literature review on subject verb agreement

Subject-Verb Agreement Error Handling using NLP: A Literature Review

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Subject-Verb Agreement Review

Subjects and verbs and how they “agree.”, how subjects and verbs agree..

We know that a sentence needs a verb and a noun (or pronoun) to be complete. Nouns or pronouns that perform the action of the verb are called the subject of the sentence. The subject of the sentence is the “doer” of the action

The main rule about subject-verb agreement is this: the verb must always agree with the subject in number. So, a singular subject needs a singular verb, and a plural subject needs a plural verb.

In the sentence “ Dogs eat,” the verb, eat , is in the correct plural form according to the subject, dogs . So, we can say that the subject and the verb “agree.” Let’s look at an example where the subject and verb do not agree:

In this example, the singular verb, eats , is not correct because the subject, dogs, is plural. However, if we made the subject singular, eats would be the correct form of the verb. See below:

The dog eats.

Remember, the subject and verb in a sentence must always agree in number.

Practice Problems

There ___ mice in this house.

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Subject-Verb agreement

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The basic subject-verb agreement rule in English is very simple. It states that a singular subject takes a singular verb, while a plural subject takes a plural verb. However, there are a few problems with this formulation of the rule that need to be mentioned. To begin with, the rule makes it sound as if each and every verb has one singular form that is used with all singular subjects and one plural form that is used with all plural subjects. This is not true. If we disregard the verb be and the modal auxiliaries, all verbs have one form that is used in the third person singular, that is, with the pronouns he , she , and it , and with subjects that could be replaced by one of these three pronouns, as in example (1) below, and one form that is used with all other subjects, i.e. first and second person singular subjects (2) and all types of plural subjects (3):

(1) My sister has a baby.

(2) I have a headache and you have one too.

(3) They know her well.

The rule also makes it sound as if plural agreement is of importance in all tenses. This is not true either. Except for the case of the verb be , subject-verb agreement only takes place in the present tense. So, what we really need to remember, if we simplify the situation somewhat, is to put an - s on the verb in the third person singular (and to use the correct forms of be , have , do , and verbs like try and deny , which become tries and denies in the third person singular). However, one problem remains. How do we know in each and every case whether the subject is (third person) singular or plural? In most cases, this is not a problem, since if the subject is a single person, animal, or thing, we have singular agreement, and if the subject is more than one person, animal, or thing, we have plural agreement. In other words, as pointed out above, if he , she , or it could be used instead of the subject, we have (third person) singular agreement, but if we could use they instead of the subject, we have plural agreement. This is what is illustrated in the box below. In the examples in the box, as well as in the examples used to illustrate the rules below, the relevant subjects appear within square brackets, while the heads of the relevant subject noun phrases and the first verb (i.e. the agreeing verb) of the verb phrase appear in boldface. 

[ She / He / it ] talks . = Singular subject and singular verb

The pronouns she , he , and it are examples of third person singular subjects, and the - s on talks indicates that talks is a third person singular verb.

[ They ] talk. = Plural subject and plural verb

No - s on the verb, since the subject they is plural.

[The kid ] talks . = Singular subject and singular verb

The subject the kid is third person singular, since the head of the noun phrase functioning as the subject is the third person singular noun kid . Therefore we use the third person singular verb form talks .

[The teachers ] talk . = Plural subject and plural verb

No - s on the verb, since the head of the noun phrase functioning as the subject is the plural noun teachers .

However, there are several cases where the facts are more complicated than this. Otherwise, subject-verb agreement would not be such a big issue for people writing in English. Some of the more important of those more complicated cases will now be listed and exemplified, and, in some cases, briefly discussed. Before we turn to this discussion it must be stated very clearly that when we say that the subject and the verb must agree with each other, we mean - in the case of noun phrase subjects - that the head word of the noun phrase must agree with the first verb of the verb phrase .

Subject-Verb Agreement

(1) den hård e mannen 'the hard man' (2) den hård a kvinnan 'the hard woman' (3) en grön bil 'a green car' (4) två grön a bilar 'two green cars' (5) Den här frukten är god. 'this fruit is nice' (6) De här frukterna är god a. 'these fruits are nice' 

(7) He is my brother.

