TOP 100 RULES OF CONCORD (Subject-Verb Agreement) with Examples
1–10: Basic Subject-Verb Agreement
Singular subjects take singular verbs.
†The dog barks at strangers.
Plural subjects take plural verbs.
†The dogs bark at strangers.
Two singular nouns joined by “and” take a plural verb.
†John and Mary are here.
Two singular nouns referring to the same person take a singular verb.
†My friend and mentor is coming.
When “each” or “every” precedes two nouns joined by “and,” use a singular verb.
†Each boy and girl has a book.
Indefinite pronouns like “everyone,” “someone,” “nobody” take singular verbs.
†Everyone wants success.
Plural indefinite pronouns like “many,” “few,” “both” take plural verbs.
†Many were invited.
Collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on context.
†The team is winning. / The team are arguing among themselves.
A compound subject with “or”/“nor” agrees with the nearest subject.
†Neither the teacher nor the students have arrived.
†Neither the students nor the teacher has arrived.
Titles of books, movies, etc., take singular verbs.
†“The Chronicles of Narnia” is a great movie.
11–30: Special Cases & Exceptions
Words like “mathematics,” “news,” “economics” take singular verbs.
†Mathematics is difficult.
But “statistics” can be plural if referring to data.
†The statistics are misleading.
Units of measurement or money are singular if seen as a whole.
†Five hundred dollars is a lot of money.
When subjects are introduced with “there” or “here,” the verb agrees with the real subject.
†There is a book on the table.
†There are many books on the table.
Nouns with plural form but singular meaning take singular verbs.
†The news is good.
A singular subject followed by phrases like “as well as,” “together with,” etc., takes a singular verb.
†The teacher, as well as the students, was present.
“One of” always takes a singular verb.
†One of the boys is missing.
“A number of” takes a plural verb; “The number of” takes a singular verb.
†A number of students are absent.
†The number of students is increasing.
Gerunds used as subjects take singular verbs.
†Swimming is fun.
Uncountable nouns take singular verbs.
†Water is essential.
31–50: Agreement with Modifiers & Complex Subjects
Subjects with “many a” take singular verbs.
†Many a student has passed the exam.
Subjects starting with “what,” “who,” or “which” follow standard agreement.
†What is needed is support.
†Who knows the answer?
“Each of,” “neither of,” “either of” takes a singular verb.
†Each of the players was tired.
“All of,” “some of” take plural verbs if the noun is countable.
†All of the cookies are gone.
“None” can be singular or plural depending on context.
†None of the cake is left.
†None of the books are missing.
Subject before the verb still rules the agreement.
†Behind the house sits a cat.
When collective nouns act as a unit, use singular.
†The jury has given its verdict.
When individuals in a collective are emphasized, use plural.
†The jury are arguing among themselves.
Singular subjects joined by “along with,” “as well as” don’t change the verb.
†The CEO, along with his team, is attending.
“There is” vs. “There are” depends on the subject after it.
†There is a car outside. / There are cars outside.
1–10: Basic Subject-Verb Agreement
Singular subjects take singular verbs.
†The dog barks at strangers.
Plural subjects take plural verbs.
†The dogs bark at strangers.
Two singular nouns joined by “and” take a plural verb.
†John and Mary are here.
Two singular nouns referring to the same person take a singular verb.
†My friend and mentor is coming.
When “each” or “every” precedes two nouns joined by “and,” use a singular verb.
†Each boy and girl has a book.
Indefinite pronouns like “everyone,” “someone,” “nobody” take singular verbs.
†Everyone wants success.
Plural indefinite pronouns like “many,” “few,” “both” take plural verbs.
†Many were invited.
Collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on context.
†The team is winning. / The team are arguing among themselves.
A compound subject with “or”/“nor” agrees with the nearest subject.
†Neither the teacher nor the students have arrived.
†Neither the students nor the teacher has arrived.
Titles of books, movies, etc., take singular verbs.
†“The Chronicles of Narnia” is a great movie.
11–30: Special Cases & Exceptions
Words like “mathematics,” “news,” “economics” take singular verbs.
†Mathematics is difficult.
But “statistics” can be plural if referring to data.
†The statistics are misleading.
Units of measurement or money are singular if seen as a whole.
†Five hundred dollars is a lot of money.
When subjects are introduced with “there” or “here,” the verb agrees with the real subject.
†There is a book on the table.
†There are many books on the table.
Nouns with plural form but singular meaning take singular verbs.
†The news is good.
A singular subject followed by phrases like “as well as,” “together with,” etc., takes a singular verb.
