Subject-Verb Agreement: 20 Rules You Need to Know

Subject verb agreement is one of the most fundamental rules in English grammar: the subject and verb in a sentence must agree in number. A singular subject takes a singular verb; a plural subject takes a plural verb. The concept sounds simple, but in practice, many sentences make agreement tricky — intervening phrases, inverted word order, indefinite pronouns, and collective nouns can all obscure the true subject and lead to errors.

This guide presents 20 rules of subject-verb agreement, organized from basic to advanced. Master these rules and you will handle agreement correctly in even the most complex sentences.

The Basics of Subject-Verb Agreement

In English, verbs change form based on whether the subject is singular or plural. In the present tense, the most visible change is the addition of "-s" or "-es" to the verb for third-person singular subjects:

• The dog runs. (singular subject, singular verb)
• The dogs run. (plural subject, plural verb)

Notice the counterintuitive pattern: in English, adding "-s" to a noun makes it plural (dog → dogs), but adding "-s" to a verb makes it singular (run → runs). This reversal is a common source of confusion for English learners.

Rules 1–5: Fundamental Agreement

Rule 1: Singular subjects take singular verbs; plural subjects take plural verbs.

• "The cat sits on the mat." (singular)
• "The cats sit on the mat." (plural)

Rule 2: The subject, not words between the subject and verb, determines agreement.

Prepositional phrases, relative clauses, and other modifiers between the subject and verb do not change the number of the subject:

• "The bouquet of roses is beautiful." (Subject is "bouquet," not "roses.")
• "The students in the class are excited." (Subject is "students.")
• "The quality of the essays was impressive." (Subject is "quality.")

Rule 3: Phrases such as "together with," "along with," "as well as," and "in addition to" do not change the subject's number.

• "The teacher, along with the students, is going on the trip." (Subject is "teacher.")
• "The CEO, as well as the board members, was present." (Subject is "CEO.")

Rule 4: Subjects joined by "and" are usually plural.

• "The dog and the cat are friends."
• "Bread and butter are on the table."

Rule 5: When two subjects joined by "and" refer to the same person or thing, or form a single concept, use a singular verb.

• "My friend and mentor is here." (one person who is both friend and mentor)
• "Peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich." (one concept)
• "The rise and fall of the Roman Empire is a fascinating subject." (one topic)

Rules 6–10: Compound Subjects

Rule 6: With "or" and "nor," the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.

• "Either the teacher or the students are responsible." (closest: students → plural)
• "Either the students or the teacher is responsible." (closest: teacher → singular)
• "Neither the dogs nor the cat likes the rain." (closest: cat → singular)

Rule 7: "Either" and "neither" as singular subjects take singular verbs.

• "Either is acceptable." (Either one)
• "Neither was correct." (Neither one)

Rule 8: "Each," "every," and "many a" before a subject make it singular.

• "Each student has a textbook."
• "Every man, woman, and child deserves respect."
• "Many a researcher has struggled with this problem."

Rule 9: Subjects preceded by "each of," "one of," "every one of" take singular verbs.

• "Each of the students has submitted an assignment."
• "One of the cookies is missing."
• "Every one of the contestants was talented."

Rule 10: "A number of" takes a plural verb; "the number of" takes a singular verb.

• "A number of students were absent." ("A number of" = many)
• "The number of students was surprising." ("The number" = a specific quantity)

Rules 11–15: Indefinite Pronouns and Special Nouns

Rule 11: Singular indefinite pronouns take singular verbs.

These pronouns are always singular: anyone, everyone, someone, no one, anybody, everybody, somebody, nobody, anything, everything, something, nothing, each, either, neither.

• "Everyone is welcome."
• "Nobody knows the answer."
• "Something seems wrong."

Rule 12: Plural indefinite pronouns take plural verbs.

These pronouns are always plural: both, few, many, several, others.

• "Both are correct."
• "Few have survived."
• "Several were damaged."

Rule 13: Some indefinite pronouns can be singular or plural depending on context.

These pronouns can go either way: all, any, more, most, none, some. Their number depends on what they refer to:

• "All of the cake is gone." (cake = singular)
• "All of the cookies are gone." (cookies = plural)
• "Some of the water has spilled." (water = singular)
• "Some of the glasses have broken." (glasses = plural)

Rule 14: Collective nouns can take singular or plural verbs depending on meaning.

Collective nouns (team, family, group, committee, audience, jury) are singular when the group acts as a unit and plural when members act individually:

• "The team is winning the championship." (acting as one unit)
• "The team are arguing among themselves." (acting as individuals — more common in British English)

American English generally treats collective nouns as singular; British English is more flexible.

Rule 15: Nouns that are plural in form but singular in meaning take singular verbs.

• "The news is encouraging."
• "Mathematics is my favorite subject."
• "Economics deals with the allocation of resources."
• "Measles is a dangerous disease."

Rules 16–20: Tricky Cases

Rule 16: In sentences beginning with "there" or "here," the subject follows the verb.

Look after the verb to find the true subject:

• "There is a cat on the roof." (subject: a cat → singular)
• "There are three cats on the roof." (subject: three cats → plural)
• "Here comes the bus." (subject: the bus → singular)

Rule 17: In questions, the subject often comes between the auxiliary verb and the main verb.

• "Does she know the answer?" (subject: she → singular)
• "Have the results been published?" (subject: results → plural)

Rule 18: Titles of books, movies, and other works take singular verbs, even if the title is plural.

• "The Grapes of Wrath is a classic novel."
• "Star Wars was released in 1977."

Rule 19: Amounts of money, time, and distance usually take singular verbs when considered as a unit.

• "Fifty dollars is a lot for a T-shirt."
• "Three hours is too long to wait."
• "Ten miles is a reasonable commute."

Rule 20: "Who," "which," and "that" take verbs that agree with their antecedent.

• "She is the student who has the highest score." (antecedent: student → singular)
• "They are the students who have the highest scores." (antecedent: students → plural)
• "It is one of those problems that are difficult to solve." (antecedent: problems → plural)

Common Agreement Errors

Even experienced writers make subject-verb agreement errors. Here are the patterns that cause the most trouble:

• Intervening phrases: "The box of chocolates were on the table" should be "was on the table" (subject is "box").
• "There is" with plural subjects: "There's many reasons" should be "There are many reasons."
• Collective nouns: "The team are playing well" is acceptable in British English but should be "The team is playing well" in American English when the team acts as a unit.
• "None": "None of the students has arrived" (singular emphasis) and "None of the students have arrived" (plural emphasis) are both acceptable, though style guides disagree on which is preferred.

Subject-verb agreement may seem like a minor detail, but errors in agreement undermine your credibility and distract from your message. The 20 rules in this guide cover every common situation. When you are unsure, find the true subject of the sentence, determine whether it is singular or plural, and match the verb accordingly.