Subject Verb Agreement

Subject Verb Agreement

Subject Verb Agreement : We often need to write sentences which contain only a subject and a verb. Subject be a noun, a proper noun or an abstract noun. Here, in this post you'll get to read about subject verb agreement.

Subject verb agreement rules

In subject verb agreement the basic rule is if the subject is singular then we should use singular verb and in case plural subject then use plural verb.

In a sentence normally we tell something about a person or a thing. The part of the sentence which states the person or thing in the sentence is called subject and the remaining part which gives us more information about the subject is called predicate of the sentence.

 • Singular Subject : a boy, agirl, a pen
 • Plural Subject : boys, girls, men
 • Uncountable Subject : water, sugar, milk


Subject and Verb in Person  and Number

The subject and verb must agree in person and number.

1. When the subject is singular then singular verb is used.

e.g. He is a good boy

2. When the subject is plural then plural verb is used

e.g. The boys are playing football.

3. When two or more singular subjects are joined together, plural verb is used.

e.g. He and I are good friends.

4. When two subjects together express one idea then singular verb is used.

e.g. • Bread and butter is essential for living.
       • Tom and Jerry is a funny series.

In some cases, we can use a singular verb with a plural subject when they are treated as a group

e.g. • The crowd is coming from far and wide.
       • The audience is very excited.

5. Words such as crowd,group,family,audience are plural subject but it also take singular verb depending upon the sentence, but it is safe to use a plural verb.

e.g. The family are our strongest support.

6. Noun like everybody, anybody, nobody, somebody, anyone take a singular verb.

e.g. Nobody was present in the meeting.

7. Nouns joined by ' and ' take a plural verb.

e.g. Hari and his friends are going for an excursion.

8. If the subjects joined by or, nor, either, neither the verb agrees with the subject nearest to it.

e.g. • Either answer is acceptable.
       • Neither Ram nor Rahul was there.

9. The title of books, play, story or a musical composition, takes a singular verb even though the subject is plural.

e.g. • The Golmal series is my favourite one.
       • The tweleve fools is a funny story.

10. When a plural noun comes between a singular subjects and its verbs, the verbs agrres with singular subject.

e.g. • Each of the apples is juicy.
       • Neither of my friends dislikes me.

11. If the words are joined to a singular subject by ' with ' , a singular verb is used.

e.g. • The Prime Minister, with his cabinet is supposed to be present.
       • The President, together his wife, greets the press cordially.

12. If subjects are joined by ' as well as ' , the verb must agree with the first subject, irrespective of whether it is singular or plural.

e.g. • Ram, as well as Hari was present.
       • My classmates as well as my friends are coming.

13.  Nouns like news, cards, aerobics, measles, physics, economics (ends with S) are plural in form, but they are treated as singular.

e.g. • The news is not true.
       • Aerobics is a good exercise.

14. None is singular but it takes a singular / plural verb according to the sense involved in the sentence.

e.g. • None were given a chance to speak.
        • I asked for help, but none was present there.

15. Uncountable nouns like advice, news, media, weather, progress, stationery are singular and take a singular verb.

e.g. One must not offer advice unless asked.

16. Noun like glasses, spectacles, pants, trousers, shoes, people, police, scissors, always take a plural verb. Desciptive nouns like the rich, the blind, the guilty are always plural.

e.g. • My shoes are made of leather.

But 'a pair of' is used with shoes then it take singular verb. 

e.g. • A pair of branded shoes is not cheap.

17. When the plural noun is a proper name for some single object or some collective unit, it must be followed by a singular verb.

e.g. • The United Nations is not an effective body for world peace.

18. A singular verb is used when a plural noun denotes some specific quantity or
amount. 

e.g. • One fifty rupees is too much for this doll.
       • Two thirds of the city is in ruins.

Few nouns are always plural, even though they don't end in 's' and they always take a plural verb

e.g. • The police were buffled.
        • The Children are in bed.
        • Her Hair are golden in colour.

Excercise for subject verb agreement

Fill in the blanks keeping subject verb agreement in mind. 

(a) Everyone............finished reading the fairy tale.

(b) Some of the students...........left the canteen for lunch.

(c) Nobody..........come for the party yet.

(d) Somebody......... spilt tea on the tablecloth.

(e) Each of the teachers.......... willing to attend the meeting during the weekend.

(f) Neither of the two students.......... in the library now.

(g) A pair of towels....... in the bathroom.

(h) My glasses...........on the table this morning.

(i) Diabetes.......... very common among people who consume too much fast food.

(j) Fifty percent of the milk.......... been sold since morning.

(k) Everyone at the market......... looking at the beggar.

(l) Either the poet or her parents........ speaking to Amanda.

(m) Six times five divided by two............ fifteen.

(n) Some of the children in the playground....... playing cricket.

Ans: (a) has    (b) have     (c) has    (d) has   (e) is     (f) is     (g) is     (h) were   (i) is     (j) has    (k) was   (l) was    (m) is    (n) are


Fill in the blanks with the correct form of verb for subject verb agreement. 

(a) An antiviral dug that........ widely used to treat Hepatitis B.

(b) It......... become a major curse for some people infected with HIV who have become resistant to the drug.

(c) A new study......... suggested that this could......... major implications for over four million people.

(d) This finding.......... important for people who.......... jointly infected with Hepatitis B and HIV.

(e) Scientists.......... hopeful of findings some more such drugs to cure Hepatitis B.

(f) Till now no cure........ available for HIV.

Ans: (a) is     (b) has     (c) has, have    (d) is, are   (e) are   (f) is


Choose the correct form of the verb that guess with the subject and write the sentence correct.

(a) Either answer (is/are) acceptable.

(b) Everyone of those books (is/are) fiction.

(c) Nobody (know/knows) the trouble I've seen.

(d) Economics (is/are) Hari's favourite subject.

(e) The committee (debate/debates) these questions carefully.

(f) (Is/Are) the news true ?

Ans: (a) Either answer is acceptable. 
         (b) Everyone of those books is fiction. 
         (c) Nobody knows the trouble I've seen. 
         (d) Economics is Hari's favourite subject. 
         (e) The committe debates the questions carefully. 
         (f) Is the news true ? 


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• Clause and Phrase
• Pronoun