Subject and Verb Agreement

Subject and Verb Agreement

The subject and verb must agree in number: both must be singular, or both must be plural. Problems occur in the present tense because one must add an -s or -es at the end of the verb when the subjects or the entity performing the action is a singular third person: he, she, it, or words for which these pronouns could substitute.

Notice the difference between singular and plural forms in the following examples:

Singular	Plural
The student sings. (He or she sings)	Your children sing. (They sing)
The bird does migrate. (It does)	Those birds do migrate. (They do)

In order to find out if your subject and verb agree, you need to be able to identify the subject of your sentence. Here are some helpful hints that will help you to decipher where your subject is and where it is not.

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Where is my subject?

• Most likely, your verb will agree with the first noun to the left of the verb:

The Supreme Court judge decides the appropriate penalty.
Subject: judge	Verb: decides

•  

The committee members were satisfied with the resolution.
Subject: members	Verb: were

• Occasionally, a sentence has the subject after the verb instead of before it. This strategy is often used for poetic effect.

Over the ripples glides a small canoe.
Subject: a small canoe	Verb: glides

•  

There was a well-known writer at the meeting.
Subject: a well-known writer	Verb: was

• You will not find the subject in a modifying phrase (MP), a phrase that starts with a preposition, a gerund, or a relative pronoun and that modifies the meaning of the noun or subject under discussion.

The group of students is going on a field trip.
Subject: the group	MP: of students	Verb: is

•  

The survey covering seven colleges reveals a growth in enrollment.
Subject: the survey	MP: covering seven colleges	Verb: reveals

•  

The speaker whom you saw at the lecture is one of the state senators from Minnesota.
Subject: the speaker	MP: whom you saw at the lecture	Verb: is