the true subject should be identified and matched
with the correct verb form.
 There are many gaps in the literature.
Here is the answer.

Note: Identifying the true subject can be difficult when using these phrases in a long
sentence, which can be confusing for your readers, so be careful when starting a sentence in
this way.

Numbers and amounts

When using numbers, percentages or proportions, the correct form of verb agreement
depends on exactly what you’re referring to. It’s helpful to look beyond the numbers and find
the true subject.

If you’re referring to a specific number or amount of something, match the verb with the noun
rather than the number.

Only 25% of the measurements are reliable.

Three meters of wire surrounds the core.
Over 300 civilians reside in the area.

This also applies when the number refers to an unnamed noun.

I invited 10 people to the party, but only nine are coming.

30% say they will vote in the next election.

If the subject of the sentence is a number referring to a unified quantity of something, use a
singular verb.

One thousand dollars is too much.

In fact, 63% is a better result than expected.

Proportions
Terms that describe a proportion of something are usually followed by ‘of’ (such as most of).
First look at the noun you are describing to determine if it’s singular or plural, then match it to
the verb.

The majority of the samples are contaminated.

The majority of the sample is contaminated.
One third of the participants were given the placebo.
Collective and uncountable nouns
It can be hard to work out whether to treat collective and uncountable nouns as singular or
plural.

Collective nouns
A collective noun refers to a group of people or things as a singular whole (e.g., population,
team, committee, staff). The form of verb depends on the style of English you are using. US
English tends to use a singular verb, while UK English tends to use a plural verb. This also
applies to the names of companies and organizations.

However, in both styles of English, this rule is somewhat flexible depending on whether you
want to emphasise the actions of the collective as a whole or the individual actions of its
members.

The team usually wins.

The team usually win.

The herd migrates in summer.

The herd migrate in summer.

The WWF invites its members to a meeting.

The WWF invite their members to a meeting.

Walmart is the world’s largest company.

Walmart is the world’s largest company.*

The staff argue with each other.**

The staff argue with each other.

*A singular verb makes more sense here, as the emphasis is on the company as a unified
entity.

**A plural verb makes more sense here, as the emphasis is on the individual staff members.

Uncountable nouns
These nouns describe abstract concepts or masses that can’t be counted (e.g., research,
power, water and vegetation). They take a singular verb.

This equipment is unusable.
The research goes smoothly.
 Water flows through the streets.

Note: Data is technically a plural noun, but it is widely treated as an uncountable noun, so it is

acceptable to use either the singular or plural verb form.

This research aims to gather additional data on bee behaviour, which is currently
lacking.
Data were collected over a period of three months.

Abbreviations and acronyms

Abbreviations and acronyms usually take a singular verb. If you’re unsure, check if the full
version of the acronym or abbreviation is a singular, plural or collective noun, and refer to the
rules above. It’s most important to use one form of agreement consistently.

The country’s GDP correlates with its birth rate.

The RPM falls rapidly.
In addition to oil, HNS are a common form of cargo.

In the examples above, RPM (‘revolutions per minute’) refers to a stand-alone number, so it
takes a singular verb. HNS (‘hazardous and noxious substances’), on the other hand, is used
to describe multiple things, so it takes a plural verb.

Sources for this article

We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article
(APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.

This Scribbr article

Middleton, F. (2022, December 02). Subject-Verb Agreement | Examples, Rules

& Use. Scribbr. Retrieved 6 February 2023, from Cite this article
https://www.scribbr.co.uk/verb/subject-verb-agreement-explained/

Sources

Aarts, B. (2011). Oxford modern English grammar. Oxford University Press.

Butterfield, J. (Ed.). (2015). Fowler’s dictionary of modern English usage (4th ed.).

Oxford University Press.

 Show all sources (3)

 Is this article helpful?

6 2

Fiona Middleton
Fiona has been editing for Scribbr since August 2016. She has a bachelor's degree in geology
and is currently working towards a master's degree in marine sciences. She loves working
with students based around the world to refine their writing.

Other students also liked

What Is a Pronoun? | Definition, Types & Examples

A pronoun is a word used to replace a noun. Types of pronouns include personal pronouns like 'she' and

demonstrative pronouns like 'this'.

What Is a Proper Noun? | Definition & Examples

A proper noun is the name for a specific place, person, or thing. Proper nouns are always capitalised in English.

Comma Splice | Definition, Examples, & Rules

A comma splice is an error that occurs when a comma is used to join two independent clauses ('John went to the
cinema, he bought popcorn').

Scribbr

Our editors
 Jobs
FAQ

Our services
Plagiarism Checker
Proofreading Services
Grammar Checker
Paraphrasing Tool
Reference Generator
Citation Checker
Knowledge Base

Contact
info@scribbr.co.uk
 +44 (0)20 3917 4242


 
 


4.8

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

Happiness guarantee