Subject-Verb Agreement

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What is Subject-Verb Agreement?

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Subject-Verb Agreement is the grammatical rule that the subject and verb in a sentence must agree in number (singular or plural).

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When do you use a singular verb?

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A singular verb is used when the subject is singular (e.g., 'The dog barks').

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When do you use a plural verb?

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A plural verb is used when the subject is plural (e.g., 'The dogs bark').

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What is the rule for compound subjects joined by 'and'?

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When two subjects are joined by 'and', they typically take a plural verb (e.g., 'My dog and cat are friends').

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What is the rule for compound subjects joined by 'or' or 'nor'?

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When subjects are joined by 'or' or 'nor', the verb agrees with the subject closest to it (e.g., 'Either the cat or the dogs are outside').

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What is the rule for collective nouns?

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Collective nouns can take either singular or plural verbs depending on whether the group acts as a single unit or as individuals (e.g., 'The team wins' vs. 'The team are arguing').

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What is the rule for subjects that are indefinite pronouns?

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Indefinite pronouns like 'everyone', 'someone', and 'anybody' take singular verbs (e.g., 'Everyone is here').

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What is the rule for subjects that are fractions or percentages?

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Fractions and percentages take a singular verb when the noun following 'of' is singular (e.g., 'Fifty percent of the cake is gone').

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What is the rule for subjects that are titles of books, movies, etc.?

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Titles of books, movies, and other works are treated as singular (e.g., 'The Chronicles of Narnia is a great series').

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What is the rule for subjects that are amounts of money or time?

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Amounts of money or time are treated as singular (e.g., 'Five dollars is too much').