SUBJECT -VERB

AGREEMENT

RULES AND
EXAMPLES
 RULES
 The subject of a sentence should always match 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.
Verb
EXAMPLES
Singular subject + verb Plural subject + verb

Be The result is significant. The results are significant
.

Do The student does her best. The students do their

best.

Become The child becomes happie The children become hap

r. pier.

Cause That tree causes hay Those trees cause hay

fever. fever.

Analyze The author analyzes the The authors analyze the

text. text.
 RULES AND COMMON
MISTAKE
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 nouns and uncountable nouns.
7.)Abbreviations and acronyms
 1.) COMPOUND SUBJECTS
Two or more subjects linked to one
verb are called compound
subjects.
To decide whether to use a singular
or plural verb, consider how the
subjects are linked.
 COMPOUND SUBJECTS
EXAMPLES
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.
 COMPOUND SUBJECTS
EXEPTION USING (AND)
 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.
 COMPOUND SUBJECTS
USING (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
 2.) SUBJECT 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.

•Incorrect
•Critics of the study highlights its
errors.
•A basket of puppies were 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.
•Correct
•Critics of the study highlight its errors.
•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, are participating
in the conference.
 “As well as” and other tricky
phrases
“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.
•Incorrect
•The candidate and her
supporters leaves the
building.
•The candidate, along with
her supporters, leave the
building.
•The employees of the
organization, as well as the
CEO, has an interest in the
project’s success.
•Correct
•The candidate and
her supporters leave the
building.
•The candidate, along with
her supporters, leaves the
building.
•The employees of the
organization, as well as the
CEO, have an interest in the
project’s success.
 3.) INDEFINITE PRONOUN
 These refer to non-specific persons, places, and things
(e.g. someone, other, anyone, anything, somewhere, every, n
one).
 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.
Rule Indefinite pronouns Examples
Always singular Pronouns ending in – Something falls from
thing, –where, –body or the table.
– Each of the
one (e.g. somewhere, an participants responds p
ybody), every, one, each romptly.
, another… Anyone is able to use
the software.

Always plural Many, few, several, bot Both of the

h, others twins are lazy.
Few know what really
happened that day.

May be singular None, all, some, most,  All of

or plural more, any, either the cookies are gone.
All of
the cookie is gone.
 4.) 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.
EXAMPLES:
**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.
 5.) NUMBERS AND
AMOUNT
 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.
 6.) COLLECTIVE AND UNCOUNTABLE
NOUNS

 It can be hard to work out

whether to treat collective and 
uncountable nouns as singular
or plural.
 COLLECTIVE NOUNS
 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
emphasize the actions of the collective as a whole or
the individual actions of its members
 EXAMPLES
US English
The team usually wins.
The herd migrates in summer.
The WWF invites its members to a
meeting.
Walmart is the world’s largest
company.
The staff argue with each other.**
UK English
The team usually win.
The herd migrate in summer.
The WWF invite their members to a
meeting.
Walmart is the world’s largest
company.*
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.

 7.) ABBREVIATIONS AND
ACCRONYMS
 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.
 EXAMPLES
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.