Which sentence follows the basic agreement rule for the present simple?
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Languages & ESL · Foundations
Subject-Verb Agreement: Making the Verb Match the Subject
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Subject-verb Agreement The grammatical match between a subject and its verb in number and person, so that a singular subject pairs with a singular verb form. Full entry → is the rule that a Verb The word that expresses the action, occurrence, or state of being in a clause, and whose form changes to match the subject. Full entry → must match its Subject The word or phrase in a sentence that names who or what performs the action or is described, and that the verb must agree with. Full entry → in number. A Singular The form of a word that refers to one person, thing, or unit, such as bus or she. Full entry → subject takes the singular verb form, and a Plural The form of a word that refers to more than one person or thing, such as buses or they. Full entry → subject takes the plural form. In the present simple, the -s ending marks the singular: the bus leaves, but the buses leave. The verb be changes even more, with am, is, are, was, and were. Tricky cases include compound subjects, indefinite pronouns like everyone, collective nouns like team, there is and there are, and phrases that sit between the subject and the verb.
Why this matters
Agreement errors are among the most visible signs of unedited writing. In academic and professional work, a mismatch such as "the data shows" or "everyone are ready" can distract readers even when the meaning is clear, because the expectation of agreement is built into standard written English. English speakers often understand mismatched sentences without noticing, which makes these errors easy to overlook in your own drafts and easy for others to spot. Learning to match subject and verb deliberately, especially in long sentences where other words come between them, is a practical editing skill that strengthens clarity and credibility in essays, emails, and reports.
The college version
The basic rule: number and the -s ending
Subject-verb agreement is the requirement that the verb of a clause match its subject in number and person. In standard written English, a singular subject takes a singular verb form, and a plural subject takes a plural verb form. The present simple shows the pattern most clearly. A singular subject takes the -s form of the verb, as in "The bus leaves in five minutes," while a plural subject takes the base form, as in "The buses leave in five minutes." The -s ending can mislead writers because plural nouns usually end in -s while singular verbs do: the ending marks the verb as Third-person singular The form of a verb used with he, she, it, and singular nouns in the present simple, marked by the -s ending, as in walks or leaves. Full entry →, not the subject as plural. The verb be is the most irregular of all: it has am for I, is for he, she, and it, are for you, we, and they, and the past forms was and were. Because be changes so visibly, agreement errors with it are easy to hear once you know the pattern. Some English dialects follow different patterns, such as omitting the -s on singular verbs, but academic and professional writing in English follows the standard pattern described here.
Compound subjects: and, or, and nor
Two or more subjects joined by and take a plural verb in most sentences: "Basketball and wrestling are my favorite sports." The exception is a compound that names a single idea or unit, which stays singular: "Red beans and rice is my favorite meal." When subjects are joined by or or nor, the verb agrees with the part of the subject nearest to it. "Either your uncles or your mother remembers the recipe" uses remembers because mother is closer to the verb; flip the order and the verb changes: "Either your mother or your uncles remember the recipe." The same nearness rule applies to neither and nor: "Neither the waiters nor the manager knows about the change." The practical move is to ignore everything up to the conjunction and check the noun that stands closest to the verb.
Indefinite pronouns and collective nouns
Indefinite pronouns do not refer to specific people or things, and most of them take a singular verb. The singular group includes anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, somebody, someone, and something. So "Everybody knows Mr. Jones" and "Each of these books is worth reading" are correct, because pronouns like everybody treat the group as a single unit acting together. A few indefinite pronouns vary with the noun they refer to: all, some, none, and any take a singular verb when they point to a singular noun and a plural verb when they point to a plural one. Collective nouns such as team, family, committee, class, and group name a set of people but are treated as singular in the general rule: "The team runs during practice" and "The family has a long history." In some varieties of English, especially British English, group nouns can also take a plural verb when the members act separately, as in "The audience were silent." In North American academic writing, the singular treatment is the standard choice.
There is, there are, and the distance error
In sentences that begin with there is or there are, the word there is not the subject. The subject comes after the verb, and the verb agrees with that following noun: "There is a question" but "There are many questions." The same pattern holds for here: "Here are the keys." The most common agreement error in practice is the distance error: letting words between the subject and the verb decide the verb form. Prepositional phrases and other additions do not change the number of the subject. In "The price of these shoes at all stores is unbelievable," the subject is price, not shoes or stores, so the verb stays singular. Expressions such as with, together with, including, accompanied by, in addition to, and as well as also leave the subject's number unchanged: "The team captain, as well as his players, is anxious." To check such sentences, delete the Intervening phrase A group of words that sits between the subject and the verb without changing the subject's number, such as "of fresh mangoes." Full entry → and read the subject and verb together.
Quantities: a number of versus the number of
Quantity expressions follow the same principle: locate the true subject. The phrase a number of means "several" and nearly always takes a plural verb, because the noun after of is plural: "A number of students are absent today." By contrast, the number of names a single arithmetic value, so it takes a singular verb: "The number of students is growing every year." Amounts treated as single units behave the same way: "Ten dollars is enough money for lunch" and "Five dollars is a lot of money" treat the sum as one thing, while "Dollars are often used instead of rubles" treats the coins themselves as separate items. When a quantity phrase confuses you, ask what the sentence is really about: the individual items, or the single total.
Eli explains
The same idea, in plain words
Explain it like I’m 10
Subject-verb agreement means the verb and the subject must match in number: one thing takes one verb form, and several things take another. In the present simple you can hear it. "The train leaves at noon" has one train, so the verb carries the -s. "The trains leave at noon" has many trains, so the verb drops it. The verb be shows the whole pattern at once: I am, you are, she is, we are, and in the past, was for one and were for many. The hard part is finding the real subject when other words crowd in. "The box of cookies" is still one box, and everyone, everybody, and team all count as one. There is one cookie, but there are two cookies.