(8) *He are my brother.

(9) *Hus en var stor t . 'the houses were big'

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27 Mini-Grammar Review: Subject Verb Agreement

Subjects and verbs must agree in two ways: number (singular or plural) and person (first, second, or third). These two general rules hold through all the different subject/verb guidelines. As a rule, plural subjects end in – s  and plural verbs do not end in – s . In this section, the noun is in  bold  and the verb is in  italic .

Pairing Verbs with Singular and Plural Subjects

Many sentences have subjects and verbs that appear side by side. The subjects in these sentences are often clearly singular or plural, and they clearly determine the needed verb form.

Matching Subjects and Verbs That Are Separated by Other Words

When words fall between a subject and verb, the singular/plural state of the subject is sometimes confusing. Always make sure you are matching the verb to the subject and not to one of the words between the two.

Joining Plural Verbs to Compound or Double Subjects

Compound subjects joined by the word “and” are plural since there is more than one of them. Double subjects joined by “or” or “nor” match to a verb based on the status of the subject closest to the verb.

Pairing Singular Verbs with Titles and Collective Subjects

Regardless of the singular or plural nature of the words within a title, the title is considered one unit; thus it is a singular noun. Similarly,  collective nouns , such as “committee,” function as singular nouns regardless of how many people or things might actually make up the collective noun.

Teaming Singular Verbs with Indefinite Subjects

Whether an indefinite subject is singular or plural depends on whether the  indefinite noun  has a singular or plural meaning on its own or based on the rest of the sentence.

Choosing Verbs When the Subject Comes after the Verb

The standard sentence format in English presents the subject before the verb. In reversed sentences, you need to find the subject and then make sure it matches the verb. To find the subject, fill the following blank with the verb and then ask the question of yourself: who or what _____?

Deciding If Relative Pronouns Take a Singular or Plural Verb

Relative pronouns , such as  who ,  which ,  that , and  one of , are singular or plural based on the pronoun’s  antecedent . You have to look at the antecedent of the relative clause to know whether to use a singular or plural verb.

Matching Singular Subjects to Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds  are nouns formed by adding – ing  to a verb. Gerunds can combine with other words to form gerund phrases, which function as subjects in sentences. Gerund phrases are always considered singular.

Infinitives  are the “to” forms of verbs, such as  to run  and  to sing . Infinitives can be joined with other words to form an infinitive phrase. These phrases can serve as the subject of a sentence. Like gerund phrases, infinitive phrases are always singular.

Recognizing Singular Subjects That Look Plural and Then Choosing a Verb

Some subjects appear plural when they are actually singular. Some of these same subjects are plural in certain situations, so you have to pay close attention to the whole sentence.

“Making sure subjects and verbs agree” adapted by Dr. Karen Palmer from Saylor Academy and licensed by CC BY NC SA .

The Worry Free Writer Copyright © 2020 by Dr. Karen Palmer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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ENGL001: English Composition I

Review subject-verb agreement.

Review this page on subject-verb agreement.

What is Subject-Verb Agreement?

In a sentence, the form of the verb changes, or is conjugated, to reflect the relationship between the subject and the action being performed. To bring the subject and verb into agreement, they must correspond in number (singular or plural) and  person (first, second, or third).

How to Make the Subject and Verb Agree

• The author of this article clearly makes her point to the target audience.
• The author o f this article clearly makes her point to the target audience.
• The author suggests that recycling can be beneficial to the environment.
• The authors   suggest that recycling can be beneficial to the environment.
• My family   likes to visit museums.
• Authors and researchers often work in more than one discipline.
• When the subject is joined by  or, nor, either/or, or neither/nor , the verb should agree with the subject word closest to the verb.
• Neither the instructor nor the students   look at the clock during class.
• Neither the students nor the instructor   looks  at the clock during class.

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Grammar: Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject–verb agreement rules.

Key : subject = yellow, bold ; verb = green, underline

Subjects and verbs must agree in number. In addition to the explanations on this page, also see the post on Subject—Verb Agreement .

Example: She writes every day. Exception: When using the singular "they," use plural verb forms. Example: The participant expressed satisfaction with their job. They are currently in a managerial role at the organization.

