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 of a sentence must agree in number with its verb. If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular; if the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.

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When do you use 'is' instead of 'are'?

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Use 'is' with singular subjects and with collective nouns that are considered singular. For example, 'The dog is barking.'

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When do you use 'are' instead of 'is'?

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Use 'are' with plural subjects. For example, 'The dogs are barking.'

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What is a singular subject?

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A singular subject refers to one person, place, thing, or idea. For example, 'The cat is sleeping.'

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What is a plural subject?

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A plural subject refers to more than one person, place, thing, or idea. For example, 'The cats are sleeping.'

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What is the rule for subjects joined by 'and'?

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When subjects are joined by 'and', they typically take a plural verb. For example, 'Tom and Jerry are friends.'

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What is the rule for subjects joined by 'or' or 'nor'?

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When subjects are joined by 'or' or 'nor', the verb agrees with the subject closest to it. For example, 'Neither the cat nor the dogs are outside.'

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What is a collective noun?

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A collective noun is a word that represents a group of individuals or things as a single entity. Examples include 'team', 'flock', and 'family'.

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How does the presence of 'each' affect verb agreement?

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When 'each' is used, it is considered singular, so the verb must also be singular. For example, 'Each student has a book.'

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What is the difference between 'has' and 'have'?

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'Has' is used with singular subjects, while 'have' is used with plural subjects and with 'I' and 'you'. For example, 'She has a car.' vs 'They have cars.'