The subject is the person who performs the action or about whom the sentence is talking about. Verb is the action. The verb of a sentence must agree with the subject of the sentence in number and person.
Agreement between a subject and a verb occurs when both are singular or both plural. In simple words, a singular subject should have a singular verb while a plural subject should have a plural verb.
Let’s learn some rules that would help us in Error Detection.
Rule A: a singular subject should have a singular verb while a plural subject should have a plural verb.
Example: These clothes are too small for me. (Plural Subject- clothes ; Plural verb- are)
Rule B: In the simple present tense, when there is a singular subject, always add s/es in the main verb. Example: talk=talks; stay=stays
Example: My sister stays in London, she is a working professional.
The sentence is in simple present. Sister is the subject; followed by s added to the main verb stay=stays.
Example: She writes every day.
Rule C: In the simple present tense, when the subject is plural, or it is I and you, s/es is not to be added.
Example: My relatives stay in London, they are working professionals.
Example: They write every day.
Types of Agreement
A subject-verb agreement is applicable to:
- Nouns and their verbs
- Pronouns and their verbs
- Adjectives and the nouns they modify
- Prepositions and the verb(s) they govern.
Based on the above pairings, the agreement is needed on terms of- Tense, Number or Case
- Tense indicates the time of action.
- Number indicates singular or plural
- Case indicates what roles a word is playing in the sentence like noun, pronoun etc.
Rules for Subject Verb Agreement
Rule 1: Compound Subjects
When there is more than one subject and are joined by and, then the verb takes the plural form.
Example: Rohit and Virat are good at playing hook shot.
Explanation: Rohit and Virat form a compound subject and hence the verb is used in plural form i.e are.
Rule 2: Subject and Verb may be separated by an accompanying phrase without changing the agreement.
Some examples of accompanying phrase: Together with, along with, as well as, accompanied by.
Example: Rohit, as well as other Indian cricketers, is watching the cricket match live from the stadium.
Here the subject Rohit and the verb is, has been separated by the accompanying phrase “as well as”.
So the verb “is” has to agree only to Rohit and not to Rohit and other Indian Cricketers and hence the use of “is” is correct here.
Rule 3: Phrases or words separated by ‘and’ are plural. Phrases separated by OR, NOR are singular.
Example 1: My teacher, friends and I are going to picnic.
Subject: here we have three subjects: teacher, friends and I, hence plural form of verb i.e are has been used.
Example 2: My mom or dad is coming to the play.
Subject: Mom or Dad; because of use of OR, we will use a singular verb here i.e is.
Rule 4: Collective Noun and Verb Agreement
What is a collective noun- a collective noun denotes a group of individuals (e.g. assembly, family, crew, panel, committee, etc )
Collective nouns are referred to as a singular form when they act in a collective way (united way) or represent one group.
They act as a plural form when the members of the collective noun act as individuals.
Example 1: The pack of dogs (was/were) running off in different directions.
Since the collective noun- pack of dogs- are having a different behaviour hence we will use the plural verb i.e were.
Hence the correct sentence is: The pack of dogs were running off in different directions.
Example 2: A huge swarm of locusts (has/have) destroyed the crops.
Here the collective noun- swarm of locusts- have done the same thing, i.e destroyed the crops, hence we will use singular verb i.e has.
Hence the correct sentence is: A huge swarm of locusts has destroyed the crops.
Rule 5: Rule of Proximity in case of Either Or, Neither Nor, Or, Not Only But Also
When the two subjects are joined by using the following:
- Either … Or
- Neither… Nor
- Or
- Not only… But also
Then the verb should agree with the subject that is closer to the verb.
Example: Either the teacher or the students (is/are) fool.
Here the verb (is/are) is closer to students which is plural and hence plural form i.e are is to be used.
The correct statement is: Either the teacher or the students are fool.
Example: Either the students or the teacher (is/are) fool.
Here the verb (is/are) is closer to the teacher which is singular and hence plural form i.e “is” is to be used.
The correct statement is: Either the students or the teacher is fool.
Rule 6: Indefinite Pronouns always take a singular form of verb.
Indefinite pronouns will always take the singular form of verb irrespective of the form of the noun closer to them. However, there are exceptions that we will see in rule 7.
Example of indefinite pronouns– one, anyone, anybody, anything, everyone, no one, nobody, someone, somebody, something, everybody, everyone, another, the other, either, neither, each, little, less, much many a, whatever, whoever
These will always take a singular verb form.
Example: One of the prisoners (is/are) missing.
Because of the use of the indefinite pronoun, “ONE OF THE”… we will use singular verb i.e IS.
Correct statement: One of the prisoners is missing.
Example: Either of the students (has/have) completed the homework.
Correct Statement is: Either of the students has completed the homework.
Rule 7: Exceptions of Indefinite Pronouns
The following Indefinite Pronouns can have either a singular or plural verb depending on the context of the sentence. These are: Any, All, Some, Most, More and None.
Example: All of the cake is gone. (Since all refers to a single cake, means all part of cake is finished)
None of the apples have spoiled. (None refers to apples which is plural and hence plural form of verb I.e have is used)
Rule 8: Plural Pronouns
There are few pronouns which always use a plural verb. These are: both, few, fewer, many, others, several.
Example: Both, Rohit and Rahul, are planning to attend the cricket practise session.