What is subject-verb agreement?

A subject-verb agreement happens when the subject and verb of a clause agree in number. For the subject and verb to agree, both must be either singular or plural.

How can I tell if I have a subject-verb agreement issue?

To identify a subject-verb agreement issue, 1) identify the clause’s subject, 2) identify the clause’s verb, and 3) check whether the subject and verb are both singular or both plural.

1) First, identify your clause’s subject. Look for the word or words towards the beginning of the clause that are the clause’s main actors.

Example: The houses in the next block over is less expensive.

Subject: The houses in the next block over

2) Second, identify your clause’s verb. Look for the verb that describes the main action of the clause.

Example: The houses in the next block over is less expensive.

Verb: is

3) Third, check that the subject and the verb are both singular or both plural.

Example: The houses in the next block over is less expensive.

Plural Subject: The houses in the next block over

Singular Verb: is

If the subject and the verb are not both singular and plural, the clause has a subject-verb agreement issue. In this example, the number of the subject and verb don’t match, so this clause has a subject-verb agreement issue.

How can I revise a subject-verb agreement issue?

There are two main options for revising subject-verb agreement issues:

Revise the subject and verb to both be singular
Example: The houses in the next block over is less expensive.
Revised Example: Each house in the next block over is less expensive.
Revise the subject and verb to both be plural
Example: The houses in the next block over is less expensive.
Revised Example: The houses in the next block over are less expensive.

What are some common subject-verb agreement issues?

Subject-verb agreement issues can pop up in many ways, but there are some common types of issues. These are four factors that commonly lead to subject-verb agreement issues.

Indefinite Pronouns as Subjects. The indefinite pronouns anyone, everyone, someone, no one, everybody, and nobody are always singular, and require singular verbs.

Example: No one comes to the party.
Example: Everyone tips the waiter.
Example: Someone saves the day.

It’s tempting to think that a word like everybody is plural (after all, it seems to refer to a group of people). But everybody is a shorthand way of saying “each person in the group,” and therefore remains a singular word.

Some indefinite pronouns, such as some or all, can be either singular or plural, depending on the quantity of the things they refer to. For example, particulate things, like marbles or slices of bread, are countable, and therefore take plural verbs:

Example: All of the marbles roll away.
Example: Some of the slices of bread were eaten.

Collective Nouns. Some nouns look plural, but are actually singular. Words like audience, dozen, jury, group, and team imply more than one person or member, but when those members act as one, the noun is singular.

Example: The audience claps at the end of the guitar player’s solo.
Example: A jury of his peers convicts the man for fraud.

Plural Nouns. If the members of the collective noun are not acting as a group, then the noun becomes plural.

Example: After the play, the audience grab their coats, exit the building and head for the parking garage. [The individual audience members do not grab the same coats or exit at the exact same time, nor do they take the same route to the parking garage.]
Example: The jury are divided on the subject of the plaintiff’s guilt. [Since the jury members do not agree unanimously, the noun jury becomes plural and takes a plural verb.]

When you are in doubt about whether a collective noun is plural or singular in your sentence, you can do one of two things:

Add a modifying word, like “members” to the collective noun.
Example: The members of the audience exit the building and head for the parking garage.
Use a different word entirely.
Example: The concertgoers exit the building and head for the parking garage.

Non-Count Nouns. Things like loyalty or air take singular verbs:

Example: All of my loyalty vanishes.

Example: Some of the air is gone.

Activity: Identify which sentences have subject-verb agreement issues.

A. The homework readings from the longer textbook with the answer key covers all the test material.

B. Everyone goes to Gus’ Fried Chicken when they visit Memphis.

C. The jury exit the courtroom to deliberate.

D. Fried chicken, which can be made with breadcrumbs and eggs, are delicious.

E. The United Nations votes tomorrow on the peace resolution.

Activity: Revise each subject-verb agreement issue in at least two ways.

The homework readings from the longer textbook with the answer key covers all the test material.
The jury exit the courtroom to deliberate.
Fried chicken, which can be made with breadcrumbs and eggs, are delicious.

Are subject-verb agreement issues always wrong?

In Standard American English, which is used for most formal and academic writing, subject-verb disagreement is considered wrong.You should revise your sentences to eliminate subject-verb disagreement in order to enhance your credibility (ethos) as a writer.