Subject-Verb Agreement

Verbs change their form depending on the subject, and matching them correctly is something the editing questions test again and again. When the subject and verb do not agree, a sentence sounds off even to readers who could not name the rule.

Subject-verb agreement means the verb must match its subject in number. A singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb. In the present tense, most singular verbs add an “s” (she walks), while plural verbs do not (they walk).

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Matching Singular and Plural

First find the true subject — the noun doing the action — then decide whether it is one thing or more than one. A single subject needs a verb that ends in “s” in the present tense: The dog barks at night. More than one needs the plain verb: The dogs bark at night. Notice that the “s” moves: nouns add it to become plural, but verbs add it to become singular. Wrong: The teacher grade the papers. “Teacher” is singular, so it needs “grades.” Corrected: The teacher grades the papers. Wrong: My friends lives nearby. “Friends” is plural, so it needs “live.” Corrected: My friends live nearby. Reading the subject and verb together, with the other words stripped away, makes the match easy to hear.

The Verbs “Be” and “Have”

The verbs “be” and “have” change more than most, so they deserve special attention. For “be,” use “is” and “was” with singular subjects and “are” and “were” with plural subjects: She is ready but They are ready. For “have,” use “has” with singular and “have” with plural: He has a ticket but They have a ticket. Wrong: The results was surprising. “Results” is plural, so it needs “were.” Corrected: The results were surprising. Wrong: My sister have two jobs. “Sister” is singular, so it needs “has.” Corrected: My sister has two jobs. Because these verbs appear so often, checking them is a fast way to catch errors.

Watch: A Short Video Lesson

Khan Academy gives a clear overview to go with this lesson:

A Routine for Agreement

1. Find the true subject of the sentence.
2. Decide whether it is singular or plural.
3. Match the verb: add “s” for singular in the present tense.
4. Double-check forms of “be” and “have.”

Practice

1. What does subject-verb agreement mean?
2. Does a singular subject take a verb with or without “s” in the present tense?
3. Fix this: “The boxes is heavy.”
4. Fix this: “My cousin live in Ohio.”
5. Which is correct: “The children was” or “The children were”?
6. Which is correct: “He have” or “He has”?

Answers

1. The verb must match its subject in number.
2. With “s” (she walks).
3. “The boxes are heavy.”
4. “My cousin lives in Ohio.”
5. “The children were.”
6. “He has.”

Where This Fits in Your RLA Prep

Once this feels natural, move on to tricky subject-verb agreement and the related skill of pronoun agreement and reference. See every topic on the Language Arts Prep Hub.

Recommended Prep Books

Keep building momentum with a full study guide and practice tests:

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