Mini Grammar Lesson: Subject-Verb Agreement

Today, I’m going to discuss one of the most frequently broken grammatical rules: subject-verb agreement. I’m going to start with the basics, so readers who feel confident in their knowledge of subjects and verbs may want to skip to the section on complex subjects like those that contain “and,” “or,” “nor,” fractions, percentages, or indefinite quantities.

The Basics

The subject of a sentence is the person or thing that is performing an action. The action is demonstrated with a verb. 

The subject and verb of a sentence must agree in number. This means if the subject is singular, you use a singular verb, and if the subject is plural, you use a plural verb. 

Forming Singular and Plural Verbs

While plural nouns often end in “-s” or “-es,” plural verbs do not. Adding an “-s” to a verb actually makes it singular (in most cases). 

Examples: 

• She shares the bread.
  • “She” is the subject, and it is singular since it refers to one person. The verb, or action, in the sentence is “shares.” “Shares” is a singular verb, so the subject and verb of this sentence agree. 
• The kids share the bread.
  • Here, “the kids” are the subject, which is plural since there is more than one kid. The verb “share” with no “-s” is also plural, so this sentence is also in agreement. 

“Be,” “Have” and “Do” Verbs

The exceptions to the “-s” verb rule are “be,” “have,” and “do” verbs. The charts below demonstrate how to conjugate these types of verbs.

Complex Subjects

Where things get tricky is with subjects that are a bit less straightforward. 

Subjects With “And”

Okay, we’ll start with an easy one. When a compound subject is joined by “and,” always treat it as plural. 

Example:

• The students and their teacher wait outside during the fire drill.
  • Remember, “wait” with no “-s” is plural. “Waits,” as in “The teacher waits,” is singular. 

Subjects With “Or” or “Nor”

When a compound subject is joined by either “or” or “nor” (that’s a tongue twister), you will look at the part of the subject closest to the verb. If that portion is singular, use a singular verb. If it’s plural, use a plural verb. Sometimes, this results in a sentence that doesn’t sound quite natural. That’s why so many people get this rule wrong—but I promise this is the rule (you can look it up)!

Examples:

• The doctors or the nurse has to greet new patients.
• The nurse or the doctors have to greet new patients.
  • Both of the sentences above are correct. The verb changes based on the position of the two parts of the subject. In my opinion, the second version sounds more natural, so if I needed to use this sentence for some reason, that’s the one I’d go with.

• Neither the president nor his advisors agree on the new policy.
• Neither the advisors nor the president agrees on the new policy.
  • Both are correct, but I would use the first version, as it flows better to me.

• Either the teachers or the principal is speaking at the event. 
• Either the principal or the teachers are speaking at the event.
  • Both of the sentences above are correct. To confirm, read only the portion of the sentence that comes after “or.”

Subjects With Fractions, Percentages, or Indefinite Quantifiers

When a subject contains a fraction (2/3), a percentage (67%) or an indefinite quantifier (all, some, few, many, etc.), look to the noun it is referring to. If this noun is singular, use a singular subject; if it is plural, use a plural verb. 

Examples:

• Two-thirds of the cake has been eaten.
• Three-fourths of the cookies have been eaten.
• Sixty-seven percent of the report is complete.
• Eighty-two percent of the students are present.
• Some of the chairs are stacked.
• All of the ice cream is melted.

Check Your Understanding 

Try these on your own!

1. The dogs bark/barks at strangers.
2. The manager and the assistant is/are preparing for the meeting.
3. Either the presidents or the CEO is/are attending the event. 
4. All of the sugar was/were used in the recipe.

(Scroll to the bottom of the page for the answers.)

Check Your Understanding Answers: 1. Bark, 2. Are, 3. Is, 4. Was

Still having trouble? An editor can help. Book a call or shoot me an email at [email protected].

Check out some of our other grammar mini lessons!

• Plurals vs Possessives
• Who vs That
• Commonly Confused Words
• Sentence Structure

Ashlyn Anderson

Owner of Aha! Editorial
Let’s talk about your writing project: https://calendly.com/ashlyn-ahaeditorial