1. What Is Subject-Verb Agreement?

Subject-verb agreement refers to the rule that the subject of a sentence must agree in number with the verb. This means that:

• A singular subject takes a singular verb.
• A plural subject takes a plural verb.

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2. Singular and Plural Subjects

• Singular subject: refers to one person, place, thing, or idea.
• Examples: The boy, a cat, my friend, the car
• Plural subject: refers to more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
• Examples: The boys, many cats, my friends, the cars

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3. Singular and Plural Verbs

• Singular verb: Often ends in -s or -es in the present tense.
• Examples: eats, runs, drives, is
• Plural verb: Does not end in -s in the present tense.
• Examples: eat, run, drive, are

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4. Basic Rules of Subject-Verb Agreement

a. Singular subjects take singular verbs:

• Example: The cat runs across the yard.
• (Here, “cat” is singular, so the verb “runs” is also singular.)

b. Plural subjects take plural verbs:

• Example: The cats run across the yard.
• (Here, “cats” is plural, so the verb “run” is also plural.)

c. Subjects joined by “and” are plural:

• Example: Jack and Jill are going up the hill.
• (Two subjects joined by “and” are treated as plural.)

d. Subjects joined by “or” or “nor” agree with the subject closest to the verb:

• Example: Either the teacher or the students are responsible.
• (The verb “are” agrees with the plural noun “students,” which is closest to the verb.)
• Example: Either the students or the teacher is responsible.
• (The verb “is” agrees with the singular noun “teacher.”)

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5. Special Cases in Subject-Verb Agreement

a. Indefinite pronouns:

Some indefinite pronouns are always singular and take a singular verb.

• Examples: everyone, someone, nobody, each
• Example sentence: Everyone is excited about the trip.

However, some indefinite pronouns are always plural and take a plural verb.

• Examples: both, few, several, many
• Example sentence: Both are attending the meeting.

b. Collective nouns:

Collective nouns (e.g., team, group, family) are usually treated as singular if they refer to the group as a whole.

• Example: The team is winning.

If the collective noun refers to individuals within the group, it can be treated as plural.

• Example: The team are arguing among themselves.

c. Titles and names of singular entities:

Titles of books, movies, or singular entities, even if they sound plural, take a singular verb.

• Example: “The Hunger Games” is a popular movie.

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6. Common Errors in Subject-Verb Agreement

a. Confusion with intervening phrases:

Ignore phrases or clauses that come between the subject and the verb.

• Example: The book, along with the notes, is on the table.
• (Here, “book” is the subject, and the verb must agree with “book.”)

b. Mistaking plural nouns in prepositional phrases:

The subject of the sentence is not in a prepositional phrase. The verb agrees with the subject, not the object of the preposition.

• Example: The group of students is meeting after class.
• (Here, “group” is the subject, not “students.”)

c. Compound subjects with “each” or “every”:

Subjects preceded by “each” or “every” are treated as singular.

• Example: Every student and teacher is required to attend.

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7. How to Identify and Correct Errors in Subject-Verb Agreement

Step 1: Find the subject.

• Look for the main noun that the verb is describing.

Step 2: Determine if the subject is singular or plural.

• Is the subject one thing or more than one thing?

Step 3: Ensure the verb matches the subject.

• If the subject is singular, the verb should be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb should be plural.

Step 4: Check for special cases.

• Look out for indefinite pronouns, collective nouns, and compound subjects to apply the correct rule.

Example of Identifying and Correcting:

• Incorrect: The group of students are planning a trip.
• (Here, the subject “group” is singular, so the correct verb is “is.”)
• Correct: The group of students is planning a trip.