Subject-Verb Agreement

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What is Subject-Verb Agreement?

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Subject-Verb Agreement is the grammatical rule that the subject and verb in a sentence must agree in number (singular or plural).

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When do we use a singular verb?

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We use a singular verb when the subject is singular (one person or thing). For example, 'The cat runs fast.'

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When do we use a plural verb?

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We use a plural verb when the subject is plural (more than one person or thing). For example, 'The cats run fast.'

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What is the correct verb form for 'My brother or my sister ... the garden every Sunday'?

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The correct verb form is 'waters' because the subject is considered singular.

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What is the correct verb form for 'The kitten's fur ... very soft'?

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The correct verb form is 'is' because 'fur' is a singular noun.

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What is the correct verb form for 'One of the scientists ... to take pictures of gorillas'?

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The correct verb form is 'loves' because 'one' is the subject.

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What is the correct verb form for 'Owls ... in the day'?

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The correct verb form is 'sleep' because 'owls' is a plural subject.

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What is the correct verb form for 'Jim and his friends ... to buy a book about dinosaurs'?

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The correct verb form is 'want' because 'Jim and his friends' is a plural subject.

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What happens when the subject is joined by 'or'?

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When subjects are joined by 'or', the verb agrees with the nearest subject.

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What is an example of a singular subject with a singular verb?

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An example is 'The dog barks.' Here, 'dog' is singular and 'barks' is the singular verb.