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

2. 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.

3. Example
Singular: The skydiver jumps out of the airplane.
Plural: The skydivers jump out of the airplane.

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. 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

7. How can you find subject-verb
agreement problems?
In the following sentence, what is the subject?
Jeff bite his fingernails all the time.
ANSWER:
A) Jeff
B) bite
C) fingernails
D) time

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

9. Jeff bite his fingernails all the time.
The subject of this sentence (Jeff) is in the:
ANSWER:
A) First person
B) Second person
C) Third person
D) none of the above

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

11. Jeff bite his fingernails all the time.
The subject (Jeff) is:
ANSWER:
A) Singular
B) Plural
C) none of the above
D) both of the above

12.  Finally, fix the verb by matching it to the
subject of the sentence.
Jeff bite his fingernails all the time.
If the subject (Jeff) is third-person singular, which
of the following verbs is correct?
A) bitten
B) bites
C) bite
D) none of the above

13. Jeff bite his fingernails all the time.
If the subject (Jeff) is third-person singular, which
of the following verbs is correct?
ANSWER:
A) bitten
B) bites
C) bite
D) none of the above

14. Which verb would be correct in the
following sentence?
I tells him not to bite his nails.
A) tells
B) tell
C) telled
D) none of the above

15. Which verb would be correct in the
following sentence?
I tells him not to bite his nails.
ANSWER:
A) tells
B) tell
C) telled
D) none of the above

16. How can you find subject-verb
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.

17. 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).

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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.

23. I (am / is / are) a believer in maps.
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.
D) none of the above

24. I (am / is / 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.
D) none of the above

25. 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
D) none of the above

26. 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?
ANSWER:
A) am
B) is
C) are
D) none of the above

27. Find and fix the subject-verb
agreement problem
My friend Jocelyn have a word for it:
procrastination.
Which word should be used in place of the underlined verb?
A) has
B) have
C) none of the above

28. Find and fix the subject-verb
agreement problem
My friend Jocelyn have a word for it:
procrastination.
Which word should be used in place of the underlined verb?
ANSWER:
A) has
B) have
C) none of the above

29. 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.

30. 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.

31. Making subjects and verbs agree
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.

32. Choose the form of the verb that matches the
third person plural subject.
Students on a tight schedule (know / knows)
they shouldn’t procrastinate.
A) know
B) knows

33. Choose the form of the verb that matches the
third person plural subject.
Students on a tight schedule (know / knows)
they shouldn’t procrastinate.
ANSWER:
A) know
B) knows

34. 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.

35. Making subjects and verbs agree
when they are separated by a
dependent clause
Dave, who is one of my brothers, (distract
/distracts) me whenever I try to study.
First, underline the subject.
Cross out any dependent clause.
Ask: Is the subject singular or plural? Singular.

36. Choose the form of the verb that matches the
third-person singular subject.
Dave, who is one of my brothers, (distract
/distracts) me whenever I try to study.
A) distract
B) distracts

37. Choose the form of the verb that matches the
third-person singular subject.
Dave, who is one of my brothers, (distract
/distracts) me whenever I try to study.
ANSWER:
A) distract
B) distracts

38. 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.

39. 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.

40. Choose the verb form that agrees with the subject
that is closer to the verb.
Either Jocelyn or Dan (help / helps) me stay
focused when I have a long paper to write.
A) help
B) helps

41. Choose the verb form that agrees with the subject
that is closer to the verb.
Either Jocelyn or Dan (help / helps) me stay
focused when I have a long paper to write.
ANSWER:
A) help
B) helps

42. 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.

43. 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

44. Making subjects and verbs agree
when the subject is an indefinite
pronoun
One of my worst habits (is / are)
procrastinating by watching movies.
First, underline the subject.
Cross out any prepositional phrase or dependent
clause that follows the subject.
Ask: Is the subject singular or plural? Singular.

45. Choose the verb form that agrees with the subject.
One of my worst habits (is / are)
procrastinating by watching movies.
A) is
B) are

46. Choose the verb form that agrees with the subject.
One of my worst habits (is / are)
procrastinating by watching movies.
ANSWER:
A) is
B) are

47. 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.

48. 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.

49. 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.

50. Making subjects and verbs agree
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.
Ask: Is the subject singular or plural? Singular.

51. Choose the form of the verb that matches the
subject.
What movies (is / are) this theater showing?
This theater (is / are) showing the movies.
A) is
B) are

52. Choose the form of the verb that matches the
subject.
What movies (is / are) this theater showing?
This theater (is / are) showing the movies.
ANSWER:
A) is
B) are

53. Making subjects and verbs agree
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.

54. Choose the form of the verb that matches the
subject.
There (is / are) two good films at this theater.
Two good films (is / are) at this theater.
A) is
B) are

55. Choose the form of the verb that matches the
subject.
There (is / are) two good films at this theater.
Two good films (is / are) at this theater.
ANSWER:
A) is
B) are

56. LET’S PRACTICE!
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