Subject and Verb Agreement

In English, the subject and verb of a sentence must both be singular or both be plural—that is, they must “agree.”  Problems may occur in the present tense because then the verbs must end in s or es when the subjects are singular, such as he, she, it, or words for which they could be substituted.  Notice the changes in these examples:

            The soldiers march.  (They march.)                   The soldier marches. (He marches.)

            The young children sing.  (They sing.)    Mary Jones sings.  (She sings.)

            Those birds do not migrate.  (They do not.)       The bird does migrate.  (It does.)

You, as a writer, must be sure that you know what the subjects really are so that you can choose s or es verbs when they are needed.  Here are some helpful hints.

1. You will not find the subject in a modifying phrase:

·        That group of students is going on a field trip.  (The group is going.)

·        The farmer’s corn, as well as his soybeans, was damaged by drought.  (The corn was damaged.)

·        The survey covering seven colleges reveals a growth in enrollment.  (The survey reveals.)

2. If subjects are joined by and, they are considered plural.
   • The quarterback and the coach are having a conference.

3. If subjects are joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the closer subject.
   • Either the actors or the director is at fault.
   • Either the director or the actors are at fault.

4. The pronouns who, whom, which, and that are either singular or plural according to the words they refer to.
   • Tom is a Student who wants to be a lawyer
   • Tom is one of the students who want to major in law.

5. Indefinite pronouns, such as someone, somebody, each, either one, everyone, or anyone, are considered singular in standard written English and need singular verbs.
   • Anyone who fails is given a second chance.
   • Everyone on the committee is welcome to express his ideas.

6. A few nouns can be either plural or singular, depending on whether they mean a group or separate individuals.
   • The jury is sequestered.  The jury are having an argument.

Modern writers rarely use such words as plural.  When writers want a plural meaning, they often use “the members of” the jury, the committee, the team, etc.

7. Sometimes a sentence has the subject after the verb instead of before it.  Be alert to this inverted order and find the true subject.
   • Over the ripples glides a small canoe.  There is a sun-tanned Boy Scout in it. 

8. A few subjects look plural but are really singular, or vice-versa.
   • The news of the discovery is spreading.
   • The mass media have publicized the facts; the data amaze everyone.

9. Fractions, percentages, and words like all or some are affected by their modifiers; they are singular or plural according to their modifiers, in contrast to rule 1.
   • All of the students are here.  All of the water is contaminated.
   • Half of the turkey was left.  Half of the potatoes were left.
   • Seventy percent of the professors have doctoral degrees. 

Seventy percent of the money has been spent.