Subject-Verb Agreement: Rules, Examples & Exceptions

Subject-verb agreement means choosing a verb form that matches the subject in number and person. A singular subject generally takes a singular verb, while a plural subject takes a plural verb.

Compare:

The collection of rare photographs belongs to the museum.

The photographs in the collection belong to different periods.

In the first sentence, collection is singular, so the verb is belongs. In the second, photographs is plural, so the verb is belong.

Agreement becomes less obvious when a sentence contains several nouns, when the subject refers to a group, or when the meaning of an expression affects the verb form. The important thing is to identify what controls the agreement rather than choosing a verb based on the nearest noun.

Basic Subject-Verb Agreement Rules

In the simple present tense, most verbs add -s or -es with a third-person singular subject. Other subjects normally use the base form.

The bakery delivers fresh bread before sunrise.

Several local bakeries deliver bread to nearby restaurants.

Notice that delivers ends in -s with a singular subject, while deliver is used with a plural subject. This is different from the usual way English forms plural nouns.

Agreement also depends on grammatical person.

Most ordinary verbs don’t change according to the subject in the simple past tense.

The caretaker opened the gate.

The caretakers opened the gate.

Both subjects take opened.

Agreement With Be, Have, and Do

Some common verbs have forms that need particular attention.

The verb be also distinguishes was and were in ordinary past-tense statements.

The original documents were stored in a locked cabinet.

The only surviving document was badly damaged.

When an auxiliary verb carries the agreement marking, the main verb keeps its required form.

Incorrect: The technician does not understands the warning.

Correct: The technician does not understand the warning.

The auxiliary does agrees with the singular subject technician. The main verb remains understand.

Modal verbs such as can, must, should, and might don’t add a third-person singular -s.

The organiser must confirm the booking.

Not must confirms.

Agreement With Linking Verbs

A linking verb connects the subject to information that identifies or describes it. Sometimes the subject and its complement have different numbers.

Compare:

The main concern is the delays in delivery.

The delays in delivery are the main concern.

In the first sentence, the main concern is the singular subject. The delays in delivery identifies that concern, but it doesn’t determine the verb form.

In the second, the delays in delivery is the plural subject, so are is appropriate.

The verb agrees with the subject, not with a subject complement that happens to be singular or plural.

Agreement When Other Words Separate the Subject and Verb

A noun close to the verb isn’t always the subject. Descriptive phrases and subordinate clauses can contain other nouns without changing the agreement of the main clause.

Prepositional Phrases Between the Subject and Verb

Consider:

The condition of the wooden steps requires urgent attention.

Condition is the singular subject. Steps belongs to the prepositional phrase of the wooden steps, so it doesn’t control the verb.

Now compare:

The wooden steps near the entrance require urgent attention.

This time, steps is the plural subject.

The sentences refer to the same steps, but their grammatical subjects are different.

Phrases Beginning With As Well As or Along With

Expressions such as along with, as well as, and together with don’t normally create a plural subject when added to a singular one.

The lead researcher, along with two assistants, is reviewing the findings.

The subject is the lead researcher. The additional phrase tells us who is accompanying the researcher.

Compare:

The lead researcher and two assistants are reviewing the findings.

Here, and joins the researcher and assistants into a compound subject.

Agreement Within Relative Clauses

A relative clause can introduce another subject-verb relationship within the same sentence.

Consider:

One of the volunteers who have completed safety training is leading the inspection.

There are two verbs to consider.

Have belongs to the relative clause who have completed safety training. The relative pronoun who refers to volunteers, so the plural verb have is appropriate.

The main verb is agrees with one, the singular head of the main subject phrase.

Now compare:

She is the only one of the volunteers who has completed safety training.

Here, the intended meaning is that she alone completed the training. The relative clause identifies the only one, so has agrees with that singular expression.

The important point is to identify what who refers to in each sentence. The word only helps establish the intended meaning in the second example, but it isn’t a rule that automatically determines agreement in every relative clause.

Agreement With Compound Subjects

When two or more subjects are joined, the conjunction and the meaning of the complete subject can affect the verb form.

Subjects Joined by And

Two distinct subjects joined by and normally take a plural verb.

The architect and the structural engineer have approved the revised design.

But two titles joined by and can refer to one person.

