Subject-Verb Agreement Made Simple

When working with subject-verb agreement, the rule that a verb must match its subject in number and person. Also known as subject‑verb concord, it is a core component of English grammar, the system of rules governing how words combine in English. The relationship is straightforward: singular subjects take singular verbs, plural subjects take plural verbs. Yet real‑world sentences often hide the subject, making mistakes easy. Understanding this link saves you from awkward phrasing and keeps your writing clear.

Why Verb Form and Tense Matter

One of the biggest hidden traps involves verb tense, the time reference a verb conveys, such as past, present, or future. Tense determines which verb form you use, and the correct form must still agree with the subject. For example, "The team was winning" (past progressive) versus "The teams were winning" (past progressive plural). The semantic triple here is: subject-verb agreement requires matching (subject ↔ verb form); verb tense influences the shape of that verb form; and English grammar hinges on these connections for clear meaning.

Another subtle factor is collective nouns. Phrases like "The committee decides" treat the group as a single unit, while "The committee are divided" treats members individually. Deciding which view fits your intent changes the verb choice. This shows how subject‑verb agreement interacts with sentence structure and the writer’s perspective.

Pronouns also bring quirks. Words like "everyone" or "someone" are grammatically singular, so they pair with singular verbs: "Everyone is invited." In contrast, "few" or "many" are plural: "Many have responded." Recognizing these pronoun patterns prevents the common error of matching verb number to meaning rather than grammatical form.

Prepositional phrases can mislead you into thinking the noun after the preposition is the subject. In "The bouquet of roses smells lovely," "bouquet" is the subject, not "roses." The verb stays singular because the true subject is singular. Spotting the real subject before applying agreement rules is a useful habit.

Complex sentences often embed clauses that each need their own agreement check. In "The teacher, who loves reading, assigns homework," the relative clause "who loves reading" has its own singular subject "who" (referring to "teacher"), while the main clause follows the plural‑singular pattern of the teacher. Keeping clauses separate helps you avoid mismatched verbs.

Numbers and fractions introduce another layer. With expressions like "Half of the cake is left," the verb agrees with the noun after "of" if that noun is singular. But "Half of the cookies are gone" uses a plural verb because "cookies" is plural. The rule hinges on whether the phrase refers to a singular amount or to multiple items.

Finally, inverted sentences and questions flip word order, but the agreement rule stays the same. "Are the children ready?" still matches the plural subject "children" with the plural verb "are." The same applies to sentences starting with adverbs: "Soon will the project begin?" The subject "project" dictates the singular verb "will begin."

By mastering these patterns, you can spot agreement errors before they slip into your drafts. The next section of this page lists articles that dive deeper into each scenario, from collective nouns to tricky pronouns, offering examples, quick quizzes, and correction tips. Whether you’re polishing a school essay, drafting a business email, or editing a blog post, the resources below will give you the confidence to keep your sentences grammatically tight.