SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

In standard written English, a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject requires
a plural verb. When a writer uses a singular form for one and a plural form for the other, the
subject and verb disagree grammatically.
Disagreement
Military advisors has been sent to Central America.
Fast, effective medical service are one of the major goals of an Area Health Centre.
In the first sentence, the plural subject advisors leads us to expect a plural verb, but instead we
find the singular verb has. In the second sentence, the singular subject service prepares us for a
singular verb, yet the next word is the plural verb are.
To avoid such inconsistencies in your own writing, follow closely the conventions discussed in
the sections that follow.
I. Do not confuse the plural s ending of a noun with the singular s ending of a verb.
An s at the end of a noun almost always signals that the word is plural, whereas an s at the end of
a verb indicates that it is singular. Therefore, if you have written a sentence in which the subject
and verb both end in s, they probably disagree in number.
Disagreement
In the latest air disaster film, two planes flying over a large city collides.
Here, the s at the end of collide is unexpected because the s at the end of plane prepares
us for a plural verb.
Exceptions
1. A few nouns (news, economics, etc.) are plural in form but singular in meaning.
When one of these singular nouns functions as a subject, its verb should also be
singular.
The news from Washington was all bad.
Economics attracts many students on this campus.
2. When a title is the subject of a sentence, the verb should always be singular
even if the title includes a plural noun or pronoun.
Charles Dickens Great Expectations takes place in England.
Jaws has made some people afraid to go in the water.
Note that in both these sentences the subject is the title itself, not the words comprising it.
II. When the subject of a sentence is a collective noun, use a singular verb if the noun refers
to a group as a unit and a plural verb if the noun refers to the individuals comprising a
group.

Collective noun referring to members as a unit

The negotiating team disagrees with the ambassadors policy statement.
Collective noun referring to individual members
The negotiating team disagree about how to respond to the ambassadors policy statement.
In the first sentence above, the verb is singular because the negotiating team is unified in its
disagreement with the ambassadors policy statement. In the second sentence, the verb is plural
because the members of the negotiating team respond differently to the ambassadors statement.
Note: If a plural verb following a collective noun sounds unnatural or awkward to you, modify
the sentence slightly by adding the members of just before the noun:
The members of the negotiating team disagree about how to respond to the
ambassadors decision.
III. When using an indefinite pronoun as subject, choose a verb form that tells the reader
whether the pronoun is singular or plural in meaning.
Some of the liquid in the beaker has spilled on the floor. [Some is a singular quantity
and therefore needs a singular verb.]
Some of the skateboard artists were doing flips as they glided along the sidewalk.
[Some refers to more than one skateboard artist and therefore needs a plural verb.]
Indefinite pronouns which can be either singular or plural are some, none, all, any, and most.
Be sure to make a distinction between these indefinite pronouns and the two other classes of
indefinite pronouns: those which are always plural (several, few, many) and those which are
always singular (each, every, everyone, everybody, somebody, nobody, anybody, one, either,
neither).
Many speak, but few listen.
Everyone has the same problem.
IV. Make the verb in a relative clause agree in number with the antecedent of the relative
pronoun.
Because a relative pronoun (who, which, that, whom, whose) does not have distinctive singular
and plural forms, you must locate the antecedent in order to determine the number of the
pronoun. You can then make a decision about the verbs number and communicate that
information to the reader.
The person who has the most experience will receive first consideration. [singular antecedent
singular verb]
The people who have the most experience will receive first consideration. [plural antecedent
plural verb]

V. To determine the number of a verb with a compound antecedent, note the type of
conjunction(s) used to unite the elements of the compound.
If you form a compound subject with and, make the verb plural; if you join the subjects with or,
nor, eitheror, neithernor, or not onlybut also, make the verb agree with the part of the
compound closest to it.
1. Compound subjects joined by and.
The highway patrol and the national guard were available for emergency duty.
Use a singular verb with such constructions only on the rare occasions when you want to indicate
that the elements joined by and function as one.
The famous pirate and smuggler was capable of evading even the swiftest of
his pursuers.
Here the singular verb is appropriate because it tells the reader that the pirate and the smuggler
are the same person. On the other hand, the use of the singular verb was in the previous example
would be confusing because the highway patrol and the national guard are separate agencies.
2. Compound subjects joined by or, nor, eitheror, neithernor, or not
onlybut also.
Neither reason nor intuitions are infallible.
Either thunderstorms or heavy fog makes driving difficult.
Though technically correct, both of the above sentences would be improved stylistically if both
parts of the compound were the same number.
Neither reason nor intuition is infallible.
Either a thunderstorm or a heavy fog makes driving difficult.
VI. When you use either a single word or a compound as the subject of the verb be, make
the verb agree with the subject, not the complement.
A constant threat to my garden is insects.
In this sentence, some writers might be tempted to use the verb are because the noun closest to it,
insects, is plural. Readers, however, would be confused by are because the subject threat is
singular.
VII. If you invert the usual subject-verb order in a sentence or begin with the expletive
there or here, look to the right of the verb for the subject.
1. Inverted word order.
Alongside the highway were two abandoned automobiles.
In this sentence, the verb were is plural because its subject is automobiles, not highway. The
prepositional phrase alongside the highway serves as an adverb. A good way to test for subject-

verb agreement in an inverted sentence is to consider how the sentence would read if the subject
came first.
Two abandoned automobiles were alongside the highway.
2. Expletive constructions.
There is an extra chair on the porch.
Here are the most colourful, exciting real estate ads.
Notice that in each of the sentences the first word is not the subject but a means by which the
writer defers the subject (chair and ads respectively) until later in the sentence.
To test for subject-verb agreement in clauses beginning with here or there, follow one of these
procedures:
If the sentence begins with there, think about how the sentence should read with the word
deleted.
An extra chair is on the porch.
If the sentence begins with here, try moving the word to the end of the sentence and
repositioning the verb.
The real estate ads are here.
VIII. Do not be distracted by words that come between a subject and its verb.
1. Representatives of a large hotel chain are planning to meet with the Builders
Association.
2. The turntable as well as the speakers is defective.
3. Postponing decisions is one of my worst faults.
Writers who determine the number of a verb by the number of the noun closest to it might use
is instead of are in sentence #1 and substitute are for is in sentences #2 and #3. In sentence #1,
however, the verb should be plural because its subject is representatives; chain, the word
immediately before the verb, is the object of the preposition of.
In sentence #2, the verb is agrees with the singular subject turntable, not with speakers, the
object of the preposition as well as. One option here would be to substitute a coordination
conjunction for the preposition and make the verb plural:
The turntables and the speakers are defective.
In sentence #3, the subject is a verb phrase consisting of a gerund (postponing) and its object
(decisions). In such constructions, the verb should agree with the ing word, not with its object.
Thus is is the appropriate verb because postponing names a single act.

(Prepared by Schontal Moore. Information for this handout is from James W. Kirkland and Collett B. Dilworth, Jr. Concise English
Handbook. Canada: D.C. Heath and Company, 1990.)