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 dog barks.'

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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 dogs bark.'

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What is the correct verb form for 'The stable (was, were) full of horses'?

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The correct verb form is 'was' because 'stable' is singular.

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What is the correct verb form for 'The spray paint on the wall (was, were) removed'?

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The correct verb form is 'was' because 'spray paint' is singular.

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What is the correct verb form for 'The tickets Dede bought (give, gives) her a reason'?

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The correct verb form is 'give' because 'tickets' is plural.

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What is the correct verb form for 'Each person who climbs the hundred steps (mention, mentions) the beautiful view'?

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The correct verb form is 'mentions' because 'each person' is treated as singular.

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What is the correct verb form for 'James and Aiden both like to dance, but they (dances, dance) to different music'?

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The correct verb form is 'dance' because 'James and Aiden' is plural.

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What is a compound subject?

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A compound subject consists of two or more subjects joined by 'and' or 'or'. For example, 'Tom and Jerry are friends.'

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What happens when subjects are joined by 'or'?

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When subjects are joined by 'or', the verb agrees with the subject closest to it. For example, 'Either the cat or the dogs are outside.'