Subject-verb agreement in English

What is subject-verb agreement?

Subject-verb agreement means that the form of a verb must agree with its subject in person and number. In the present simple, a third-person singular subject normally takes a verb ending in -s, while other subjects normally take the base form. For example, My cat likes sleeping, but My cats like sleeping.

Subject-verb agreement also affects forms of the verb be (I am, she is, they are) and auxiliary verbs such as do and have (he does / they do; she has / we have). In most other cases, English verbs do not change according to the subject.

In the present simple, most English verbs change only with a third-person singular subject (he, she, it, or a singular or uncountable noun). The table below shows the main subject-verb agreement patterns in the present simple:

For example:

• My cat likes sleeping.
• My cats like sleeping.
• Sarah is at work.
• Sarah and John are at work.

The main difficulty with subject-verb agreement is therefore identifying the subject of the verb and deciding whether it is singular or plural.

How is subject-verb agreement formed?

While you only have to remember three conjunctions for each verb (except ‘be’, which has five forms), there are different ways to create the third person singular depending on the specific verb in the present, although they will all end in ‘s’. The following rules explain the different verb forms and how to create them.

Present simple verbs

With the exception of the verb be, only the third-person singular form is different in the present simple for all other verbs that change form to match their subject. Most verbs end with the addition of -s, although some end -es or -ies.

For most verbs, simply add -s:

• play → plays
• work → works
• write → writes

For verbs that end with a sibilant sound (/s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, and /dʒ/), add -es, unless the verb already ends with e:

• watch → watches
• kiss → kisses
• dance → dances (dance already ends with e)

For verbs that end consonant + y, swap the y for -ies:

• worry → worries
• fly → flies
• cry → cries

Have, do, and go are irregular in the third-person singular:

• go → goes
• have → has
• do → does

The verb be

Be is the only verb that has a unique form for the first-person singular in the present and two forms in the past. The following table shows the different forms of the verb be depending on the subject and the tense:

For example:

• I am in the office.
• I was in Spain last year.
• Mrs Brown is my teacher.
• Mr White was my teacher last year.
• My cats are in the garden.
• My neighbour’s dogs were in the garden this morning.

Auxiliary verbs

When a verb phrase contains an auxiliary verb, it is normally the auxiliary that agrees with the subject.

• He doesn’t like broccoli. / They don’t like broccoli.
• She has finished. / They have finished.
• It is working. / They are working.

Modal verbs

Modal verbs have the same form for all subjects and are always followed by the bare infinitive of the main verb:

• He can swim. / They can swim.
• She should help. / They should help.
• It will arrive tomorrow. / They will arrive tomorrow.

Subject-verb agreement rules

Choosing the correct verb is more difficult when the subject contains several words, when nouns are joined together, or when it is not immediately obvious whether the subject is singular or plural. The following rules cover the most common cases.

1. Singular and plural nouns

Many nouns in English have an irregular plural noun form that do not end with -s. Be careful not to use a third person singular verb with these plural nouns. Here are some examples of irregular plural nouns:

• person → people
• man → men
• woman → women
• child → children
• foot → feet
• tooth → teeth
• thief → thieves
• analysis → analyses

Many nouns in English only exist in a plural form and therefore take the plural form of the verb in the present. Be careful not to use a third person singular verb with these nouns. Here are some examples of irregular plural nouns:

• scissors
• jeans
• shorts
• glasses (to help you see)
• police
• clothes
• outskirts
• goods

2. Uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns have no plural form and therefore always take the third person singular form of the verb in the present. For example:

• Water is vital for life.
• Running helps you keep fit.
• Money makes the world go round.
• Sand gets everywhere when I go to the beach.

3. Collective nouns

Collective nouns refer to groups of people or things, such as family, team, government, committee and staff. In British English, a collective noun can take a singular verb when the group is considered as a single unit, or a plural verb when the members of the group are considered individually. For example:

• My family arrives tomorrow. (the family as a single group)
• My family arrive at different times. (the individual family members)
• The jury is considering its verdict. (the jury as a single body)
• The jury are arguing among themselves. (the individual members of the jury)
• Manchester United is one of England’s best-known football clubs. (the club as an organisation)
• Manchester United are playing well tonight. (the players as a team)

Note that in American English, collective nouns are usually treated as a single unit and are therefore followed by the third-person singular form of the verb.

4. Each / every

Each and every refer to an individual person or thing within a wider group. Any noun accompanied by each or every must therefore be singular and followed by the third-person singular form of the verb in the present. For example:

• Each person leaves when their work is complete.
• Every car on my street was broken into.
• Each shop was closed.
• Every film by David Lynch is fantastic.