The founder and chief editor, Leena, is attending the conference.

Leena holds both positions, so the subject refers to one person.

Compare:

The founder and the chief editor are attending the conference.

In this intended reading, the titles refer to different people.

An expression joined by and can also refer to one combined item or activity.

Bread and butter is the usual breakfast choice at the guesthouse.

Here, bread and butter is treated as one food combination. If two separate items are being discussed, plural agreement may be appropriate.

Subjects Joined by Or and Nor

With or, nor, either … or, and neither … nor, the verb generally agrees with the nearer subject when one is singular and the other plural.

Neither the supervisor nor the technicians are available this afternoon.

Neither the technicians nor the supervisor is available this afternoon.

In the first sentence, the plural technicians is nearest the verb. In the second, the singular supervisor is nearest.

These constructions are grammatical, but mixed singular and plural subjects can sometimes sound awkward.

A simpler alternative may read more naturally:

The supervisor is unavailable, and so are the technicians.

Subjects Beginning With Every or Each

When every or each applies separately to coordinated singular nouns, singular agreement is normally used.

Every ticket and receipt is checked before reimbursement.

The sentence treats each ticket and each receipt individually.

Compare:

The tickets and receipts are checked before reimbursement.

Without every, the coordinated plural groups take a plural verb.

Agreement With Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns don’t all follow the same agreement pattern. Some are normally singular, some are plural, and others depend on what they refer to.

Indefinite Pronouns That Take Singular Verbs

Pronouns such as everyone, everybody, someone, anybody, nobody, each, either, and neither normally take singular verbs when used as subjects.

Each of the shortlisted candidates has received an interview invitation.

Although candidates is plural, each is singular.

Another expression that can surprise learners is more than one.

More than one applicant has requested an extension.

Despite referring to multiple applicants, more than one normally takes a singular verb in this construction.

A singular indefinite pronoun may also be referred to by singular they.

Everyone who registered has received their confirmation email.

The use of their doesn’t change the singular agreement between everyone and has.

Indefinite Pronouns That Take Plural Verbs

Both, few, many, and several normally take plural verbs when used as indefinite pronouns.

Several of the original paintings are still on display.

Both of the suggested routes lead to the same entrance.

These expressions refer to more than one person or thing, so plural agreement is appropriate.

Indefinite Pronouns That Depend on Meaning

Words such as all, some, most, any, and none can take singular or plural agreement depending on what they refer to.

Compare:

Some of the equipment is missing.

Some of the documents are missing.

Equipment is uncountable, while documents refers to several countable items.

With none, both singular and plural forms may be acceptable in some contexts.

None of the applicants have withdrawn.

Has withdrawn is also possible. The plural form is common when referring to several people, while singular agreement can occur when the expression is treated as one quantity or used in a more formal style.

Neither form should automatically be labelled incorrect simply because the subject contains none.

Agreement With Collective Nouns

Collective nouns name groups of people or things. Common examples include team, committee, family, staff, audience, and government.

A singular collective noun often takes a singular verb when the group is treated as one unit.

The committee has approved the final proposal.

This is especially common in American English.

British English more readily allows plural agreement when attention is on the individual members.

The committee are divided over the proposed changes.

Here, the members are understood to have differing opinions.

These are general usage tendencies, not absolute divisions between American and British English. The preferred form can depend on the noun, context, and intended meaning.

If you want to emphasise the members individually, you can make them the subject:

The committee members are divided over the proposed changes.

That wording avoids uncertainty about collective-noun agreement.

Agreement With Quantities, Fractions, and Number Expressions

Expressions involving numbers don’t always take plural verbs. Sometimes the sentence refers to a single amount, while other times it refers to individual items.

Fractions and Percentages

With fractions and percentages followed by of, agreement often depends on the noun that follows.

Sixty percent of the land is protected.

Sixty percent of the houses are protected.

The first sentence refers to an amount of land. The second refers to multiple houses.

The same distinction applies to fractions.

Half of the funding has been allocated.

Half of the available grants have been allocated.

The percentage or fraction alone doesn’t determine the verb. The quantity being described matters.

A Number of vs. The Number of

These expressions look similar but behave differently.

A number of residents have raised concerns about the development.

A number of means several, so plural agreement is standard.

