Subject Verb Rules and Practice

Subject-Verb Agreement

Subjects and Verbs need to "agree" or match. How do they match? They match in number.
How many people, places, or things are in the subject?

Singular means 1 person, place, or thing.

Plural means 2 or more persons, places, or things.

A singular subject has to have a singular verb.

• teacher

• father

• fan

• dove

• light bulb

• dog

Singular SUBJECTS do not end in "s"

BUT

Singular VERBS do end in "s"

• assigns

• gives

• spins

• coos

• illuminates

• barks

A plural subject has to have a plural verb.

• students

• penguins

• balloons

• trucks

• flowers

• palms

• trees

Plural SUBJECTS end in "s"

BUT

Plural VERBS do not end in "s"

• walk

• wobble

• fly

• honk

• wilt

• sway

Who, That, and Which and other distractors

When "who," "that," or "which" or phrases (prepositional, appositives, etc) come between a subject and a verb, use the noun before it to figure out whether the verb should be singular or plural.

The robot that does Dave's homework is malfunctioning.


The chairs that Dave left on the patio are soaking wet.

​singular noun

​singular verb

​ignore this phrase when matching subject/verb

​plural noun

​ignore this phrase when matching subject/verb

​plural verb

Agreement with Compound Subjects

1. Two or more subjects joined by and: take a plural verb.

   1. However, if "and" joins a compound subject referring to one individual, it takes a singular verb.

2. When a compound subject is joined by "or, nor, neither": the verb agrees with the subject closest to it

Agreement with indefinite pronouns

• ​Singular indefinite pronouns take the singular verb.

  • EXAMPLE: Everyone in the class supports the teacher.

• Indefinite pronouns such as few , many, and several are plural and take plural verbs.

• Examples:

  • Both of my dogs have collars.

  • Several of my friends are sick.

​The singular or plural indefinite pronouns require you to see what the pronoun is referring to to determine singular/plural verb.

other agreement rule...

1. Use a singular verb with distances, periods of time, sums of money, etc. when considered as a unit.

   1. Ex. Three miles is too far to walk.

   2. Ex. One hundred dollars is a lot of money.

   3. Ex. Seven hours went by fast.

Multiple Choice

Mr. Melton ____ on the computers in the morning.

• switches

• switch

Multiple Choice

The shepherd AND his sheep ____ to the village.

• return

• returns

Multiple Choice

Anybody who is interested in boats ____ to know how to swim.

• need

• needs

Multiple Choice

Macaroni and cheese ____ Nick's favorite meal.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

There ____ twenty students in my French class.

• are

• is

Multiple Choice

A. Making Verbs Agree in Number with Subjects

Choose the verb that agrees with the subject in each sentence.

In our city, many buildings ---- beautiful, tall towers.

• has

• have

Multiple Choice

A. Making Verbs Agree in Number with Subjects

Choose the verb that agrees with the subject in each sentence.

Matthew often ---- the four flights of stairs for exercise.

• climb

• climbs

Multiple Choice

B. Using Verbs That Agree with Compound Subjects

Choose the verb that agrees with the subject in each sentence.

Roses and petunias ---- the walk to our front door.

• lines

• line

Multiple Choice

D. Making Verbs Agree with Indefinite Pronoun Subjects

Choose the verb that agrees with the subject in each sentence.

Across the nation, many --- by the great man's death.

• is saddened

• are saddened

Multiple Choice

She _____ home if she _____ time.

• drive / has
• will drive / has
• will drive / have
• will drive / had

Multiple Choice

Spadefish are animals that live in waters in the United States and the Caribbean. Spadefish are truly beautiful creatures. In the Atlantic Ocean ______ schools of spadefish, to many a diver's delight.

• has swum

• swims

• is swimming

• swim

Multiple Choice

When ______ leaves for work in the morning, he makes sure to pack his thermos. What noun or pronoun should be placed in the blank?

• I

• students

• they

• Frank

Multiple Choice

Which verb or verb phrase best fits in the sentence below? Passing near Portland, our father _______ to a man coming out of the bayou.

• speak

• spoke

• speaking

• will speaks

Multiple Choice

Which of the sentences below is written correctly?

• Joe or his parents cleans out the pool before they have pool parties.

• Karen or her sisters is babysitting for the Langfords tomorrow night.

• Either Rick's brothers or Rick mows the neighbor's yard once a week.

• Neither her aunts nor Wendy make the cupcakes for the class picnic.

Multiple Choice

Reading, drawing, and painting (amuses, amuse) Ethan in his spare time.

• amuses

• amuse

Multiple Choice

Neither food nor drinks (is, are) permitted in the library.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

The ventriloquist and his puppet (was, were) the star of the show!

• was

• were

Multiple Choice

Neither my mom nor my dad (was, were) able to come to the show.

• was

• were

Multiple Choice

Hannah's teacher, who happens to be a former astronaut, ____ amazing stories to tell.

• has

• have

Multiple Choice

The books that the student borrowed from the library ____ long overdue.

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

Which group ____ going to present first?

• is

• are

Multiple Choice

Each year, Americans _(throws/throw)_ away more than 1 million tons of Styrofoam.

• throw
• throws

Multiple Choice

Marine life _(has/have)_ increased fivefold turning Cabo Pulmo into a tourist attraction, making it the most successful marine reserve in the world.

• has
• have