It is easy to understand the rule of subject-verb agreement. However, there are many different situations in the English language where the rule can be difficult to apply. To refresh, let’s go over the rule!
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Singular Subject and Singular Verb |
The girl skates at the Boston Common Frog Pond. The girl is having fun. |
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Plural Subject and Plural Verb |
The girls skate at the Boston Common Frog Pond. The girls are having fun. |
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Note: Verb + -s/-es = third person singular present tense (regular verb) |
Sometimes this rule can be hard to follow. It is very important identify the subject and decide as a whole if it is singular or plural.
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Some proper nouns that end in –s |
The United States consists of 50 states. |
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News |
The news is interesting. |
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Certain illnesses that end in –s |
Shingles is painful. |
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Expressions of time, money, and distance |
Twelve hours is a long flight. |
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Math expressions |
Two and two is four. |
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Compound subject with and: plural verb |
The cat and dog fight everyday. |
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Compound subject with nor/or: singular verb |
The cat or the dog runs up the stairs. |
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Compound subject with singular and plural subject joined by nor/or: verb should agree with the subject closer to the verb |
The boy or his friends play soccer on Sundays. |
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Singular subject, singular verb |
One of the computers is broken. |
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Singular subject, singular verb |
The captain, and all of his players, sprints as fast as possible. |
Some instances can be tricky, but remember to identify the correct subject and analyze the subject as a whole in order to determine the correct verb plurality. That way your subject and your verb will always agree!