5. Singular indefinite pronouns

Indefinite pronouns ending in -one, -body and -thing, such as someone, everyone, nobody, somebody, anything, and nothing refer to singular people or things and are therefore followed by the third-person singular form of the verb:

• Nothing helps me concentrate.
• Somebody was asking for you.
• Does anyone want a biscuit?
• Everyone loves chocolate.

6. Subjects joined by and

If subjects are connected with and, it means that there are more than one, so the verb will take the plural form:

• My mother and my father work in the same office.
• The cats and the dog are in the garden.
• My brother and I like Star Wars.
• Jack and Jill walk up the hill every day.

Be aware that some common expressions with nouns that are connected with and are considered a single concept. These expressions will therefore take the singular form of the verb. For example:

• Health and safety is important for all members of staff.
• The bed and breakfast serves coffee throughout the day.

7. Subjects joined by or, either…or, neither…nor

When multiple subjects are connected with or, either…or, or neither…nor, this means that the verb only refers to one of the subjects for or, or none of them for nor. My mother or my father only refers to one of them, not both, so the verb would be singular. For example:

• My mother or my father is coming to stay with us this weekend.
• Either John or Maria lives in that house.
• Neither Michelle nor Tony speaks to their neighbours.

When one of the subjects is singular, but the other subject is plural, then whichever is closest to the verb determines the conjugation. For example:

• The cats or the dog is in the garden. (dog = singular and closest to the verb)
• The dog or the cats are in the garden. (cats = plural and closest to the verb)
• Neither John, I, nor my friends are going to the party. (avoid placing I closest to the verb)

8. Words between the subject and verb

Sometimes another noun appears between the verb and the noun in the subject that determines its form. This can happen because the head noun of the subject is described by a prepositional phrase, such as a group of children or the presents for my wife, or because a preposition or prepositional expression introduces additional people or things between the subject and the verb. In both cases, the verb agrees with the head noun of the subject, not with the noun that appears closer to it.

Here are some examples where a prepositional phrase forms part of the subject:

• A group of children is playing in the park. (NOT: a group…are)
• The presents for my wife are under the tree. (NOT: The presents…is)
• The movie about the musicians always makes me cry. (NOT: The movie…make)
• The sandwiches in the fridge are mine. (NOT: The sandwiches…is)

A similar problem can occur when additional information is inserted between the subject and the verb. This information may contain another noun introduced by a preposition or prepositional expression, but that noun does not determine the form of the verb:

• My wife, along with all her friends, flies to Paris tomorrow. (NOT: My wife…fly)
• The flight attendants, who always fly with the same pilot, work very hard. (NOT: The flight attendants…works)
• Alcohol, as well as smoking, is extremely bad for your health. (NOT: Alcohol…are)
• The emails, besides the phone call, provide compelling evidence. (NOT: The emails…provides)

9. Quantities and proportions

When we use quantifying prepositional phrases to talk about a quantity or proportion of the noun with the preposition of, then the verb conjugation depends on the form of the noun that comes after the phrase. For example:

• Some of the cake has been eaten. (cake = singular)
• Some of the cakes have been eaten. (cakes = plural)
• 25% of the food was donated by companies. (food = uncountable/singular)
• A lot of people work here. (people = plural)

Be careful with phrases that begin one of. This means that the following noun is one out of a wider group, rather than a proportion of something, and therefore will always take the third-person singular form of the verb. For example:

• One of the cakes has been eaten.
• One of my colleagues lives in Doncaster.

10. There is, there are, here is, here are

In sentences that begin with there or here followed by be, the verb conjugation is determined by the complement (what follows be). If the complement is singular, then the singular form of be is used, and if the complement is plural, then be will be plural. For example:

• There is a car outside. (car = singular)
• There are cars outside. (cars = plural)
• Here is the house. (house = singular)
• Here are the houses. (houses = plural)

11. Amounts, distances, periods of time, titles and names

Sometimes we consider plural nouns as a single unit. This could be for distance, periods of time, prices (quantities of money), titles or names. For example:

• Five pounds is the price of a pint these days. (Five pounds = one price)
• Ten years is a decade. (Ten years = one period of time)
• Two miles takes about 30 minutes to walk. (Two miles = one distance)
• The Lord of the Rings is a great story. (The Lord of the Rings = one story)

Common subject-verb agreement mistakes

The table below highlights some common mistakes made with subject-verb agreement:

Free subject-verb agreement worksheets