Subject Verb Agreement

Front

What is Subject-Verb Agreement?

Back

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

Front

When should a singular verb be used?

Back

A singular verb should be used when the subject is singular, for example, 'The dog barks.'

Front

When should a plural verb be used?

Back

A plural verb should be used when the subject is plural, for example, 'The dogs bark.'

Front

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

Back

When subjects are joined by 'and', they typically take a plural verb, e.g., 'Tom and Jerry are friends.'

Front

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

Back

When subjects are joined by 'or' or 'nor', the verb agrees with the subject closest to it, e.g., 'Neither the cat nor the dogs are outside.'

Front

How does the presence of phrases affect subject-verb agreement?

Back

Phrases that come between the subject and verb do not affect agreement, e.g., 'The bouquet of flowers is beautiful.'

Front

What is the rule for collective nouns?

Back

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 among themselves.'

Front

What is the rule for indefinite pronouns?

Back

Indefinite pronouns like 'everyone', 'someone', and 'nobody' are singular and take singular verbs, e.g., 'Everyone is here.'

Front

What is the exception for the word 'none'?

Back

'None' can be singular or plural depending on the context, e.g., 'None of the cake is left' (singular) vs. 'None of the cookies are left' (plural).

Front

How does the word 'each' affect verb agreement?

Back

The word 'each' is always singular and takes a singular verb, e.g., 'Each of the students has a book.'