Subject Verb Agreement

Four main reasons for problems

1. Having extra words or phrases which come between the subject and the verb is one of the most common reasons for subjects and verbs not to agree.

The idea of using choker collars to control dogs in these situations offend offends many people.
Reading books with lots of pictures are is more fun than those without.

2. Not knowing which pronouns are singular or plural, and compound words and ideas.

Both David and Susan is are coming to the party.
Neither of the students like likes to come to the late lecture.

3. Another problem occurs when a sentence is started with ‘there’ or ‘here’ and the subject comes after the verb.

Here’s their addresses.
Here are their addresses.
There’s going to be a lot of storms this year.
There are going to be a lot of storms this year.
(This seems to be occurring more and more often, generally due to laziness and because the contraction ‘there’s’ is much easier to say than ‘there are’)

4. A relative clause where it might not be clear what the relative pronoun is referring back to.

The countries in the European Union which are more prosperous have fewer problems trading.
The country’s deficit, which is quite high, is hindering the people's chance of importing cheap goods.

Parenthetical additions to a sentence (extra information) do does not change the verb needed. Ignore any information and nouns given in these. Often they start with: instead of, as well as, in addition to, rather than, along with.

Mrs Brown, instead of the usual group of managers, is going to give her feedback on the new product.
The CEO, as well as the board of directors, was late to the meeting.

Countable or Uncountable / Singular or Plural

Be wary of words that look plural, but are uncountable and take a singular verb:

That pair doesn’t suit you. (of trousers / glasses)
Maths was my best subject.
The news is not all bad.

Be wary of words that look singular but are really plurals (usually Latin words)

The criteria for this assignment are especially difficult.
The data received from NASA were used to recalibrate the machine.

Some nouns used for a collective group can be thought of as either representing the entity or each individual person. They can, therefore, be singular or plural and so the correct verb form must be chosen, and in some cases either verb form is correct. Some words that fit this pattern: team, group, staff, faculty, class, committee, family, audience.

The team think that winning is everything. (All the people on the team)
The team thinks that winning is everything. (The entity)
The government is altering its policy soon. (A collective noun that is treating the group as a single entity, uses a singular verb)

Everyone, everything, nobody, someone, no, every, each, neither, either, anyone, none

These pronouns must take a singular verb and any other pronoun which refers back to them must also be singular.

Neither of the students likes doing homework.
Everything in the rooms is monitored by security cameras.

Either…or, neither…nor

The verb agrees with the noun closest to it.

Neither John nor Dave knows where he is.
Either the government or the people are going to have their way after the results of the referendum are in. (people is plural)

And

This makes the subject plural. (Substitute ‘they’ for the subject to make it easier)

My secretary and my typist waste a lot of time on email. (note the extra ‘my’ before typist to show this is a separate person)
Sandie and Sally have always bought extravagant gifts.
(Compare this with ‘or’)
Skiing or sailing is my favourite sport.

All, some, most, none, any, more. (or used with ‘of…’)

The noun tells us whether the verb is singular or plural.

All of the workers were happy about the new pay increase.
All of the cake was eaten before they arrived.

Some of the coffee is hot.
Some of the coffees are hot.

Most Australians are easy-going.
Most paper is white.

‘One of…’

A relative pronoun which starts a clause following this phrase is always referring back to the plural noun, so always takes a plural verb.

He’s one of those people who likes like grammar.
(Compare this with a straight sentence with no clause.)
One of the students in my class really likes punctuation.

Many, few, several, both, others

These take a plural verb.

Both David and Suzie were married in Canada.
Several awards are given every year.

If a subject contains both a plural and a singular noun, and one is positive and one negative, it doesn’t matter which one is closer to the verb (as in the case with neither…nor, either…or). The positive noun decides the verb.

The president not the senators is going to open congress.
The senators and not the president are going to open congress.

Here are 2 excellent sites for more examples of subject-verb agreement, mistakes to avoid, and an abundance of activities to do to check your understanding.

• Sentence Sense Unit 12