Section outline

  • Introduction

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    Subject Verb agreement is a grammatical rule that the verb & subject in a sentence must always agree.

    Following factors govern the rules of this agreement:

    Let's understand some basic rules before we go to the detail rules.

    • Basic rules:
      1. Modal verbs never change form to agree with subject.
      2. Plural action verbs are usually the root or base form of verbs.
      3. Please refer auxiliary verbs to know the correct use with singular & plural subjects.
      4. Verbs in past and future tenses don't change as per the subject-verb agreement i.e. the verb form remains the same for singular & plural subjects.
      5. To form correct form of singular action verbs use the following table:
      Verbs Rule Examples
      Regular & end with a vowel & 'y' Add 's' play = plays 
      eat = eats
      End with ‘o, ch, sh, x, ss, gh, z’ Add 'es' teach = teaches
      go = goes
      End with a consonant & ‘y’ Add 'ies'  try = tries
      deny = denies

  • Use of Singular Verb

    Rules to use singular verbs:

    1. If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular.

    Examples:

    • Tom is a clever boy.
    • The girl runs very fast.

    Here, the subjects 'Tom & girl' are singular; hence singular verbs 'is & runs' are used. 

    2. With third person (he, she, it).

    Examples:

    • She lives in Mumbai.
    • It is a lovely place.

    Here, the subjects 'she & it' are singular; hence we use singular verbs 'lives & is'.

    3. With first person 'I' (speaker), singular form of auxiliary verb.

    Example: I am hungry.

    Exception:

    But plural (i.e. root form) of action verb is used, though 'I' is a singular subject.

    Example: I live in Mumbai.

    Here, 'live' is action verb which is used in its root form with pronoun 'I'.

    4. With collective nouns as the entire collection is one whole thing.

    Examples:

    • The bouquet of flowers is beautiful.
    • The crowd was silent.

    Here, there are many flowers or people but the entire group is a whole & hence singular verb is used. 

    5. With nouns which are plural in form but singular in meaning.

    Example: This jeans is new.

    Words like 'scissors, shoes, pants, etc.' which are always in plural form but are one pair, hence singular & take singular verb.

    6. When two or more nouns are connected by 'either/or, neither/nor, each/every'.

    Examples:

    • Neither my mother nor my father is at home.
    • Each and every vehicle is being searched.
    7. With indefinite pronouns.

    Examples: 

    • Everyone has to dance.
    • Each of the cars is new.

    Common indefinite pronouns are: each, everyone, anybody, somebody, no one, anything, someone.

    8.When plural number is used for distance, amount of money, weight, etc. but shows a specific quantity or amount.

    Examples:

    • Hundred rupees is enough.
    • Ten kilometers is a long distance to walk.
    9. With two or more nouns or adjectives if they refer to same person or thing.

    Example: 

    The orange and pink dress is not mine.

    10. When one verb in a sentence is singular then all the others are also singular.

    Example:

    Jack sings well and plays the piano also.

    11. With words like news, a lot of, plenty of, much little, etc.

    Examples: 

    • Plenty of water was wasted.
    • This is the latest news.
    12. When two subjects are referred to as one.

    Example:

     Bread and butter is available in the store.

    13. When subjects are gerunds (verbs ending in "-ing" used as nouns) or infinitives.

    Examples: 

    • Swimming is fun.
    • To read story books is fun.

    ** In this section, for rules to use singular action verbs refer to basic concepts.

  • Use of Plural Verb

    Rules to use plural verbs:

    1. If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.

    Examples:

    • The boys of this class are clever.
    • The students run very fast..

    Here, the subjects 'boys & students' are plural; hence plural verbs 'are & run' are used. 

    2. With first & third person plural (we, they).

    Examples:

    • We live in Mumbai.
    • They are happy family.

    Here, 'we' (first person) & 'they' (third person) are plural subjects. 

    3. With second person (you).

    Example:

    You are studying hard.

    4. When there are two or more subjects are joined by a conjunction.

    Examples:

    • Jane & Suzan are best friends.
    • My sister & I enjoy music.

    Here, the subjects are joined by a conjunction & hence together they act as plurals.

    Exception:

    When the two subjects are joined by 'as well a or with', the verb must agree with the first subject.

    Examples: 

    • The teacher with the students is playing piano.

    Here, the teacher is the first subject which is singular, hence singular verb is to be used.

    • The students as well as the teacher are playing piano.

    Here, the students is the first subject which is plural, hence plural verb is to be used.

    5. Irregular plural nouns.

    Examples:

    • The children are playing football.
    • People are standing in the queue.

    Nouns like cattle, police, people, etc. though appear singular but are always used as plurals.

    ** In this section, for rules to use plural action verbs refer to basic concepts.

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  • Summary

    Subject verb agreement is one of the most important courses in English Grammar.

    It is the foundation for correct spoken & written English.

    In this course, we learn't all the rules to use the correct singular or plural verb in agreement with the subject.

    In the next course, we will learn all about adverbs.

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