Definition · Plain-language
Subject-verb agreement
Subject-verb agreement is the grammatical rule that the verb in a sentence must match its subject in number — singular subjects take singular verbs, and plural subjects take plural verbs.
The step most authors miss
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The core rule and the most common tricky cases
The fundamental rule is straightforward: one subject, one verb form. "The dog barks" (singular); "the dogs bark" (plural). The difficulty comes when something sits between the subject and the verb, tempting writers to make the verb agree with the nearest noun instead of the true subject. In "the results of the experiment are clear", the subject is results (plural), not experiment, so are is correct. Similarly, phrases like along with, together with and as well as are not coordinating conjunctions and do not make a subject plural: "the principal, along with his staff, is attending". Mastering subject-verb agreement means learning to identify the real subject before choosing the verb form.
Collective nouns, indefinite pronouns and inverted sentences
Collective nouns (team, government, committee, audience) take a singular verb in American English ("the team is ready") but may take plural in British English when the members are acting individually ("the team are arguing among themselves"). Context and house style decide. Indefinite pronouns divide into groups: each, every, everyone, somebody, nobody, either and neither are singular; few, many, both and several are plural; all, any, more, most, none and some can go either way depending on the noun they refer to. Inverted sentences require care: "There are three reasons" (not "there is") because the subject is three reasons, which is plural. "Here comes the bus" — singular because bus is singular.
Compound subjects and relative clauses
Compound subjects joined by and are plural: "bread and butter are both on the table". But when the two items form a single concept or are thought of as a unit, a singular verb is possible: "bread and butter is all I need" (meaning the combination). When compound subjects are joined by or or nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject: "neither the managers nor the director is responsible"; "neither the director nor the managers are responsible". In relative clauses, the verb agrees with the antecedent: "she is one of those writers who work late" — who refers to writers (plural), so work is correct.
Key facts
At a glance
- Core rule: the verb must agree in number with its subject
- Singular subject → singular verb: she runs; the report shows
- Plural subject → plural verb: they run; the reports show
- Collective nouns: singular in American English; can be plural in British English
- Indefinite pronouns: each, everyone, someone → singular; few, many, both → plural
- Or/nor: verb agrees with the subject closest to it
- Inverted sentences: there are (plural subject); here is (singular subject)
- Relative clauses: agree with the antecedent, not the nearest noun
Common misconceptions
What people often get wrong
Often heard: The verb should agree with the noun nearest to it.
Actually: The verb must agree with the grammatical subject, which is not always the nearest noun. In "the quality of the reports has improved", the subject is quality (singular), not reports, so has is correct.
Often heard: "None" always takes a singular verb.
Actually: None can take either a singular or plural verb depending on context. If it means "not one", use singular ("none of the advice is useful"); if it means "not any", plural is often natural ("none of the students have arrived yet").
Often heard: Compound subjects joined by "or" always take a plural verb.
Actually: With or and nor, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it. "Neither the manager nor the assistants are available" is correct because assistants is plural and nearest to the verb.
Going deeper