Picture it like this
Think of the verb as a scale that must be set for the weight it carries. A singular subject is a light load, so the scale runs in its light setting: leaves, is, was. A plural subject is a heavy load, so the scale switches to its heavy setting: leave, are, were. Words that sit between the subject and the verb are like extra padding on the load. They add bulk, but they do not change the weight, so the scale keeps the same setting.
Where the picture stops working
The scale image suggests the verb mechanically senses the subject, but agreement is a convention of standard written English rather than a law of physics. Some English varieties follow different patterns, and a few subjects, such as all, none, or a collective noun in British English, can take either verb form depending on meaning. The analogy also ignores person: be changes for I and you as well as for singular and plural, something no weight scale captures.
Worked example
Consider this draft sentence: "The list of required readings for the three courses are posted on the portal." To fix it, find the true subject by removing the phrases: the sentence is about the list, not about the readings or the courses. List is singular, so the verb must be singular: "The list of required readings for the three courses is posted on the portal." The same move fixes "Everyone in the lab have a copy of the manual," because everyone is singular and takes has. For or and nor, check the noun nearest the verb: "Neither the manager nor the assistants were available" keeps were because assistants sits closest to the verb, while "Neither the assistants nor the manager was available" switches to was.
Key takeaway
Find the true subject first, then match the verb to it in number, especially when compound subjects, indefinite pronouns, or intervening phrases try to distract you.
Quick check
3 questions here, of 5 in this lesson’s practice set. Answers stay hidden until you check.
Choose the verb form that agrees with the compound subject: "Marta and her brother ___ the same bus."
Choose an answer, then check it.
Which verb completes the sentence correctly: "Either the coach or the players ___ the final call."
Choose an answer, then check it.
Study tools & related lessonsYou’ll learn to · Common mistakes · Easily confused · Key vocabulary · Related
You’ll learn to
- Define subject-verb agreement as the requirement that a verb match its subject in number and person.
- Explain how the -s ending marks third-person singular verbs in the present simple.
- Distinguish the agreement patterns of be (am, is, are; was, were) from those of regular verbs.
- Apply agreement rules to compound subjects joined by and or by or and nor, including the nearer-subject rule.
- Identify the true subject when indefinite pronouns, collective nouns, there is or there are, or intervening phrases separate it from the verb.
- Analyze and correct common agreement errors, including the distance error.
Common mistakes
Matching the verb to a noun inside a prepositional phrase instead of the true subject: "The basket of apples are on the counter."
The subject is basket, and the phrase of apples does not change its number, so the verb should be is: "The basket of apples is on the counter."
Treating indefinite pronouns such as everybody as plural because they refer to many people: "Everybody are ready."
Everybody counts as a single unit and takes a singular verb: "Everybody is ready." The same holds for everyone, somebody, anyone, each, and neither.
Forgetting the nearer-subject rule with or and nor: "Either the coach or the players makes the final call."
The verb agrees with the part of the subject nearest it, so the plural players takes make: "Either the coach or the players make the final call."
Choosing is or are by habit instead of by the noun that follows: "There is many reasons for the delay."
In there is and there are sentences the subject follows the verb, so the plural reasons takes are: "There are many reasons for the delay."
Confusing a number of with the number of: "A number of students is absent today."
A number of means "several" and takes a plural verb: "A number of students are absent today." The number of names a single count and stays singular: "The number of students is growing."
Easily confused
Singular subject vs. Plural subject
A singular subject takes the singular verb form, as in "The bus leaves"; a plural subject takes the plural form, as in "The buses leave."
A number of vs. The number of
A number of means "several" and takes a plural verb; the number of names a single count and takes a singular verb.
There is vs. There are
The choice depends on the noun that follows the verb: a singular noun takes is, and a plural noun takes are.
Collective noun, North American practice vs. Collective noun, some varieties of English
North American academic writing treats team and family as singular; some varieties, especially British English, allow a plural verb when the members act separately.
Key vocabulary
- Subject
- The word or phrase in a sentence that names who or what performs the action or is described, and that the verb must agree with.
- Verb
- The word that expresses the action, occurrence, or state of being in a clause, and whose form changes to match the subject.
- Agreement
- The grammatical match between a subject and its verb in number and person, so that a singular subject pairs with a singular verb form.
- Singular
- The form of a word that refers to one person, thing, or unit, such as bus or she.
- Plural
- The form of a word that refers to more than one person or thing, such as buses or they.
- Compound subject
- A subject made of two or more nouns or pronouns joined by a conjunction such as and, or, or nor, as in "Marta and her brother."
- Indefinite pronoun
- A pronoun such as everyone, somebody, or each that does not refer to a specific person or thing, and that usually takes a singular verb.
- Collective noun
- A noun such as team, family, or committee that names a group of people or things and is usually treated as singular.
- Intervening phrase
- A group of words that sits between the subject and the verb without changing the subject's number, such as "of fresh mangoes."
- Third-person singular
- The form of a verb used with he, she, it, and singular nouns in the present simple, marked by the -s ending, as in walks or leaves.
Sources & references
- Purdue OWL — Subject/Verb Agreement — Purdue University Online Writing Lab
- 6.6 Editing Focus: Subject-Verb Agreement, Writing Guide with Handbook — OpenStax, Rice University
- 2.2 Subject-Verb Agreement, Writing for Success — Writing for Success (Saylor Academy open-textbook mirror)
- Subject-verb agreement (English Grammar Today) — Cambridge Dictionary
- Subject-Verb Agreement — Grammar Monster
EliExplains lessons are original prose written from the open, credible references above. See Copyright & Licensing.
Researched 2026-08-21
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