The number of residents attending the meetings has increased.

Here, the number refers to a numerical total, which takes singular agreement.

Time, Distance, and Money as a Single Amount

Plural-looking expressions can take singular agreement when they are understood as one amount.

Three weeks is enough time to complete the repairs.

Twenty kilometres is too far to walk in this heat.

Five hundred dollars was the original estimate.

However, when individual units are being discussed separately, plural agreement is appropriate.

The final three weeks of the project were particularly demanding.

The first example treats three weeks as a single period. The last refers to particular weeks within the project.

Agreement With Nouns That Have Unusual Number Forms

A noun’s ending doesn’t always show how it behaves grammatically.

Singular Nouns Ending in -s

Some nouns end in -s but normally take singular verbs in particular meanings.

The latest news is encouraging.

Mathematics is required for the course.

The noun economics illustrates why meaning matters.

Economics is offered as an optional subject at the college.

Here, economics names an academic subject and takes singular agreement.

Compare:

The economics of the proposed expansion are difficult to justify.

In this sentence, economics refers to the financial aspects or practical economic conditions of the expansion. Plural agreement is natural in this meaning.

The same word can therefore have different agreement patterns depending on how it is used.

Nouns Used in the Plural

Words such as scissors, trousers, glasses, and binoculars usually take plural verbs when referring to those objects.

The binoculars are in the equipment cupboard.

But adding a pair of changes the grammatical subject.

A pair of binoculars is in the equipment cupboard.

The head of the subject phrase is pair, which is singular.

Titles That Look Plural

A title may contain plural words while referring to one book, film, or other work.

Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens.

The title identifies one novel, so singular agreement is appropriate.

Subject-Verb Agreement in Questions and Inverted Sentences

The subject doesn’t always appear before the verb. Questions and sentences beginning with there or here can place the relevant noun phrase later.

Sentences Beginning With There or Here

In sentences beginning with there is or there are, the following noun phrase normally determines agreement.

There is a handwritten note inside the folder.

There are several handwritten notes inside the folder.

The word there doesn’t determine the verb form.

A similar pattern appears after here.

Here are the documents you requested.

In informal speech, there’s is commonly used before plural noun phrases, as in There’s three people outside. In careful formal writing, there are is the more appropriate choice with a plural noun phrase.

Agreement in Questions

Questions often place an auxiliary verb before the subject.

Does the new timetable include an earlier departure?

Do the revised timetables include earlier departures?

The auxiliary agrees with timetable or timetables, while the main verb remains include.

Questions with be follow the same agreement principle.

Are the replacement parts available?

Is the replacement part available?

How to Check Subject-Verb Agreement in Longer Sentences

Similar-looking noun phrases can require different verb forms because they play different grammatical roles.

Consider how the agreement changes in these sentences about donated books.

All five sentences mention donated books, but they don’t all take plural verbs.

Notice how the complete subject changes. Sometimes books is part of a phrase headed by a singular word. In other cases, the expression refers to several books or a fraction of them.

Check Your Understanding

Choose the correct verb in each sentence, then check the explanation.

1. One of the volunteers who (has/have) completed the training (is/are) leading the inspection.

Correct: One of the volunteers who have completed the training is leading the inspection.

Why: Have agrees with volunteers inside the relative clause. Is agrees with one, the head of the main subject.

2. The results of the latest laboratory analysis (indicates/indicate) that the water is safe.

Correct: The results of the latest laboratory analysis indicate that the water is safe.

Why: Results is the plural subject. Analysis is singular but belongs to the prepositional phrase, so it doesn’t determine agreement.

3. Neither the museum director nor the exhibition organisers (has/have) confirmed the opening date.

Correct: Neither the museum director nor the exhibition organisers have confirmed the opening date.

Why: With this neither … nor construction, the verb generally agrees with the nearer subject. Organisers is plural.

4. The only remaining problem (is/are) the missing signatures on the application forms.

Correct: The only remaining problem is the missing signatures on the application forms.

Why: The only remaining problem is the singular subject. The missing signatures is a subject complement, not the subject controlling the verb.

When a sentence is difficult, find the subject of the clause and look at how that subject is constructed. That will usually give you a more dependable answer than choosing the verb that sounds right beside the nearest noun.

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