Subject-verb agreement is a fundamental grammatical concept that refers to the proper matching of the subject of a sentence with the appropriate verb form. This post is a comprehensive and clear guide to subject-verb agreement.
A singular subject should take a verb in its singular form, and a plural subject should take a verb in its plural form. However, this is not as straightforward as one might imagine, and as sentence structures become more complex, English language users, both native speakers and students of English as a foreign language, can encounter uncertainties.
A quick recap of the components of an English sentence
A subject. Every sentence needs a subject, which is usually a noun or pronoun that performs the action or is being described. For example, ‘she’, ‘the dog’ or ‘my friend’.
A verb. A sentence also requires a verb, which expresses the action or state of being. Verbs can be in different tenses (past, present or future) and forms (regular or irregular). For example, ‘runs’, ‘is eating’ or ‘will write’.
An object. Many sentences include an object, which is a noun or noun phrase that receives the action of the verb. Objects can be direct or indirect. For example, in the sentence ‘He read the book’, the book is the direct object. In the sentence, ‘He gave her a book’, ‘her’ is the indirect object: an additional object, a third noun or noun phrase, a someone or something that is affected by the action of the verb but is not the primary object, while ‘the book’ itself is being read or given as the primary or direct object.
Complements. Some sentences may have complements which provide additional information about the subject or object. Complements can be nouns, adjectives or other parts of speech. In the sentence ‘She is a doctor’, ‘doctor’ is a complement.
For more detail on the ‘parts of speech’ please see the relevant article.
The fundamental rules of subject-verb agreement
The fundamental rules of subject-verb agreement depend on whether the subject is singular or plural. When the subject of a sentence is singular, the verb must also be singular:
- The cat is sleeping.
Conversely, when the subject is plural, the verb should be plural as well:
- The dogs are barking.
In sentences with compound subjects (two or more subjects joined by ‘and’) a plural verb should be used:
- Tom and Harry are good friends.
Collective nouns, such as ‘team’, ‘family’ or ‘group’, can take a singular or plural verb depending on whether the emphasis is on the unity of the group or the individuals within it:
- The team is practising.
- The team are arguing.
But, common practice is that collective nouns be taken to be one singular entity and take a singular verb:
- The family is celebrating Christmas.
Collective nouns can take a singular verb when the group is considered as a single entity:
- The family has decided to go on holiday.
When the emphasis is on the individuals within the group, use a plural verb:
- The family are discussing their plans.
Some plural nouns are mistaken to be collective nouns, such as ‘people’, which is simply the plural of a person:
- The person is happy.
- The people are happy.
Sometimes, the subject and verb appear far apart from each other. An example is if they have been divided by an additional clause:
- English language users, both native speakers and students of English as a foreign language, can encounter uncertainties.
- The book, as well as the magazine, is on the table.
And versus or…
When ‘and’ is used to join two or more collective subjects, the subjects are considered together, and the verb should be plural:
- The dog and the cat are sleeping.
Whether using ‘and’ with two singular subjects or a singular and a plural subject, they are still considered a plural collective:
- The car and the bicycles need maintenance.
But, a common error occurs when ‘or’ is used; the subjects are not taken collectively and, therefore, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it:
- The teacher or the students are responsible.
- The students or the teacher is responsible.
- The book or the magazines need to be returned.
- The magazines or the book needs to be returned.
If the subjects on both sides of ‘or’ are singular, use a singular verb; if both are plural, use a plural verb.
Indefinite pronouns
Some indefinite pronouns, such as ‘everyone’, ‘somebody’ or ‘each’, always take a singular verb:
- Each of the students is responsible.
This is because these are singular pronouns that have sometimes become compound words; ‘every’ – ‘one’ describes every singular individual.
Other indefinite pronouns, such as ‘all’, ‘most’ and ‘many’, are referring to a collective plural:
- All of the students are responsible.
Either… or, neither… nor
With either/or and neither/nor constructions, the verb agrees with the part of the subject nearest to it:
- Neither the cat nor the dogs are here.
- Neither the cats nor the dog is here.
- Either your parents or your driver is arriving.
- Either your driver or your parents are arriving.
Agreement with quantifiers
When a percentage expression is the subject, the verb agrees with the noun following ‘of’:
- Fifty percent of the cake is gone.
- Fifty percent of the chickens are gone.
Expressions of quantity, such as ‘a lot’, ‘many’ or ‘a majority’, take a singular or plural verb depending on whether they refer to a singular or plural noun:
- A lot of cakes are available.
- A lot of cream is available.
English word order
The word order of a sentence in a language is determined by the three main sentence components: subject (S), verb (V) and object (O). Logically this means that there are six potential arrangements for these three components:
SOV, SVO, VSO, VOS, OVS and OSV
Different languages of the world arrange their words characteristically in different orders, but the natural order of words in the English language, in common with various other languages including French and Chinese, is SVO:
- Tom kicked the rocks.
- Registration takes place before morning assembly.
This construction, in which the subject is ‘doing’ the verb (Tom is doing the kicking, not the rocks), is called the ‘active’ voice. However, exceptions can occur; in some rare sentence structures, the verb may appear before the subject while still using the active voice:
- Before morning assembly comes registration.
- Registration comes before morning assembly.
- Top of the agenda are fire regulations.
- Fire regulations are top of the agenda.
Despite the change in word order, this is treated as an active construction because the verb is still activated by the subject, and where the voice of the sentence is active the subject and verb must agree.
Exception to the subject-verb agreement rule
However, there is another voice in English called the ‘passive’ voice, whose standard word order is OVS:
- The rocks were kicked by Tom.
- The people are instructed by the government.
In the passive examples given above, while ‘Tom’ and ‘the government’ are still the activators of the verb and ‘the rocks’ and ‘the people’ remain the objects as the passive receivers of their actions, the objects of these sentences now decide the agreement of the verb in the passive construction because they have become the focal point of the sentences. The verb has become plural in accordance with the object. In the passive construction the verb agrees with the object.
For more on the passive voice, please see the relevant article.
Conclusion
When using the active voice in English, the subject and verb must agree with regards to being plural or singular. Confusion can arise when ‘and’ and ‘or’ are used. When ‘and’ is used, the subjects are considered together and the verb should be plural; when ‘or’ is used, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
Ensuring grammatical accuracy both in writing and speaking shows a solid grasp of a language and an academic standard of precision. This is an area of English grammar in which proficient use will set an individual apart as a superior language user.
Exercises to practise
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