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.