{"id":4066,"date":"2013-06-27T17:17:10","date_gmt":"2013-06-27T17:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/?page_id=4066"},"modified":"2026-03-26T10:11:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T15:11:57","slug":"subject-verb-agreement","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/subject-verb-agreement\/","title":{"rendered":"Subject-Verb Agreement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t<div id=\"mmDeferVideoEncompass_7ybxIGza95Q\" style=\"position: relative;\">\n\t\t\t<picture>\n\t\t\t\t<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\">\n\t\t\t\t<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.png\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"> \n\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" id=\"videoThumbnailImage_7ybxIGza95Q\" data-source-videoID=\"7ybxIGza95Q\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.png\" alt=\"Subject-Verb Agreement Video\" height=\"464\" width=\"825\" class=\"size-full\" data-matomo-title = \"Subject-Verb Agreement\">\n\t\t\t<\/picture>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<style>img#videoThumbnailImage_7ybxIGza95Q:hover {cursor:pointer;} img#videoThumbnailImage_7ybxIGza95Q {background-size:contain;background-image:url(\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/759-subject-verb-agreemet-1.webp\");}<\/style>\n\t\t\t<script defer>\n\t\t\t  jQuery(\"img#videoThumbnailImage_7ybxIGza95Q\").click(function() {\n\t\t\t\tlet videoId = jQuery(this).attr(\"data-source-videoID\");\n\t\t\t\tlet helpTag = '<div id=\"mmDeferVideoYTMessage_7ybxIGza95Q\" style=\"display: none;position: absolute;top: -24px;width: 100%;text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;font-size: small;border-top: 1px solid #fc0;\">Having trouble? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v='+videoId+'\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to watch on YouTube.<\/a><\/span><\/div>';\n\t\t\t\tlet tag = document.createElement(\"iframe\");\n\t\t\t\ttag.id = \"yt\" + videoId;\n\t\t\t\ttag.src = \"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/\" + videoId + \"?autoplay=1&controls=1&wmode=opaque&rel=0&egm=0&iv_load_policy=3&hd=0&enablejsapi=1\";\n\t\t\t\ttag.frameborder = 0;\n\t\t\t\ttag.allow = \"autoplay; fullscreen\";\n\t\t\t\ttag.width = this.width;\n\t\t\t\ttag.height = this.height;\n\t\t\t\ttag.setAttribute(\"data-matomo-title\",\"Subject-Verb Agreement\");\n\t\t\t\tjQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoEncompass_7ybxIGza95Q\").html(tag);\n\t\t\t\tjQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoEncompass_7ybxIGza95Q\").prepend(helpTag);\n\t\t\t\tsetTimeout(function(){jQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoYTMessage_7ybxIGza95Q\").css(\"display\", \"block\");}, 2000);\n\t\t\t  });\n\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n<p><script>\nfunction BvQ_Function() {\n  var x = document.getElementById(\"BvQ\");\n  if (x.style.display === \"none\") {\n    x.style.display = \"block\";\n  } else {\n    x.style.display = \"none\";\n  }\n}\n<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"moc-toc hide-on-desktop hide-on-tablet\">\n<div><button onclick=\"BvQ_Function()\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/toc2.svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"show or hide table of contents\"><\/button><\/p>\n<p>On this page<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<nav id=\"BvQ\" style=\"display:none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Subject_Verb_Examples\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Subject Verb Examples<\/a>\n<ul><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h3\"><a href=\"#Example_1\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Example #1<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h3\"><a href=\"#Example_2\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Example #2<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h3\"><a href=\"#Example_3\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Example #3<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h3\"><a href=\"#Example_4\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Example #4<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Review\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#SubjectVerb_Agreement_Practice_Questions\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Subject-Verb Agreement Practice Questions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"accordion\"><input id=\"transcript\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"transcript\">Transcript<\/label><input id=\"PQs\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQs\">Practice<\/label>\n<div class=\"spoiler\" id=\"transcript-spoiler\">\n<p>Today, we\u2019re going to be talking about subject-verb agreement. We\u2019ve talked before about what a <a class=\"ylist\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/subjects\/\">subject<\/a> is and what a <a class=\"ylist\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/action-verbs-and-linking-verbs\/\">verb<\/a> is, but as a quick reminder, the subject of the sentence is the person or thing performing an action, and the verb is the word describing the action, state, or occurrence of the subject.<\/p>\n<p>Subjects and verbs have to agree with one another in number. That means that if a subject is singular, the verb used with it must also be singular. Just so, if the subject is plural, the verb must be plural. <\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s unpack that. <strong>Singular<\/strong> means just one of the person, animal, or thing that the noun refers to\u2014for example, a single dog, train, or man. <strong>Plural<\/strong> means multiple of the person, animal, or thing in question\u2014for example, multiple dogs, trains, or men.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Subject_Verb_Examples\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Subject Verb Examples<\/h2>\n<h3><span id=\"Example_1\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Example #1<\/h3>\n<p>\nTake a look at the following sentence and try to determine whether or not it has proper subject-verb agreement: <\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">The dog chase the cat.