1. Problems with Subject-Verb Agreement
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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.
Singular: The skydiver jumps out of the airplane.
Plural: The skydivers jump out of the airplane.
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3. 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.
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4. How can you find subject-verb agreement problems?
First, locate the subject of the sentence.
Ask yourself, who or what is the subject about?
Jeff bite his fingernails all the time.
In this sentence, Jeff is the subject.
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5. How can you find subject-verb agreement problems? (continued 1)
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 third person.
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6. How can you find subject-verb agreement problems? (continued 2)
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 singular.
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7. How can you find subject-verb agreement problems? (continued 3)
Finally, fix the verb by matching it to the subject of the sentence.
Jeff bites his fingernails all the time.
If the subject (Jeff) is third-person singular,
then bites is the correct verb.
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8. How can you find subject-verb agreement errors?
Look for the five trouble spots that often signal subject- verb agreement problems:
The verb is a form of be, have, or do.
Words come between the subject and the verb.
The sentence has a compound subject.
The subject is an indefinite pronoun.
The verb comes before the subject.
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9. 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).
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10. Forms of the verb be, present and past tense:
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11. Forms of the verb have, present tense:
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12. Forms of the verb do, present tense:
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13. 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
I am a believer in maps.
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14. 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.
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15. 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.
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16. Making subjects and verbs agree when they are separated by a prepositional phrase
First, underline the subject.
Cross out any prepositional phrases.
Ask: Is the subject singular or plural? Plural.
Students on a tight schedule (know / knows) they shouldn’t procrastinate.
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17. 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.
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18. Making subjects and verbs agree when they are separated by a dependent clause
First, underline the subject.
Cross out any prepositional phrases.
Ask: Is the subject singular or plural? Singular.
Dave, who is one of my brothers, (distract /distracts) me whenever I try to study.
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19. 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.
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20. Making subjects and verbs agree in a sentence with a compound subject
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.
Either Jocelyn or Dan (help / helps) me stay focused when I have a long paper to write.
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21. 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.
Indefinite pronouns are often singular, though there are some exceptions.
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22. Making subjects and verbs agree when the subject is an indefinite pronoun
First, underline the subject.
Cross out any prepositional phrase or dependent clause that follows the subject.
Ask: Is the subject singular or plural? Singular.
One of my worst habits (is / are) procrastinating by watching movies.
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23. 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.
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24. 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.
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25. 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.
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26. Making subjects and verbs agree when the verb comes before the subject
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.
What movies (is / are) this theater showing?
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27. Making subjects and verbs agree when the verb comes before the subject (continued)
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.
There (is / are) two good films at this theater.
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28. Choose the correct subject-verb agreement in the following sentence:
The teacher (give / gives) us a quiz every week.
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29. Answer: The teacher (give / gives) us a quiz every week.
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30. Choose the correct subject-verb agreement in the following sentence: (continued 1)
Here (is / are / be) two copies of the article.
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31. Answer: (continued 1) Here (is / are / be) two copies of the article.
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32. Choose the correct subject-verb agreement in the following sentence: (continued 2)
The article (has / have) good ideas for saving energy.
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33. Answer: (continued 2)
The article (has / have) good ideas for saving energy.
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34. Choose the correct subject-verb agreement in the following sentence: (continued 3)
Where (be / is / are) the cars parked?
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35. Answer: (continued 3) Where (be / is / are) the cars parked?
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36. Choose the correct subject-verb agreement in the following sentence: (continued 4)
No one (likes / like) to fill out tax forms.
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37. Answer: (continued 4) No one (likes / like) to fill out tax forms.
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38. Choose the correct subject-verb agreement in the following sentence: (continued 5)
The athletes who qualify for the race (gets / get) T-shirts.
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39. Answer: (continued 5)
The athletes who qualify for the race (gets / get) T-shirts.
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40. Choose the correct subject-verb agreement in the following sentence: (continued 6)
Neither Betty nor the children (eat / eats) meat.
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41. Answer: (continued 6)
Neither Betty nor the children (eat / eats) meat.
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42. Finding and Fixing Problems with Subject-Verb Agreement
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