Understanding Subject-Verb Agreement in English

Welcome to another session of the Grammar Foundation Course. In this lesson, we focus on subject-verb agreement, a small but very important concept that helps you speak and write correct English. Although it may sound like a complicated grammar term, the idea behind subject-verb agreement is actually very simple. It means that the verb in a sentence must match the subject in number. In other words, if the subject is singular, the verb should also be singular, and if the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.

Let’s look at a simple example. Consider the sentence She work in HR. This sentence sounds incorrect because the verb does not match the subject. The correct sentence is She works in HR. Here, the subject she is third-person singular, so the verb takes s at the end. This small change makes the sentence grammatically correct. In English, when the subject is third-person singular (he, she, it, or a singular noun) in the present tense, we usually add s or es to the verb.

Another example from everyday life is the sentence My team are working on the new project. This may sound acceptable to some people, but in standard grammar, team is treated as a single unit, so we use a singular verb. Therefore, the correct sentence is My team is working on the new project. However, some collective nouns behave differently. For instance, we say The police are coming, not The police is coming, because the word police is treated as plural.

Let’s consider a few more examples. The sentence My mother cook delicious food is incorrect. Since mother is a singular subject, the correct sentence is My mother cooks delicious food. Similarly, the sentence These bananas is ripe is wrong because bananas is plural. The correct sentence is These bananas are ripe.

There are several basic rules that can help you understand subject–verb agreement more clearly. The first rule is simple: a singular subject takes a singular verb. For example, The manager is in a meeting and My maid comes at 8 a.m. Both sentences follow the rule correctly. The second rule states that a plural subject takes a plural verb. For instance, The employees are attending the training and The vegetables are fresh.

Another important rule applies when two subjects are joined by and. In this case, we usually use a plural verb. For example, Romesh and Suraj are attending the call and Bread and butter are on the table. The word and indicates that more than one subject is involved, so the verb must also be plural.

However, when subjects are connected by either…or or neither…nor, the verb usually agrees with the subject that is closest to it. For example, Neither Ria nor her colleagues have arrived. In this sentence, the verb agrees with colleagues, which is plural. Similarly, Neither the spoons nor the fork is missing. Here, the verb agrees with fork, which is singular.

Certain words such as everyone, someone, somebody, and nobody are always treated as singular, even though they refer to many people. For example, Everyone wants a raise and Nobody likes dirty dishes. In both sentences, the verb is singular because the subject is considered singular.

Another situation occurs in sentences that begin with there or here. In such cases, the verb depends on the noun that follows it. For example, There is a problem with your laptop uses a singular verb because problem is singular. On the other hand, There are fresh fruits in the market uses a plural verb because fruits is plural.

Many learners make common mistakes with subject–verb agreement in everyday conversations. For instance, some people say The data are important, assuming that data is plural. However, in modern usage, data is often treated as a singular noun, so we commonly say Data is important. Another common mistake is Each of the employees have a laptop. This is incorrect because each is singular. The correct sentence is Each of the employees has a laptop.

Similarly, in the sentence The price of apples have increased, the verb should agree with the subject price, not apples. Therefore, the correct sentence is The price of apples has increased. This example shows why it is important to identify the main subject of the sentence before choosing the verb.

To test your understanding, consider a few sentences. The sentence My boss and I is going for a meeting is incorrect because the subject is plural. The correct form is My boss and I are going for a meeting. The sentence Everyone in the office are invited should be corrected to Everyone in the office is invited. Similarly, There is several issues with the software should be There are several issues with the software. The sentence The utensils needs to be washed should be The utensils need to be washed, and My daughter enjoy cartoons should be corrected to My daughter enjoys cartoons.

To improve your understanding of subject-verb agreement, try a simple exercise. Choose a short paragraph from a blog, newspaper, or magazine that contains about five to seven lines. Underline all the subjects in the sentences and check whether the verbs agree with them. For example, in the sentence The manager along with his team members is preparing for the quarterly review, the correct verb is is preparing because the main subject is manager. Similarly, Everyone wants the project to succeed, There are multiple strategies on the table, My son enjoys online classes, and The vegetables are fresh all show correct subject-verb agreement. Although subject-verb agreement may seem confusing at first, it becomes much easier with practice. Once you learn to match the subject and the verb correctly, your English will sound clearer, more natural, and more professional. By paying attention to these small details while speaking and writing, you can significantly improve your communication skills.