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 person and number. In the simple present, most verbs add “s” or “es” with a third-person singular subject (she walks; the dog barks). Use the base form with I, you, we, and they (I walk; they walk). Helping verbs have their own forms; modal verbs such as can and must do not add “s”.

Matching Singular and Plural

First find the grammatical subject: who or what the sentence is about. A subject can perform an action, receive one, or be described. Then check its person and number. Most simple-present verbs add “s” or “es” with a third-person singular subject: The dog barks at night. More than one needs the plain verb: The dogs bark at night. With regular nouns and most simple-present verbs, the endings differ: dogs is plural, while barks matches a third-person singular subject. Irregular forms and helping verbs need separate checks. 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 third-person singular subjects, “am” and “was” with I, and “are” and “were” with you, we, and they: She is ready but They are ready. For “have,” use “has” with third-person singular subjects and “have” with I, you, we, and they: 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 person and number: most simple-present verbs add “s” or “es” with he, she, it, or a singular noun.
4. Double-check forms of “be” and “have.”

Practice

1. What does subject-verb agreement mean?
2. With most simple-present verbs, does a third-person singular subject take a verb with or without “s” or “es”?
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 person and number.
2. With “s” or “es” (she walks; he watches).
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: