Subject verb agreement

Problems with Subject-
Verb Agreement
When Subjects and Verbs Don’t Match

What is subject-verb agreement?
 In any sentence, the subject and the verb
must match—or agree—in number.
If the subject is singular (one person, place, or
thing), the verb must also be singular.
If the subject is plural (more than one), the verb
must also be plural.

Example

Singular: The skydiver jumps out of the airplane.

Plural: The skydivers jump out of the airplane.

Verb Endings
 Regular verbs (with forms that follow standard
English patterns) have two forms in the present
tense: one that ends in –s and one that has no
ending.
The third-person subjects he, she, it, and singular
nouns always use the form that ends in –s.
First-person subjects (I), second-person subjects
(you), and plural subjects use the form with no
ending.

Verb Endings

Singular Plural
First person I walk. no –s We walk.
Second person You walk. no -s You walk.
Third person He (she, it) walks. all end They walk.
Joe walks. in –s Joe and Alice walk.
The student walks. The students walk.

How can you find subject-verb
agreement problems?
 First, locate the subject of the sentence. Ask
yourself, who or what is the subject about?
In the following sentence, what is the subject?
Jeff bite his fingernails all the time.
A) Jeff
B) bite
C) fingernails
D) time

agreement problems?
In the following sentence, what is the subject?

ANSWER:
A) Jeff
B) bite
C) fingernails
D) time

 Next, determine whether the subject refers to
the first person (I/we), the second person (you),
or the third person (he/she/it/they).
The subject of this sentence (Jeff) is in the:
A) First person
B) Second person
C) Third person
D) none of the above

The subject of this sentence (Jeff) is in the:
ANSWER:
A) First person
B) Second person
C) Third person

 Now, determine whether the subject is singular
(one person, place, or thing) or plural (more
than one).
The subject (Jeff) is:
A) Singular
B) Plural
C) none of the above
D) both of the above

The subject (Jeff) is:
ANSWER:
A) Singular
B) Plural
D) both of the above

 Finally, fix the verb by matching it to the
subject of the sentence.
If the subject (Jeff) is third-person singular, which
of the following verbs is correct?
A) bitten
B) bites
C) bite

If the subject (Jeff) is third-person singular, which
of the following verbs is correct?
ANSWER:
A) bitten
B) bites
C) bite

Which verb would be correct in the
following sentence?

I tells him not to bite his nails.

A) tells
B) tell
C) telled

Which verb would be correct in the
following sentence?
I tells him not to bite his nails.

ANSWER:
A) tells
B) tell
C) telled

agreement errors?
Look for the five trouble spots that often signal
subject-verb agreement problems:
1. The verb is a form of be, have, or do.

2. Words come between the subject and the verb.

3. The sentence has a compound subject.

4. The subject is an indefinite pronoun.

5. The verb comes before the subject.

1. The verb is a form of be, have, or
do
 The verbs be, have, and do do not follow the rules
for forming singular and plural verbs; they are
irregular verbs.
These verbs can cause problems for writers who in
conversation use the same form in all cases (He
do the cleaning; they do the cleaning).
People also sometimes use the word be instead of
the correct form of be (She be on vacation).

Forms of the verb be, present tense

Singular Plural
First person I am We are

Second person You are You are

Third person She, he, it is They are
The student is The students are

Forms of the verb be, past tense

Singular Plural
First person I was We were

Second person You were You were

Third person She, he, it was They were
The student was The students were

Forms of the verb have, present tense

Singular Plural
First person I have We have

Second person You have You have

Third person She, he, it has They have
The student has The students have

Forms of the verb do, present tense

Singular Plural
First person I do We do
Second person You do You do
Third person She, he, it does They do
The student does The students do

Making subjects and verbs agree
when the verb is be, have, or do
I (am / is / are) a believer in maps.
First, find the subject.
I
Ask: is the subject in the first (I), second (you), or
third person (he/she)?
First person.
Ask: Is the subject singular or plural?
Singular.


Choose the verb by matching it to the form of the
subject (first person, singular).
A) I am a believer in maps.
B) I is a believer in maps.
C) I are a believer in maps.


Choose the verb by matching it to the form of the
subject (first person, singular).
ANSWER:
A) I am a believer in maps.
B) I is a believer in maps.
C) I are a believer in maps.

Find and fix the subject-verb
agreement problem
All of my friends say that my biggest problem be
that I waste time.
Which word should be used in place of the underlined verb?
A) am
B) is
C) are

agreement problem
All of my friends say that my biggest problem be
that I waste time.
ANSWER:
A) am
B) is
C) are

agreement problem
My friend Jocelyn have a word for it:
procrastination.

A) has
B) have

agreement problem
My friend Jocelyn have a word for it:
procrastination.
ANSWER:
A) has
B) have

2. Words come between the subject
and the verb
When the subject and verb aren’t right next to
each other, it is more difficult to find them and
to make sure they agree.
Most often, either a prepositional phrase or a
dependent clause comes between the subject
and the verb.

Prepositional phrase between the
subject and the verb
A prepositional phrase starts with a preposition and
ends with a noun or pronoun:
I took a nap on my bed and woke up after dinner.

The subject of a sentence is never in a prepositional
phrase.
When you are looking for the subject of a sentence, you
can cross out any prepositional phrases. This strategy
should help you to find the real subject and decide
whether it agrees with the verb.

when they are separated by a
prepositional phrase

Students on a tight schedule (know / knows)
they shouldn’t procrastinate.
First, underline the subject.
Cross out any prepositional phrases.
Ask: Is the subject singular or plural? Plural.

Choose the form of the verb that matches the
third person plural subject.
A) know
B) knows

third person plural subject.
ANSWER:
A) know
B) knows

Dependent clause between the
subject and the verb
A dependent clause has a subject and a verb, but
it does not express a complete thought.
When a dependent clause comes between the
subject and the verb, it usually starts with the
word who, whose, whom, that, or which.
The subject of a sentence is never a dependent
clause. When you are looking for the subject of
a sentence, you can cross out any dependent
clauses.

when they are separated by a
dependent clause
Dave, who is one of my brothers, (distract
/distracts) me whenever I try to study.

Cross out any dependent clause.
Ask: Is the subject singular or plural? Singular.

third-person singular subject.

A) distract
B) distracts

third-person singular subject.
ANSWER:
A) distract
B) distracts

3. The sentence has a compound
subject
A compound subject is two (or more) subjects
joined by and, or, or nor.
If two subjects are joined by and, they combine to
become a plural subject, and the verb must be
plural too.
If two subjects are separated by the word or or nor,
they are not combined. The verb should agree
with whichever subject is closer to it.

Making subjects and verbs agree in a
sentence with a compound subject
Either Jocelyn or Dan (help / helps) me stay
focused when I have a long paper to write.
First, underline the subjects.
Circle the word between the subjects.
Ask: Does that word join the subjects to make
them plural or keep them separate? Keeps them
separate.
Ask: Is the subject that is closer to the verb
singular or plural? Singular.

Choose the verb form that agrees with the subject
that is closer to the verb.
A) help
B) helps

Choose the verb form that agrees with the subject
that is closer to the verb.
ANSWER:
A) help
B) helps

4. The subject is an indefinite
pronoun
An indefinite pronoun replaces a general person,
place, or thing or a general group of people,
places, or things.
Often, an indefinite pronoun is followed by a
prepositional phrase or dependent clause.
Remember that the verb of a sentence must
agree with the subject of the sentence, and the
subject of a sentence is never in a prepositional
phrase or dependent clause.

Indefinite pronouns are often singular, though
there are some exceptions.

Always singular: another, anybody, anyone, anything,
each (of), either (of), everybody, everyone, everything,
much, neither (of), nobody, no one, nothing, one (of),
somebody, someone, something
May be singular or plural: all, any, none, some

when the subject is an indefinite
pronoun
One of my worst habits (is / are)
procrastinating by watching movies.

Cross out any prepositional phrase or dependent
clause that follows the subject.

Choose the verb form that agrees with the subject.

A) is
B) are

Choose the verb form that agrees with the subject.
ANSWER:
A) is
B) are

5. The verb comes before the subject
In most sentences, the subject comes before the
verb. Two kinds of sentences often reverse the
usual subject-verb order: questions and
sentences that begin with here or there.
In these two types of sentences, you need to check
for errors in subject-verb agreement.

Questions
In questions, the verb or part of the verb comes
before the subject.
To find the subject and verb, you can turn the
question around as if you were going to answer
it.

Where is the theater? / The theater is…
Are you leaving? / You are leaving.

Sentences that begin with here or
there
When a sentence begins with here or there, the
subject often follows the verb.
Turn the sentence around to find the subject and
verb.

Here is your purse. / Your purse is here.
There are the car keys. / The car keys are there.

when the verb comes before the
subject
What movies (is / are) this theater showing?

If the sentence is a question, turn the question into
a statement. This theater (is / are) showing
the movies.
Identify the subject in the new sentence. Theater.

subject.
This theater (is / are) showing the movies.

A) is
B) are

subject.
This theater (is / are) showing the movies.
ANSWER:
A) is
B) are

when the verb comes before the
subject
There (is / are) two good films at this theater.

If the sentence begins with here or there, turn it
around: Two good films (is / are) at this
theater.
Identify the subject in the new sentence. Films.
Ask: Is the subject singular or plural? Plural.

subject.
Two good films (is / are) at this theater.

A) is
B) are

subject.
Two good films (is / are) at this theater.
ANSWER:
A) is
B) are

LET’S PRACTICE!
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Subject verb agreement

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Subject verb agreement