20 Subject Verb Agreement Rules

Subject verb agreement is an essential grammar topic that deals with the set of grammar rules that govern the agreement between a verb and its subject. In simple words, subject verb agreement gives you a number of rules about matching of a verb with its subject in person and number which is grammatically an important aspect.

In this post, we'll discuss 20 important subject verb agreement rules along with example sentences. Note that you must have read or memorized some of the subject verb agreement rules mentioned in this post. However, you need to revise them all not to forget any of them.

What is Subject Verb Agreement?

Subject verb agreement simply means that "the verb agrees with its subject." That is, a verb must grammatically agree with its subject in number and person. 

Let's put it in other simpler way, a verb such as "go" must be according to the number and person of the subject. (more about number and person) 

That is, if the subject is third person singular such as "he," "she," and "it", the verb must be singular such as "runs," "goes," and "eats." On the other hand, if the subject is first and third person plural such as "we," "they," and "people", the verb must be plural such as "run," "go," and "eat." (more about verb)

Before you jump into the main section of the article, you need to keep in mind the following points:

1. Subject: A grammatical subject is the doer of an action in simple or has a state of being as "he" and "John" in "he runs fast" and "John is happy."

2. Verb: A verb in English is a word that refers to an action or state of being as "goes" and "eating" in "she goes to school everyday" and "the boss is extremely angry."

3. Agreement: Agreement in grammar refers to the fact that a verb agrees or matches with the person and number of the subject as in "she runs" and "I run" and "they run."

20 Subject Verb Agreement Rules with Examples

Let's now head to the 20 subject verb agreement rules in English grammar. Here are the 20 rules of subject verb agreement:

Rule 1. A singular subject uses a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb.

Examples:

a. He goes. (singular)

b. They go. (plural)

Rule 2. A plural verb is used when two subjects are connected with the help of "and."

Examples:

a. The police and the thief are present.

b. The student and the teacher are going to the market.

Rule 3. The verb agrees with the nearest subject when two subjects are joined by "or" or "nor."

Examples:

a. Either the students or the professor is present.

b. Neither the professor nor the students are present.

Rule 4. Singular subjects which are joined by "either.....or" and "neither.....nor" use singular verbs.

Examples:

a. Either the teacher or the student is outside.

b. Neither the teacher nor the student is present.

Rule 5. A collective noun takes a singular verb if it refers to a single entity and uses a plural verb in case it refers to all the members of an entity individually.

Examples:

a. The jury has given its verdict.

b. The jury have been divided in their opinions.

Rule 6. When "percent of" becomes the subject, the verb agrees with the noun used after "of".

Examples:

a. Ten percent of the apple is eaten.

b. Thirty percent of students are present.

Rule 7. Some always plural nouns take plural verbs always.

Examples:

a. My pants are wet.

b. The scissors are in the drawer.

Rule 8. The names of subjects, even though they use an "s" take singular verbs.

Examples:

a. Linguistics is a relatively difficult subject.

b. Mathematics is easy for me.

Rule 9. The titles of movies, books or any other works, even though they may seem plural, are singular and take singular verbs.

Examples:

a. The Arabian Nights is a wonderful work.

b. The Chronicles of Narnia is an amazing series.

Rule 10. When the conjunction "and" joins two subjects that refer to the same object, we use a singular verb.

Examples:

a. The poet and philosopher is dead.

b. My friend and tutor is calling me.

Rule 11. When "none of" becomes the subject, the verb is used depending on the word used after "of".

Examples:

a. None of the apple is eaten.

b. None of the students are present.

Rule 12. When we use number or amount, we use verb according to the number or amount. 

Examples:

a. 20 rupees is a small amount of money.

b. At least three pens are required.

Rule 13. We use singular verbs with indefinite pronouns such as everyone, anyone, somebody, everybody, nobody, etc.

Examples:

a. Everyone is here.

b. Somebody is calling you.

Rule 14. We use plural verbs with indefinite pronouns such as a few, many, several, all, others, etc. 

Examples:

a. Many students are absent.

b. Several people were injured.

Rule 15. When we use "there" at the beginning, we use either a singular or plural verb depending on the noun that comes afterward.

Examples:

a. There is a pen on the table.

b. There are many students on the road.

Rule 16. We use a singular verb with the first person singular subject "I". with the exception of a perfective tenses.

Examples:

a. I am going.

b. I was going.

Rule 17. We use a plural verb with both the singular and the plural "you".

Examples:

a. You are my teacher.

b. You all are my friends.

Rule 18. The verb agrees with the subject, not with the word that comes after "as well as."

Examples:

a. My teachers as well as my friend John are going.

b. My friend John as well as my teachers is going.

Rule 19. When we use a compound subject and each word in the compound subject refers to a different entity, we use a plural verb.

Examples:

a. The king and queen are coming.

b. I and you are best friends.

Rule 20. When "each" and "every" are used, they take a singular verb.

Examples:

a. Each of the students has left the classroom.

b. Every teacher should also abide by the rules.