Subject Verb Agreement

Hi Everyone!! This article will share about Subject Verb Agreement.

In my previous posts, I have shared about Parts of Speech, Nouns and Its Types, Pronouns and Its Types and Determiners so, make sure to check these posts as well.

Subject Verb Agreement

Each sentence is made up of a subject and a verb. So, it is important for the subject and verb to agree. A singular noun takes a singular verb and a plural noun takes a plural verb.

Subject Verb Agreement Rules

Rule – 1

When two or more subjects are connected by ‘and’, a plural verb is used.

For example –

Ram and Natik are going to the gym.
Neha and Sumegha were playing in the garden yesterday.

Rule – 2

We use a singular verb if two singular subjects are joined by ‘or’.

For example –

My sister or my mother is attending the party.
The king or his minister is responsible for the kingdom’s prosperity.

Rule – 3

While using words like ‘besides’, ‘as well as’, ‘along with’ or ‘not’ after the subject, the verb always agrees with the subject only.

For example –

Rita along with her family is visiting the exhibition.
Besides Delhi, we are planning to visit Mumbai also.
Gita as well as Nita gets up by five in the morning.

Subject Verb Agreement Rules

Rule – 4

If two singular subjects are connected by ‘either-or’/ ‘neither-nor’, the verb will be singular.

For example –

Either you or she is going to be given the prize.
Neither Aman nor his brother has visited Bangalore.

Rule – 5

For pronouns like ‘everyone’, ‘each’, ‘everybody’, ‘anybody’, ‘anyone’, ‘somebody’ and ‘someone’, we use singular verbs.

For example –

Each of you has an equal chance to win.
Has anybody seen his toy?
Someone from the office wants to see you.

Rule – 6

In sentences that begin with ‘there’ or ‘here’, a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb.

For example –

Here is a car.
There were many fishes in the river.

Rule – 7

When the subject is a collective noun like ‘team’, ‘herd’, etc. the verb depends on the meaning we want to convey.

For example –

This pack of dogs is barking loudly. (The pack is treated as a single unit)
The cattle are grazing in the ground. (Each cow/bull is treated as a separate unit)

So, these were some Subject Verb Agreement Rules.