Subject Verb Agreement in English Grammar

Subject Verb Agreement

Plural Nouns

• Use a plural verb form with plural nouns (nouns that refer to more than one person, place, thing, or idea)
• Examples:
  • Cats are sleeping on the bed.
  • Books are on the shelf.
• Exceptions:
  • Some plural nouns are considered singular and take a singular verb form, such as:
    • News is coming on at 10 pm.
    • Physics is my favorite subject.

Singular Nouns

• Use a singular verb form with singular nouns (nouns that refer to one person, place, thing, or idea)
• Examples:
  • The cat is sleeping on the bed.
  • The book is on the shelf.
• Exceptions:
  • Some singular nouns are considered plural and take a plural verb form, such as:
    • The student were working on their project. (referring to a group of students)

Collective Nouns

• Collective nouns refer to groups of people, animals, or things
• Can be either singular or plural, depending on the context and emphasis
• Examples:
  • The family is going on vacation. (singular, emphasizing the family as a unit)
  • The family are all going to the party. (plural, emphasizing individual members of the family)
• Other collective nouns that can be either singular or plural:
  • Team, crew, herd, flock, etc.

Remember to consider the context and emphasize the noun's meaning to determine whether to use a singular or plural verb form with collective nouns.

Subject Verb Agreement

Plural Nouns

• Plural nouns take a plural verb form, e.g., cats are sleeping on the bed, books are on the shelf.
• Exceptions: some plural nouns are considered singular and take a singular verb form, e.g., news is coming on at 10 pm, physics is my favorite subject.

Singular Nouns

• Singular nouns take a singular verb form, e.g., the cat is sleeping on the bed, the book is on the shelf.
• Exceptions: some singular nouns are considered plural and take a plural verb form, e.g., the student were working on their project (referring to a group of students).

Collective Nouns

• Collective nouns refer to groups of people, animals, or things and can be either singular or plural, depending on the context and emphasis.
• Examples:
  • The family is going on vacation (singular, emphasizing the family as a unit).
  • The family are all going to the party (plural, emphasizing individual members of the family).
• Other collective nouns that can be either singular or plural: team, crew, herd, flock, etc.
• To determine whether to use a singular or plural verb form with collective nouns, consider the context and emphasize the noun's meaning.