Subject–Verb Agreement In One Line
If only one rule sticks, make it this: the subject controls the verb—not the words that happen to sit closer.
Subject–verb agreement means the verb form changes to match the subject in number (singular/plural) and sometimes person (I/you/he-we-they).
Table of Contents
Meaning and Scope
In standard English grammar, agreement is the link between the subject and the verb: the verb reflects the subject’s number and person. You see it most clearly with be (is/are, was/were) and in the present tense (works/work). Source-1✅
- Subject
- The person/thing the clause is about; the “doer” or the topic.
- Verb
- The action or state; the part that changes to show tense and agreement.
- Agreement
- The subject and verb “match” in singular/plural (and sometimes person).
- Intervening Words
- Extra phrases between subject and verb that can look like the subject but are not.
Tiny Examples That Show The Pattern
✅ Correct The plan works.
✅ Correct The plans work.
❌ Wrong The plan work.
❌ Wrong The plans works.
Core Rules
- Singular subject → singular verb.
- Plural subject → plural verb.
- With and, a compound subject is usually plural.
- With or / nor, the verb often follows the subject closest to it.
- Extra phrases (like with, along with, as well as) don’t usually change the subject’s number.
The classic present-tense signal is the -s: in third-person singular, the verb often ends in -s (she runs), while plural subjects use the base form (they run). That “extra s” belongs to the verb, not the subject. Source-2✅
Agreement is about the grammatical subject, not “what feels close.” A sentence can contain many nouns, but only one noun phrase is the driver of the verb form.
Common Traps
Phrases Between Subject and Verb
These are the most frequent “why did I pick that verb?” moments. The noun inside the phrase can distract you, but it’s not the subject.
- Prepositional phrase: “of,” “in,” “with,” “along with,” “together with”
- Parenthetical add-on: “as well as,” “in addition to,” “including”
- Appositive: a rename right after a noun
✅ Correct The list of items is complete.
✅ Correct The teacher, along with the assistants, plans the schedule.
❌ Wrong The list of items are complete.
❌ Wrong The teacher, along with the assistants, plan the schedule.
Inverted Order and “There Is/Are”
Sometimes the subject arrives after the verb. In “there is/are” sentences, there is not the subject; the noun that follows is what controls is/are.
✅ Correct There is a reason.
✅ Correct There are two reasons.
❌ Wrong There are a reason.
❌ Wrong There is two reasons.
Special Subjects
Some subjects don’t behave like simple “one thing vs many things.” These patterns are still agreement patterns, just with extra grammar baked in. Think indefinite pronouns, amounts, and nouns that look plural but act singular.
Indefinite Pronouns That Take Singular Verbs
Many “-body / -one / -thing” pronouns are treated as singular for verb choice in standard usage.
- everyone, everybody, everything
- someone, somebody, something
- anyone, anybody, anything
- no one, nobody, nothing
✅ Correct Everyone knows the rules.
Amounts, Titles, and “Looks-Plural” Nouns
Some subjects act singular because they represent one amount or one named thing, even if a word inside looks plural.
- Amounts: “Five dollars is…” when it’s one sum
- Titles: a book/movie title can take a singular verb
- Singular-in-form: “news,” “mathematics,” “civics” often take singular verbs
- Plural-only: “scissors,” “trousers,” “tweezers” take plural verbs
These patterns show up because grammar tracks the meaning of the subject (one amount, one title, one field of study) and the form (plural-only items). Source-3✅
Collective nouns (team, family, committee) often take a singular verb when the group is treated as one unit, and a plural verb when the focus shifts to individuals inside the group.
Verb Forms
Agreement is easiest to spot in a few high-traffic verb sets. If your sentence contains be, have, or do, the correct form is often the whole game.
| Verb Family | Singular Subject | Plural Subject |
|---|---|---|
| be (present) | is / am | are |
| be (past) | was | were |
| have | has | have |
| do | does | do |
Modal Verbs Don’t Change for Agreement
Modal verbs like can, could, may, might, should, and must stay the same with singular and plural subjects. The agreement signal comes from the main verb (or from another auxiliary), not from the modal itself. Source-4✅
✅ Correct She can agree.
✅ Correct They can agree.
Examples Table
This table collects the patterns that most often create a mismatch. Each row shows a clean match and a broken match, using the same structure.
| Pattern | ✅ Correct | ❌ Wrong | What’s Happening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singular Subject | The result is clear. | The result are clear. | The subject result is singular. |
| Plural Subject | The results are clear. | The results is clear. | The subject results is plural. |
| Prepositional Phrase | The box of tools is heavy. | The box of tools are heavy. | tools sits in a phrase; box is the subject. |
| And | The pen and the notebook are new. | The pen and the notebook is new. | Two subjects joined by and usually form a plural subject. |
| Or / Nor | Either the keys or the card is missing. | Either the keys or the card are missing. | The verb follows the nearest subject (card is singular). |
| There Is/Are | There are two options. | There is two options. | The noun after the verb controls agreement. |
| Indefinite Pronoun | Someone has the answer. | Someone have the answer. | Someone is treated as singular in verb choice. |
Many writing-center handouts present these same contrasts—singular vs plural, plus the “phrase-in-the-middle” trap—as the core of standard subject–verb agreement. Source-5✅
FAQ
Subject–Verb Agreement Questions People Actually Ask
Is subject–verb agreement only singular vs plural?
Mostly, yes: number is the big driver. In some cases, person matters too (I am vs you are vs she is), but the everyday errors are usually singular/plural mismatches.
Why does the verb get an “-s” with a singular subject?
In the present tense, English often marks third-person singular with -s: she runs, it works. Plural subjects usually keep the base form: they run, they work.
What happens with “either/or” and “neither/nor” subjects?
These constructions often follow a nearest-subject pattern: the verb form aligns with the subject closest to it. If the closest subject is singular, the verb is singular; if it’s plural, the verb is plural.
Do collective nouns take singular or plural verbs?
It depends on whether the collective is treated as one unit or as individual members. Both patterns exist in standard usage; the meaning you intend drives the choice.
Do modal verbs like can, should, and must change for agreement?
No. Modals stay the same with singular and plural subjects. Agreement shows up in other verb parts (like is/are or has/have) when they’re present.
Why do phrases between the subject and verb cause mistakes?
Because they add extra nouns that can look like the subject. Grammar still treats the main noun phrase as the subject, so the verb agrees with that—even if another noun is closer.
What about words like news or mathematics?
Some words end in -s but act as a single idea in standard grammar, so they often take a singular verb: news is, mathematics is.