By Sair

What is Subject Verb Agreement?

 Subject verb agreement is a grammatical rule that means that verbs
must agree with subjects. A singular subject takes a singular verb and a
plural subject takes a plural verb.
Example:
• The dog barks. (singular subject "dog" takes a singular verb "barks")
• The dogs bark. (plural subject "dogs" takes a plural verb "bark")
• Mike plays the guitar.
• My friends play the guitar.
Rules For Subject Verb Agreement.
1) The subject pronoun: he, she, it and singular noun
take the -s form of verb.
Examples:
• She eats a lot during breakfast.
• It takes a lot of time.
• He drives the car recklessly.

2) The subject pronoun: we, you, they and plural name

take the base form of the verb.
Examples:
• They eat a lot during breakfast.
• We jump from here to there.
• You know I love innocent people.
3) Singular indefinite pronouns must take -s form of
the verb.
 Singular Indefinite Pronouns:
• Someone, anybody, anything, something, anyone, nobody etc.
Examples:
• Everybody wants to attend the birthday party.
• Anybody reads the newspaper.

4) Plural indefinite pronouns must take base form of

verb.
Plural Indefinite Pronouns:
• Both, others, few, several and many.
Examples:
• Only a few keep lions as pets.
• Few keep fasting.
• Many leave the country.
5) Subjects connected by "and" take the base form
(plural) of the verb.
Examples:
• The president and his members write notes to the public.
• Ali and Ahmad have gone to college.
• Mathematics and Physics are interrelated.
 Except the same idea:
Examples:
• The coach and captain of the team has smiled.
• Bread and butter is first choice.
• My mother and my life has arrived.
6) Two subjects joined by or, nor, neither or either, the verb
must agree the nearer subject.
Examples:
• Neither the students nor the teacher is ready for today’s outing.
• Either he or his friends are responsible for this brutal action.

7) Collective noun (more than one person; but considers

singular, must take singular verb.
Examples;
• The team meets every week for their activity.
• The committee agrees on the quality of work.
8) Plural form subjects with a singular meaning take a
singular verb such as mumps, measles, mathematics,
statistics, linguistics and civics.
Examples:
• Linguistics is my favorite subject.
• Mathematics is a tough subject.

9) Countable nouns: earnings, goods, odds, surroundings,

contents, valuables only have plural form, take the base
form of the verb.
Examples:
• Contents are to be made on time.
• Earnings need to be spent.
10) When the subject and the verb are separated by a
phrase or clause, the verb agrees with the subject, not
with the intervening words.
Examples:
• The doctor, along with his patients, is going to emergency.
• The nurses, together with doctor, are going on a picnic.

11) Subject indicating an amount of money, time,

measurement, title of a book, story, organization or
country must take the singular verb.
Examples:
• The Acts of Apostles is my favorite book.
• One hundred pesos is not enough for this week.
• Five kilometers is not easy to hike.
• Philippines is the top tourist spot in southeast Asia.
12) When using "some," "most," or "all," the subject is
plural and takes a plural verb.
Example:
• Some of the students are taking notes.

13) When the subject is a relative pronoun like "who,"

"which," or "that," the verb agrees with the antecedent of
the pronoun.
Example:
•The man who lives next door is a doctor. (singular verb "is" agrees
with singular subject "man")
14) In questions, the subject usually comes before the
verb, and the verb agrees with the subject.
Example:
• Does he like pizza? (singular verb "does" agrees with singular
subject "he")
• Do they like pizza? (plural verb "do" agrees with plural subject
"they")
15) When a subject is a gerund (a verb ending in "-ing"
that functions as a noun), use a singular verb.
Example:
• Running is good for your health.