The subject-verb agreement is the correspondence of a verb with its subject in person (first, second, or third) and number (singular or plural).
Liz is an accountant and she has a typical 8-5 job
The verb is corresponds with the subject Liz which is in the first person and singular. And the verb has corresponds with the pronoun she which is in the third person and singular.
Subject and verbs must agree with one another in person (first, second, or third). Note the subject-verb agreement rules of the verb to be in present tenses.
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person | I am | we are |
| 2nd person | you are | you are |
| 3rd person | he/she/it is | they are |
I am a student (1st person), my brother is a pupil (3rd person), and you are a teacher (2nd person)
Subject and verbs must agree with one another in number (singular or plural). Thus, if a subject is singular, its verb must also be singular, if a subject is plural, its verb must also be plural.
She cooks dinner, and her brothers make breakfast
When the subject of the sentence is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by the conjunction and, use a plural verb.
Brothers and sisters don't often get along
The words each, each one, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anyone, anybody, nobody, somebody, someone, and no one are singular and require a singular verb.
Each of these suggestions is interesting
Someone was standing at the door
When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by or or nor, use a singular verb.
Either your mother or dad needs to contact me
When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is closer to the verb (also called the rule of proximity).
The teacher or the students write homework on the board
The students or the teacher writes homework on the board
In sentences beginning with there is or there are, the subject follows the verb (also called the inverted object). As there is not the subject, the verb agrees with what follows.
There is a book on the table
There are books on the table
The subject-verb agreement with words that indicate portions (e.g. a lot, a majority, some, all): if the noun after of is singular, use a singular verb; if it is plural, use a plural verb.
There is a lot of fuss around his arrival
There are a lot of people in the room
Use a singular verb with distances, periods of time, sums of money, etc., when considered as a unit.
Ten dollars is a high price to pay for socks
Ten dollars (i.e dollar bills) were scattered on the floor
Collective nouns are words that imply more than one person but are considered singular and take a singular verb (e.g family, group, team, committee, class, etc.).
My family is very big
My sister or my parents (to give) .................... me a ride home.
My parents or my sister (to give) .................... me a ride home.
-There are a lot of people outside. Do you know what's going on?
-These people are protesting. Maybe you've heard the recent news that some company wants build a huge factory right over there. And surely no one is happy about that.
-But I didn't see any media around.
-I'm sure that some reporters will come in a bit. It's not like there are a couple of people so it's difficult to ignore this.
Choose the correct word in the following sentences.
was/were to find life of Mars. meet/meets every other week. don't/doesn't know how to cook. master/masters a language without making mistakes. am/are going to college this year. am/are excited about the upcoming trip to Vegas. has/have finally reached a decision. is/are too far to walk. This/These jeans is/are too revealing. is/are my means of transportation.