Example: They write every day.

Sometimes, however, it seems a bit more complicated than this.

Example: The doctoral student and the committee members write every day.

Example : The percentage of employees who called in sick and the number of employees who left their jobs within 2 years   are reflective of the level of job satisfaction.

Example: Interviews are one way to collect data and allow researchers to gain an in-depth understanding of participants.

Example: An assumption is  something that is generally accepted as true and  is an important consideration when conducting a doctoral study.

Example: The student , as well as the committee members, is excited.

Example: The student with all the master’s degrees is very motivated.

Example: Strategies that the teacher uses to encourage classroom participation include using small groups and clarifying expectations.

Example: The focus of the interviews was nine purposively selected participants.

Example: The chairperson or the CEO approves the proposal before proceeding.

Example: The student or the committee members write every day.

Example: The committee members or the student writes every day.

Example: Each of the participants  was willing to be recorded.

Example:  Neither   alternative hypothesis  was  accepted.

Example: I will offer a $5 gift card to  everybody who  participates  in the study.

Example: No one   was  available to meet with me at the preferred times.

Example: Education   is  the key to success.

Example: Diabetes affects many people around the world.

Example: The information obtained from the business owners was relevant to include in the study.

Example:   The research I found on the topic was limited.

Example: The earnings  for this quarter  exceed  expectations.

Example: The proceeds  from the sale  go  to support the homeless population in the city.

Example: Locally produced goods   have the advantage of shorter supply chains.

Example: There is  little  administrative support .

Example: There are many factors  affecting teacher retention.

Example: The group meets every week.

Example: The committee agrees on the quality of the writing.

However, the plural verb is used if the focus is on the individuals in the group. This is much less common.

Example: The committee participate in various volunteer activities in their private lives.

Subject–Verb Agreement Video Playlist

Note that these videos were created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines.

• Grammar for Academic Writers: Advanced Subject–Verb Agreement (video transcript)
• Common Error: Subject–Verb Agreement (video transcript)

Related Resources

Knowledge Check: Subject–Verb Agreement

Didn't find what you need? Email us at [email protected] .

• Previous Page: Verb Forms: "-ing," Infinitives, and Past Participles
• Next Page: Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
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Subject-Verb Agreement

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Making sure your verbs agree with your subjects is not just a question of grammatical correctness; it is a question of clarity. But to be clear, you will need to get the grammar right.

Some basic grammar

The two essential parts of a complete sentence are the subject and verb. The verb refers to the main action in a sentence, and the subject refers to the person or thing responsible for the action. Subjects can consist of a single word—a noun—but more typically they contain several words that, together, form a noun phrase: e.g., the mood of Beethoven’s late quartets or abnormalities in the cells governing the inflammatory response of the organism .

The most common subject-verb agreement error

When the subject of a sentence consists of a complex noun phrase, forming the verb according to the noun directly in front of it may be tempting, but it is almost always incorrect:

• The mood of Beethoven’s late quartets are sombre.
• Abnormalities in the cells governing the inflammatory response of the organism causes eczema.

To ensure that your verb agrees with the subject, ask yourself which single word in the subject is truly controlling the verb. What is/are somber? What cause/causes eczema? Almost always, this word will appear near the very beginning of the subject rather than right in front of the verb:

• The mood of Beethoven’s late quartets is somber.
• Abnormalities in the cells governing the inflammatory response of the organism cause eczema.

Three special cases

• Everybody in the book trade—from publishers to authors to booksellers— has felt the impact of the rise of the ebook.
• Neither China’s trading partners nor China itself seeks to introduce punitive tariffs.

This rule can result in sentences that don’t quite sound right, even if they satisfy the conventions of grammar. Consider recasting:

• China’s trading partners do not seek to introduce punitive tariffs; China does not either.
• The audience responds to the soliloquies of Richard III with a mixture of admiration and horror.
• The committee disagree on whether to follow up their public statement with a formal complaint.

Practice, practice, practice

If subject-verb agreement is often an issue in your writing, allow time for a draft in which you focus exclusively on the problem. With practice, the extra draft should no longer be necessary.