†The teacher, as well as the students, was present.
“One of” always takes a singular verb.
†One of the boys is missing.
“A number of” takes a plural verb; “The number of” takes a singular verb.
†A number of students are absent.
†The number of students is increasing.
Gerunds used as subjects take singular verbs.
†Swimming is fun.
Uncountable nouns take singular verbs.
†Water is essential.
31–50: Agreement with Modifiers & Complex Subjects
Subjects with “many a” take singular verbs.
†Many a student has passed the exam.
Subjects starting with “what,” “who,” or “which” follow standard agreement.
†What is needed is support.
†Who knows the answer?
“Each of,” “neither of,” “either of” takes a singular verb.
†Each of the players was tired.
“All of,” “some of” take plural verbs if the noun is countable.
†All of the cookies are gone.
“None” can be singular or plural depending on context.
†None of the cake is left.
†None of the books are missing.
Subject before the verb still rules the agreement.
†Behind the house sits a cat.
When collective nouns act as a unit, use singular.
†The jury has given its verdict.
When individuals in a collective are emphasized, use plural.
†The jury are arguing among themselves.
Singular subjects joined by “along with,” “as well as” don’t change the verb.
†The CEO, along with his team, is attending.
“There is” vs. “There are” depends on the subject after it.
†There is a car outside. / There are cars outside.
TOP 100 RULES OF CONCORD (Subject-Verb Agreement) with Examples
đč 1–10: Basic Subject-Verb Agreement
Singular subjects take singular verbs.
†The dog barks at strangers.
Plural subjects take plural verbs.
†The dogs bark at strangers.
Two singular nouns joined by “and” take a plural verb.
†John and Mary are here.
Two singular nouns referring to the same person take a singular verb.
†My friend and mentor is coming.
When “each” or “every” precedes two nouns joined by “and,” use a singular verb.
†Each boy and girl has a book.
Indefinite pronouns like “everyone,” “someone,” “nobody” take singular verbs.
†Everyone wants success.
Plural indefinite pronouns like “many,” “few,” “both” take plural verbs.
†Many were invited.
Collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on context.
†The team is winning. / The team are arguing among themselves.
A compound subject with “or”/“nor” agrees with the nearest subject.
†Neither the teacher nor the students have arrived.
†Neither the students nor the teacher has arrived.
Titles of books, movies, etc., take singular verbs.
†“The Chronicles of Narnia” is a great movie.
đč 11–30: Special Cases & Exceptions
Words like “mathematics,” “news,” “economics” take singular verbs.
†Mathematics is difficult.
But “statistics” can be plural if referring to data.
†The statistics are misleading.
Units of measurement or money are singular if seen as a whole.
†Five hundred dollars is a lot of money.
When subjects are introduced with “there” or “here,” the verb agrees with the real subject.
†There is a book on the table.
†There are many books on the table.
Nouns with plural form but singular meaning take singular verbs.
†The news is good.
A singular subject followed by phrases like “as well as,” “together with,” etc., takes a singular verb.
†The teacher, as well as the students, was present.
“One of” always takes a singular verb.
†One of the boys is missing.
“A number of” takes a plural verb; “The number of” takes a singular verb.
†A number of students are absent.
†The number of students is increasing.
Gerunds used as subjects take singular verbs.
†Swimming is fun.
Uncountable nouns take singular verbs.
†Water is essential.
đč 31–50: Agreement with Modifiers & Complex Subjects
Subjects with “many a” take singular verbs.
†Many a student has passed the exam.
Subjects starting with “what,” “who,” or “which” follow standard agreement.
†What is needed is support.
†Who knows the answer?
“Each of,” “neither of,” “either of” takes a singular verb.
†Each of the players was tired.
“All of,” “some of” take plural verbs if the noun is countable.
†All of the cookies are gone.
“None” can be singular or plural depending on context.
†None of the cake is left.
†None of the books are missing.
Subject before the verb still rules the agreement.
†Behind the house sits a cat.
When collective nouns act as a unit, use singular.
†The jury has given its verdict.
When individuals in a collective are emphasized, use plural.
†The jury are arguing among themselves.
Singular subjects joined by “along with,” “as well as” don’t change the verb.
†The CEO, along with his team, is attending.
“There is” vs. “There are” depends on the subject after it.
†There is a car outside. / There are cars outside.
English
Arabic
Spanish
Portuguese
Deutsch
Turkish
Dutch
Italiano
Russian
Romaian
Portuguese (Brazil)
Greek