Subject verb agreement rules

                       

                         
SUBJECT – VERB AGREEMENT

Being able to find the right subject and verb will help you correct errors of subject-verb agreement

Subject-verb agreement means that the subject and the verb must agree in case and in number. A singular noun must take a singular verb and a plural noun must take a plural verb.

Rule No. 1. A singular subject takes a singular verb, whereas a plural subject takes a  plural verb.

Example-  i) You play. (Singular and plural)

     ii)  He/ She/ It plays. (Singular)

Rule No. 2. Two singular subjects connected by or, either/or, or neither/nor take a singular verb.

Example-        i) Neither Ram nor Shyam is available.

                      ii) Either Ram or Shyam is attending the class.

Rule No. 3. Subjects connected with or, either/or, and neither/nor, the verb should be respective to the subject closest to it, i.e- a singular subject take a singular verb and a plural subject will take a plural verb.

Example- i) Neither the books nor the file goes / go on that shelf. (Correct verb is ‘goes’, respective to the singular subject ‘File’.

                 ii) Neither the books nor the files goes / go on that shelf. (Correct verb is ‘go’, respective to the plural subject ‘Files’.

Rule No. 4. We should use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected by connective ‘and’.

Example-  My sister and my mother is / are out of town. (Correct verb is ‘are’)

Rule No. 5. The subjects connected with “as well as, along with, together with, besides, more than.....etc’’ always take verb respective to the first subject.

Example- i) The teachers, along with the Principal, is/are expected shortly.(Correct verb-“are”).

               ii) He more than his parents is/are responsible for the blunder.(correct verb - “is”)

Note- The connectives “as well as/ along with/ more than...etc” should always be ignored if are connecting two subjects.)

Rule No. 6. The sentences beginning with “here or there” always follow the verb respective to the true subject.

Example- i) Here is/are the keys. (True subject is “keys”; hence, the correct verb is “are”)

            ii) There is/are the key of your car. (True subject is “key”; hence, the correct verb is “are”)

Rule No.7. We should use a singular verb with distances, periods of time, sums of money, etc., when considered as a unit.

Example- i) Ten dollars is/are a high price to pay. (Correct verb- “is”)

            ii) Three miles is/are too far to walk. (Correct verb- “is”)

Rule No. 8. The collective nouns such as, jury, family, audience, team......etc, the verb might be singular or plural, depending on the writer's intent.

Example- i) His family is/are one of the oldest in the county. (Correct verb - “is”, because all the members are considered as unit)

            ii) His family are/is all doctors. ((Correct verb is “are”, because here the sentence expresses the members)

Rule No.9. To express ‘wish’, a verb of past tense in plural form is preferred.

Example- I wish, I was/were a king. (Correct verb is “were”)

Rule No.10. The words like ‘few, many, several, both, all, some’ is used with an uncountable noun, the verb needs to be singular, whereas with countable noun, the verb needs to be Plural.

Example- i) Some milk is/are spoilt. (Correct verb – “is”)

            ii) Some marbles is/are on the floor. (Correct verb – “are”)