Subject-verb agreement

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In English, verbs agree with their subjects, which is called subject-verb agreement or concord. Verbs agree with subjects with regard to person and number. The main focus of this article is 3rd person, as this causes most difficulties for writers and for learners of English.

  • 1st: First person singular I
  • 1pl: First person plural we
  • 2sg/2pl: Second person singular/plural you
  • 3sg: Third person singular he, she, it
  • 3pl: Third person plural they


Regular verbs uses the base form for all these, except for the -s ending for third person singular (3sg), e.g.:

  • She goes, she is going, she is gone.

Some irregular verbs have special forms for just the 3sg.

  • is, has, does

At least one common irregular verb, the be verb, as special forms for the 1sg and 3sg in the simple past.

  • I was, you were, she was, we were, they were


Simple agreement can be seen in the following examples.

  1. The fly is now on the bagel.
  2. The flies are now on the bagel.
  3. The fly was on the bagel.
  4. The flies were on the bagel.
  5. The fly is eating the bagel.
  6. The flies are eating the bagel.
  7. A politician generally lies.
  8. Politicians generally lie.
  9. A stoplight is a device that turns red when you approach it.
  10. Stoplights are devices that turn red when you approach them.


Writers and learners need to be wary of the following situations that cause confusion.


1 Predicates

Subject complements

Subject complements are the noun phrases of predicates after a linking verb (copula) like forms of the verbs to be.

  1. The gift that he gave to his coworker was dishes.


2 Collective nouns

In Commonwealth English (of the UK, Australia and New Zealand), nouns with a group or collective meaning can be treat as plural, while these are more strictly singular in American English.

  1. I know that our government is / are letting our troops down.
  2. The city council has / have decided to acquire the abandoned property.
  3. The soccer team is / are playing quite well this year.
  4. If the new band becomes / become popular, they will to on tour next month.
  5. The committee has / have decided on a new manager.
  6. The United States is / are sending a new ambassador.


3 Prepositional phrases

Verbs do not agree with nouns in prepositional phrases before the verb. A check mark ✔️ indicates a correct form; a red X indicates an incorrect form.

  1. ✔️ High levels of mercury occur in some fish.
  2. X High levels of mercury occurs in some fish.
  3. ✔️ High levels of heavy metal occur in some lakes here.
  4. X High levels of heavy metal occurs in some lakes here.
  5. ✔️ A high level of heavy metal occurs in some lakes here.
  6. X A high level of heavy metal occur in some lakes here.


4 Factual & conceptual subjects

Subjects like these may not be quite as they seem, or their agreement may depend on the intended meaning.

Singular nouns that look like plurals
  1. Mumps was once a common disease before vaccinations.


Numerical subjects
  1. Two plus two is four.
  2. Five euros is equal to a little more than six dollars.


Amounts and quantities

Expressions of quantity or amount are considered a single unit and require a singular verb, such as noun phrases referring to measurements, amounts of money, or units of time.

  1. Five euros is the sale price for those socks.
  2. Eight hundred meters is not a long jog.
  3. Seventeen minutes is what the instructions say.


Conceptual subjects

Here the agreement depends on the intended meaning, and both options are possible depending on the speaker's intention. "Many cars on the road" could refer to the plurality of cars, or to the situation of many cars being on the road; "high production costs" could refer to the costs themselves, or to the situation more generally.

  1. Many cars on the road mean/means many traffic accidents.
  2. High production costs prevent/prevents reasonable consumer prices.


5 Compound & coordinate subjects

Compound subjects

Compound subjects consist of two more more nouns joined with and, which usually take a plural verb.

  1. Vanilla and cinnamon are delicious together.


If both nouns of the compound subject refer to the same thing, then the verb is singular.

  1. The creator and producer of the film was hurt by an accident while filming.
  2. The cause of and solution to all our problems is alcohol.


This agreement rule for compound subjects is more noticeably violated, especially in colloquial English, when the compound subject logically refers to, or is intended to refer to, two things that form a singular whole. That is, the compound subject refers to a singular concept.

  1. Bacon and eggs is my favorite breakfast.


Coordinate noun phrases

These are noun phrases joined by or, and the verb usually agrees with the last noun.

  1. The British guy or the Frenchman are going to win.
  2. The Frenchmen or the British guy is going to win.
  3. Either the Brit or the Frenchmen are going to win.


6 Indefinites and partitives

Indefinite pronouns


Partitives


7 Sentence inversion

Inverted sentences

Inverted sentences are sentences where a prepositional phrase, adverb phrase, or adjective phrase begins the sentence, followed immediately by the verb, with the subject placed right after the verb. This is done for narrative effect. The verb must still agree with the subject, and not with the inverted phrase.

  1. On the fields stands a solitary flag. (flag stands)
  2. On the field stand several flags. (flags stand)


There is/are

In sentences beginning with there is/are, the subject comes after the verb. These are essentially inverted sentences, and again, the verb agrees with the following subject.

  1. There is a unicorn in my garden! (unicorn is)
  2. There are leprechauns in my garden! (leprechauns are)"