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nDoes something feel off with that sentence? Well, you\u2019re right. <em>Dog<\/em> is singular, but the verb <em>chase<\/em> is actually a plural verb. In the present tense, nouns and verbs form plurals in opposite ways: nouns add an <em>s<\/em> when they are plural, and verbs remove an <em>s<\/em>. Conversely, if a noun is singular it drops the <em>s<\/em>, and if a verb is singular it needs an <em>s<\/em>. So this sentence should actually read:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">The dog chases the cat.<\/p>\n<p>OR<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 0em;\">The dogs chase the cat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Example_2\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Example #2<\/h3>\n<p>\nWhat if it gets a little bit more complicated? What if you have a sentence like this:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">She and her friends are at the fair.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nThe verb in this sentence is the word <em>are<\/em>, which is a plural verb used with plural nouns, like in the sentence \u201cthe fish are swimming\u201d or \u201cthe eggs are hatching.\u201d But as you can see, we have two subjects in this sentence: <em>she<\/em> and <em>her friends<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>When the subject of the sentence is made up of two or more nouns connected by the word <em>and<\/em>, you always use a plural verb. Think of it this way: the <em>and<\/em> lumps the two subjects into a group, making them a multiple which would then be plural!<\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Example_3\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Example #3<\/h3>\n<p>\nNow, what if the two subjects are joined by something other than the word <em>and<\/em>, say, the word <em>or<\/em> for example? Take a look at this sentence:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">The book or the pen is in the drawer.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nThe word <em>or<\/em> tells us that it\u2019s not both things together that we\u2019re talking about\u2014it\u2019s one or the other. Since both <em>book<\/em> and <em>pen<\/em> are singular nouns, we should use the singular verb, <em>is<\/em> not the plural <em>are<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>Using a plural verb in a situation like this is a common mistake! Just remember, when two or more singular nouns are connected by the word <em>or<\/em>, always use a singular verb. <\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"Example_4\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Example #4<\/h3>\n<p>\nLet\u2019s take a look at one more fun complication.<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">The boy or his friends run every day.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nIn this sentence, the two subjects are joined by the word <em>or<\/em>, but one of them is singular (<em>boy<\/em>) and one of them is plural (<em>friends<\/em>). How do you choose which of these to match with the verb? It\u2019s easy, actually.<\/p>\n<p>When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by <em>or<\/em>, the verb just agrees with the part of the subject that is closest to it. So in the sentence we looked at, we used <em>run<\/em>, the plural form of the verb, because <em>friends<\/em> is plural. If we re-arranged the sentence, we would have to change the verb as follows:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">His friends or the boy runs every day.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nDon\u2019t be misled by phrases that come between the subject and the verb. The verb has to agree with the subject, remember? Well, sometimes other pronouns or nouns can look like they are the subject, and then it gets tricky. For example, why does the following sentence use a singular verb instead of a plural one?<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">One of the boxes is open.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nThe subject isn\u2019t <em>boxes<\/em>, even though the word <em>boxes<\/em> does happen to be closest to the verb. The subject is <em>one<\/em>, which is singular. What about this one:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">The team captain, as well as his players, is anxious.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nShould you make the verb agree with <em>captain,<\/em> which is singular, or <em>players<\/em>, which is plural? Well, since you see the word <em>is<\/em> you already know the answer\u2014the subject is the team captain, so the verb has to be singular. The part of the sentence about the players is parenthetical, and not the subject.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><span id=\"Review\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Review<\/h2>\n<p>\nTo recap, it\u2019s important to make sure your subject and verb \u201cagree\u201d\u2014that just means that if you have a plural subject you have to use a plural verb and if you have a singular subject you have to use a singular verb. <\/p>\n<p>I hope this video leaves you prepped and empowered. Thanks for watching!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"spoiler\" id=\"PQs-spoiler\">\n<h2 style=\"text-align:center\"><span id=\"SubjectVerb_Agreement_Practice_Questions\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Subject-Verb Agreement Practice Questions<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Question #1:<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nThe team ____ playing their next game on Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ-Choices\"><div class=\"PQ correct_answer\"  id=\"PQ-1-1\">is<\/div><div class=\"PQ\"  id=\"PQ-1-2\">are<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-1\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-1\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Show Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"answer\" id=\"PQ-1-spoiler\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Answer:<\/strong><div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>Although there are multiple people that make up a team, the noun <em>team<\/em> is itself singular; it is one, single thing. Therefore, the singular verb <em>is<\/em> must be the correct choice here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-1-hide\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-1-hide\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Hide Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Question #2:<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nEither his dog or his cats ______ feeling sick last week.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ-Choices\"><div class=\"PQ\"  id=\"PQ-2-1\">was<\/div><div class=\"PQ correct_answer\"  id=\"PQ-2-2\">were<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-2\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-2\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Show Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"answer\" id=\"PQ-2-spoiler\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Answer:<\/strong><div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>This sentence contains two subjects, <em>dog<\/em> and <em>cats<\/em>. When a compound subject like this contains both a singular and a plural noun joined by \u201cor,\u201d the verb agrees with the subject that is closest to it. In this case, since the plural subject is closest to the conjunction <em>or<\/em>, the plural verb <em>were<\/em> is the correct choice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-2-hide\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-2-hide\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Hide Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Question #3:<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nThe surgeon, as well as his assistants, ______ now ready to begin the procedure. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ-Choices\"><div class=\"PQ correct_answer\"  id=\"PQ-3-1\">is<\/div><div class=\"PQ\"  id=\"PQ-3-2\">are<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-3\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-3\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Show Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"answer\" id=\"PQ-3-spoiler\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Answer:<\/strong><div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>The subject of this sentence is the singular noun <em>surgeon<\/em>. Since the verb has to match the subject, the correct choice here is the singular verb <em>is<\/em>. The phrase that is set off by commas is not included as part of the subject, meaning you could read the sentence as, \u201cThe surgeon is now ready to begin the procedure,\u201d and it still makes sense, which is an easy way to tell which verb to use.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-3-hide\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-3-hide\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Hide Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Question #4:<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nI noticed that the boxes and the tape ______ moved to a different room.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ-Choices\"><div class=\"PQ\"  id=\"PQ-4-1\">was<\/div><div class=\"PQ correct_answer\"  id=\"PQ-4-2\">were<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-4\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-4\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Show Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"answer\" id=\"PQ-4-spoiler\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Answer:<\/strong><div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>Since we are dealing with a compound subject where both parts of the subject are joined by the conjunction <em>and<\/em>, the verb must be plural. Therefore, the plural subject <em>were<\/em> is the correct choice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-4-hide\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-4-hide\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Hide Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Question #5:<\/strong>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nFew of the books on that table _______ to Jorge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"PQ-Choices\"><div class=\"PQ\"  id=\"PQ-5-1\">belongs<\/div><div class=\"PQ correct_answer\"  id=\"PQ-5-2\">belong<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-5\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-5\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Show Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"answer\" id=\"PQ-5-spoiler\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Answer:<\/strong><div style=\"margin-left:10px;\"><p>The subject of this sentence is the plural noun <em>few<\/em>, which means that the plural verb <em>belong<\/em> is the correct choice here.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<input id=\"PQ-5-hide\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"PQ-5-hide\" style=\"width: 150px;\">Hide Answer<\/label>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"home-buttons\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/parts-of-a-sentence\/\">Return to Parts of a Sentence Videos<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Return to Parts of a Sentence Videos<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99874,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-4066","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"page_category-parts-of-a-sentence-videos","7":"page_category-video-pages-for-study-course-sidebar-ad","8":"page_category-writing-videos","9":"page_type-video","10":"content_type-practice-questions","11":"subject_matter-english"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4066"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4066\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":280211,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4066\/revisions\/280211"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}