RULES ON SUBJECT & VERB AGREEMENT

Rule 1: A verb agrees with its subject in person

and in number. A singular subject needs
a singular verb and a plural subject
needs a plural verb.

Examples: The girl (read, reads) mystery stories.

Sheila (does, do) not want to go to the

office today.

The guests (was, were) not in the hall

last night.
Rule 2: If two parts of a compound subject is
separated by the word “and” and if
both parts refer to different
individuals, the compound subject is
considered plural and the verb must be
plural.

Examples: Students and teachers (needs, need)

to trust each other.

Carol and her brother (works, work)

at Baker’s.

The manager and the owner (was,

were) present in the meeting.
Examples: Broccoli and spinach (is, are my
favorite vegetables.

My classmate and my friend (watch,

watches) the movie Kimi Dora.
Rule 3: If two parts of a compound subject is
separated by the word “and” and if
both parts refer to a single person or
thing, or form a single unit, the
compound subject is considered singular
and the verb must be singular.
Examples: Ham and egg (is, are) a popular
combination.

The manager and owner of the

company (was, were) present in our
meeting.
Examples: Spaghetti and meatballs (is, are) my
favorite dinner.

Peanut butter and jelly (is, are) my

favorite sandwich.

My classmate and friend (watch,

watches) the movie Kimi Dora.
Rule 4: Compound subjects joined by or,
either…or, neither…nor agree with the
nearer subject.

Examples: Either the supervisor or the clerks

(know, knows) the number.

Neither Leslie nor you ( is, are) in

charge of ordering supplies.

The manufacturer or the distributors

(carry, carries) spare parts.
Rule 5: Make the verb agree with the subject,
not with the prepositional phrases such
as of, to, in, from, for, with, at and by.

Examples: The views of the writer (influence,

influences) the opinion of many
readers.

The bundle of bank notes (attract,

attracts) the driver’s attention.

We wondered whether the invoice

for the shipments (was, were) lost.
Rule 6: Nouns ending in –s but singular in
meaning take singular verb.

Examples: Mathematics (is, are ) a challenging

subject.

Measles (has, have) become an

epidemic recently.

The news regarding the election (is,

are) boring.

Mumps (is, are) spreading like

wildfire.
Rule 7: Some nouns are plural in form and
meaning. These nouns take plural form
of the verb.

Examples: The scissors (is, are) needed for this

art class.

Your pants (does, do) not

complement your costume tonight.
Rule 8: Fractions may take the simple form or
the s-form of the verb depending on
the “of-phrase”. If the object of the
preposition of is singular, the fraction
takes the singular form of the verb, if
it is plural, the verb is also plural.

Examples: One-half of the mangoes (is, are)

sold.

Part of the apple (is, are) eaten.

One-half of the students (attend,

attends) the party.
Rule 9: Words or phrases that express periods
of time, weights, measurements and
amounts of money are usually regarded
as singular.

Examples: Ten days (seem, seems) extremely

long to survive in the desert.

Two kilos of sugar (meet, meets) our

monthly needs.

About 15% of progress (is, are)

brought about by proper attitude.
Rule 10: When a sentence begins with “There
is” or “There are,” the true subject follows the
verb.

Examples: There (is, are) many ways to complete

general education requirements at
this school.

There (is, are) plenty of time to

choose courses for next term.
Rule 11: Indefinite pronouns like everyone,
anyone, someone, everybody, somebody, one,
each one, neither, either take singular form of
the verbs.

Examples: Somebody (was, were) quick to

report the situation to the principal.

Neither of them (is, are) pleased.

Everybody (participate, participates)

in the discussion.
Rule 12: The expressions “the number of” takes
singular form of the verb; the expression “a
number of” takes the simple form of the verb.

Examples: The number of people whose idea

about religion vary (is, are) many.

A number of people (believe,

believes) in the natural goodness of
humans.
Rule 13: Many, others, several, few, both, all
(referring to people) require plural form of the
verb.

Examples: Like the three kings, many (follow,

follows) the star.

All (is, are) sure where the star is.

But few (know, knows) that the star

is just within us.
Rule 14: The indefinite pronouns some, none, any
and all are singular or plural depending
on the meaning of the sentence. When
these words refer to a quantity or a
mass taken as a whole, they are
generally considered as singular. When
they refer to a number, they are
regarded as plural in meaning.

Examples: Most of the work (was, were) done by

women.

Some of the baskets (was, were)

prepared by them.
Examples: (Is, Are) there any water flowing in
the faucet?

All of my friends (is, are) gone.

All of my gasoline (is, are) gone.

We needed a volunteer but none

(was, were) willing.
Rule 15: Collective nouns are either singular or
plural, depending on the context in which they
appear. When the group is considered as a unit,
singular form of the verb is used. When members
of a group are considered as individuals who act
separately, the plural form of the verb is used.

Examples: The committee (make, makes) plan

for the rites.

The community (is, are) opposing the

cementing of this road.

Every family (has, have) its own rituals.

Examples: The troop (is, are) marching.

The committee (disagree, disagrees)

on some proposals.

Every morning, the family (attend,

attends) to their tasks.

The band (return, returns) to their

homes.
Rule 16: The verbs of adjectival clause agree
with the antecedents of the relative
pronouns which function as subjects
of the dependent clauses and
conjunctions to link these with the
main clauses.

Examples: Trust is a value that (help, helps) us

grow better.

Persons who (learn, learns) to forgive

the past live peacefully.
Rule 17: The words listed below are mass nouns.
They are always singular and cannot be
preceded by a, an, or a number. They
refer to things difficult to count.
However, if they are preceded by
pieces of, kinds of, a collection of, it is
followed by a plural verb.

information baggage poetry

homework scenery chalk
jewelry graft money
personnel clothing blood
soap mail help(noun)
Examples: The scenery (is, are) awesome.

Poetry (is, are) difficult to

understand.

Antique pieces of furniture (is, are

sold) here.

Many pieces of chalk (is, are) in the

box.

Rare collections of jewelry (is, are)

kept in the vault.
Rule 18: Nouns that express abstract ideas are
usually singular in form. They require
singular verbs.

Examples:
Poverty Courage Honesty
Education Laughter Luck
Wealth Presence Pity
Fun Love Sadness

Courage (make, makes) us survive

difficult ordeals.

Pity (come, comes) naturally from the

forgiving heart.
Rule 19: Ignore intervening phrases such as
along with, together with,
accompanied by, as well as, including
and in addition to.
Examples:
Nita, as well as Ana, (play, plays)
basketball.

Broccoli, in addition to squash and all

other vegetables, (is, are) good for
you.