Subject–Verb Agreement – Singular, Plural & Indefinite Nouns

📘 Rule Summary

Subject–Verb Agreement means that the verb in a sentence must match the subject in number and person. A singular subject takes a singular verb. A plural subject takes a plural verb.

📝 Examples

She runs every morning.

They run every morning.

Everyone is invited.

The list of items is on the desk.

📖 Explanation

🧠 Day 24: Subject–Verb Agreement – Speak and Write Without Mistakes

This grammar rule may seem small, but mastering it makes your English sound fluent and professional.

🌱 Level 1 – Beginner: What is Subject–Verb Agreement?

🔹 The Basic Rule:

Singular Subject → Singular Verb:
✅ He likes pizza.
Plural Subject → Plural Verb:
✅ They like pizza.

Tip: Add -s/es to verbs in he/she/it form in the present tense.

🔸 Examples:

Subject	Verb	Example
I	like	I like music.
He / She / It	likes	She likes dancing.
We / You / They	like	They like reading books.

🌿 Level 2 – Intermediate: Special Cases & Exceptions

🔸 1. Indefinite Pronouns

Singular (Use Singular Verb)	Plural (Use Plural Verb)
everyone, someone, anyone	both, few, many, several
nobody, each, every, nothing	all (when countable), others

Examples:

✅ Everyone is excited.
✅ Few are missing.

🔸 2. Compound Subjects

A and B = Plural
✅ Tom and Jerry are funny.
Singular subjects joined by or/nor take a singular verb:
✅ Either the teacher or the student is responsible.
If one is singular and one is plural, the verb agrees with the closer subject:
✅ Neither the boys nor the girl is late.
✅ Neither the girl nor the boys are late.

🔸 3. Collective Nouns

Collective Noun	Verb Depends On	Example
team, group, staff, family	whether acting as 1 unit or individuals

✅ The team is winning.
✅ The team are arguing among themselves. (British English)

🔸 4. Titles, Measurements, and Amounts

✅ Five dollars is enough.
✅ Ten kilometers is a long walk.
✅ The Lord of the Rings is a great book.

📌 Treat as singular if referring to one item or amount.

🔸 5. Prepositional Phrases

Don’t be confused by words between subject and verb.

✅ The basket of apples is on the table.
❌ The basket of apples are on the table.

Ignore “of apples” — the subject is basket (singular).

📘 Mini Story: The Broken Rules

Every student in the class is preparing.
But the group of dancers were excited — wait, is that right?
Well, in British English, it works. But in American English, the group is always singular.
Later, someone asked: “Does everyone have their tickets?”
“Yes,” the teacher said. “But nobody is allowed to leave early.”

🧠 See how singular-sounding words can behave differently?

⚠️ Common Mistakes in Subject–Verb Agreement

❌ Incorrect	✅ Correct	Reason
The list of items are long.	The list of items is long.	Subject is ‘list’
Each of the students have a pen.	Each of the students has a pen.	‘Each’ is singular
Neither she nor they is ready.	Neither she nor they are ready.	Closest subject is plural
There is many people here.	There are many people here.	‘People’ is plural
One of the boys are missing.	One of the boys is missing.	‘One’ is the subject

🔁 Summary Table

Subject Type	Example Subject	Correct Verb
Singular Noun	The boy	is
Plural Noun	The boys	are
Indefinite Singular	Everybody, someone	is
Indefinite Plural	Many, few	are
Title or Amount	Ten rupees	is
Prepositional Phrase	The group of people	is
Compound Subject	Tom and Jerry	are
Either/Or Structure	Either he or they	are

🔧 Practice Time – Fix the Verb

The list of books (is/are) on the table.
✅ is
Each of the children (has/have) a toy.
✅ has
The family (is/are) planning a vacation.
✅ is
Neither the dog nor the cats (is/are) hungry.
✅ are
Five rupees (is/are) not enough.
✅ is