ERROR 3: SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT ERRORS
Definition
Subject-verb agreement means that the verb in a sentence must match its subject in number. A singular subject takes a singular verb form, and a plural subject takes a plural verb form. In English, for most regular verbs in the present tense, the singular third-person form adds an -s or -es (she walks, it seems, he goes), while the plural form does not (they walk, these seem, people go).
Agreement errors occur when the writer uses a plural verb with a singular subject or vice versa. This often happens when the subject and verb are separated by long phrases, when the subject is an indefinite pronoun (everyone, anyone, neither), when the subject appears to be plural but is grammatically singular (the news, mathematics, a pair), or when the sentence uses a compound subject joined by ‘or’ or ‘nor.’
Subject-verb agreement errors are particularly common when the subject is a collective noun (team, committee, government, family), which is singular in American English but sometimes treated as plural in British English. In American English, ‘the team is playing’ is correct, not ‘the team are playing.’
Rules
RULE: Find the true subject of the sentence — not the noun in a prepositional phrase between the subject and verb — and make the verb agree with that subject.
RULE: Indefinite pronouns like everyone, everyone, nobody, nothing, each, either, and neither are always singular and take singular verbs.
RULE: Collective nouns (team, class, committee, government, family, group) take singular verbs in American English.
RULE: When subjects are joined by ‘or’ or ‘nor,’ the verb agrees with the subject closest to it.
RULE: Subjects that appear plural but are grammatically singular (news, mathematics, physics, economics, the United States) take singular verbs.
Examples
✗ The list of requirements are very long.
✓ The list of requirements is very long. [The subject is ‘list,’ not ‘requirements.’]
✗ Everyone in the three departments have submitted their forms.
✓ Everyone in the three departments has submitted their forms. [‘Everyone’ is singular.]
✗ Neither the manager nor the employees was informed.
✓ Neither the manager nor the employees were informed. [Verb agrees with closest subject: ’employees.’]
✗ The committee have decided to postpone the meeting.
✓ The committee has decided to postpone the meeting. [Collective noun is singular in American English.]
✗ The news about the elections are disturbing.
✓ The news about the elections is disturbing. [‘News’ is singular.]
✗ Each of the proposals include a detailed budget.
✓ Each of the proposals includes a detailed budget. [‘Each’ is singular.]
✗ There is several reasons why this plan will succeed.
✓ There are several reasons why this plan will succeed. [The subject is ‘reasons,’ which is plural.]
✗ A box of chocolates were given to each guest.
✓ A box of chocolates was given to each guest. [The subject is ‘box,’ not ‘chocolates.’]
✗ Mathematics are not my strongest subject.
✓ Mathematics is not my strongest subject. [‘Mathematics’ is a singular noun.]
✗ The number of applications have doubled since last year.
✓ The number of applications has doubled since last year. [‘The number’ is singular; compare ‘a number of applications have…’ which is plural.]
Extended Dialogue
In this dialogue, English teacher Ms. Holloway works with her student, Amir, on subject-verb agreement errors in his paragraph about education.
Ms. Holloway: Amir, your argument is really compelling. Let me point out some agreement issues. What’s the subject of your opening sentence?
Amir: I wrote: ‘The quality of public schools in low-income neighborhoods are declining.’ The subject is… schools?
[Note: The subject is ‘quality’ — a singular noun. ‘Schools’ is inside a prepositional phrase (‘of public schools in low-income neighborhoods’) and cannot be the subject.]
Ms. Holloway: Not quite. Look at the sentence structure. ‘The quality’ is the subject. Everything after it — ‘of public schools in low-income neighborhoods’ — is a prepositional phrase describing ‘quality.’ So the verb should be ‘is declining.’
Amir: Oh! The phrase between the subject and verb threw me off.
Ms. Holloway: That’s one of the most common reasons for this error. Always find the core subject by stripping away any phrases between it and the verb.
Amir: What about: ‘Neither the principal nor the teachers was aware of the new policy’?
[Note: When ‘neither/nor’ joins two subjects, the verb agrees with the closer one — ‘teachers,’ which is plural.]
Ms. Holloway: The verb should be ‘were,’ not ‘was.’ When you use ‘neither…nor,’ the verb agrees with the noun closest to it. ‘Teachers’ is plural, so ‘were.’
Amir: And what about this sentence: ‘The school board have rejected the proposal’?
Ms. Holloway: In American English, ‘the school board’ is a collective noun and takes a singular verb. You’d say ‘has rejected.’ In British English, you might see ‘have,’ but in American writing, collective nouns like board, committee, team, and jury are singular.
Amir: I also wrote ‘everyone on the teaching staff need additional training.’
[Note: ‘Everyone’ is always singular, even though it seems to refer to many people.]
Ms. Holloway: That’s a very common mistake. ‘Everyone’ is always singular — ‘needs.’ Even though it refers to many people, grammatically it is ‘one’ person — every one. Same with ‘nobody,’ ‘each,’ ‘either,’ and ‘neither’ when they stand alone.
Amir: This is so confusing. My brain keeps looking at the meaning rather than the grammar.
Ms. Holloway: Exactly the problem. English subject-verb agreement is grammatical, not always logical. You have to train yourself to ask: ‘What is the grammatical subject?’ — not ‘What is this sentence about?’
About the Author
