- English
- Classes 6-8
- 5 min read
Subject-verb agreement
Learn how the verb changes to match a singular or plural subject, and fix common mistakes with tricky subjects.
Let us begin
The big idea
A sentence has a subject (who or what) and a verb (what they do). In English the verb must agree with the subject: a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb. Once you see the pattern, most mistakes disappear.
In the present tense, a singular subject (he, she, it, Ravi, the dog) takes a verb ending in s: he runs, the dog barks, Meera sings. A plural subject (they, we, the boys) takes the verb without s: they run, the boys play. I and you also take the verb without s: I run, you play.
The verb be is special. Singular: I am, he is, she is, it is. Plural: we are, you are, they are. In the past: I was, he was, we were, they were.
Two subjects joined by and are plural: Ravi and Sita are friends. But if two subjects are joined by or, the verb agrees with the one nearest to it: Ravi or his sisters are coming; his sisters or Ravi is coming.
Words that come between the subject and the verb do not change the agreement. The box of mangoes is heavy. The subject is box, not mangoes, so the verb is is. Words like each, every, everyone, nobody and somebody are singular: Everyone is here. Each student has a book.
Some nouns name a group but act as one unit: the team, the class, the family. In Indian English we usually treat these as singular: The team is practising. Uncountable nouns are also singular: Water is precious. The news is good.
Worked examples
See how it works
Simple singular and plural
The cat sleeps on the mat (singular). The cats sleep on the mat (plural). My brother plays cricket. My brothers play cricket.
Words in between
The colour of the walls is yellow. The subject is colour, which is singular, so we use is, even though walls is plural and sits right next to the verb.
Each, every, everyone
Each of the girls has a kite. Everyone in the class was quiet. Nobody knows the answer. These words are always singular, so the verb takes the singular form.
Or and nor
Neither the teacher nor the students were late. The nearest subject is students (plural), so the verb is were. Either the students or the teacher was late: nearest subject is teacher, so was.
Try it at home
Subject and verb matching cards
You will need
- Paper cut into 20 small slips
- A pencil
- Two bowls or cups
What to do
- On 10 slips write subjects: I, you, he, she, the dog, my friends, everyone, the box of toys, Ravi and Sita, the news.
- On the other 10 slips write verbs in both forms: is or are, has or have, run or runs, play or plays, want or wants.
- Put subjects in one bowl and verbs in the other. Pick one slip from each bowl.
- Say a correct sentence using the subject and the right form of the verb, then write it down.
- Repeat until all slips are used. Check each sentence against the rules in this lesson.
Practice sheet
Check what you learned
Practice sheet: Subject-verb agreement (Classes 6-8, English)
- Choose the correct verb: The dog (bark / barks) at night.
- Choose the correct verb: My cousins (live / lives) in Pune.
- Choose the correct verb: Each of the boys (has / have) a bat.
- Choose the correct verb: The bunch of keys (is / are) on the table.
- Choose the correct verb: Ravi and Sita (was / were) late today.
- Choose the correct verb: Neither the cook nor the waiters (know / knows) the recipe.
- Choose the correct verb: The news (is / are) on at nine.
- Choose the correct verb: You (am / are) my best friend.
- Correct the sentence: Everybody have finished the test.
- Correct the sentence: The colour of these shirts are blue.
Answer key
Answers: Subject-verb agreement
- barks, because dog is singular.
- live, because cousins is plural.
- has, because each is singular.
- is, because the subject is bunch, which is singular.
- were, because two subjects joined by and are plural.
- know, because the nearest subject, waiters, is plural.
- is, because news is uncountable and treated as singular.
- are, because you always takes are.
- Everybody has finished the test.
- The colour of these shirts is blue (the subject is colour).