Subject-verb agreement: rules, examples and practice

What subject-verb agreement means

Every sentence has a subject, the person or thing the sentence is about, and a verb, the action or state. In the present tense, the verb changes its ending to match the subject. One owl hoots. Two owls hoot. Matching the verb to the subject in this way is called subject-verb agreement.

The pattern surprises many children because the -s seems to jump sides. A plural noun usually ends in -s (owls), but a singular verb usually ends in -s (hoots). A handy rule of thumb: there is usually only one -s to share between the subject and the verb. The owl hoots. The owls hoot.

Subject-verb agreement rules

• He, she, it and any single noun take a verb ending in -s or -es: she paints, the bus stops, Grandpa watches.
• I, you, we, they and plural nouns take the plain verb: I paint, you paint, the buses stop.
• The verb be has its own forms: I am, he is, we are; I was, they were. You always takes are and were, even when it means one person.
• Have becomes has with a singular subject: my sister has a cold, but my sisters have colds.
• Do becomes does: he does his chores, they do their chores.
• Past-tense verbs usually stay the same for every subject (she jumped, they jumped). The exception is was and were.

The tricky cases

Most mistakes happen when the subject is hard to spot. These are the cases that come up again and again in older children's writing and in grammar quizzes.

• Words in between. In The box of markers is on the desk, the subject is box, not markers, so the verb is singular. Cover the phrase that starts with of, in, with or along with and read what is left.
• Two subjects joined by and are plural: Jamal and his cousin are here. When or or nor joins them, the verb agrees with the nearer subject: Either the twins or their dad is picking us up.
• Words like everyone, somebody, nothing, each and either are singular: Everyone wants a turn. Words like both, few, many and several are plural: Both of the answers are right.
• Some, all, most and none depend on the noun after of: Some of the juice is gone, but some of the grapes are left.
• There is and there are: the real subject comes after the verb. There is a frog in the pond. There are three frogs in the pond.
• Collective nouns such as team, class and family usually take a singular verb in American English: The team is winning. British English often allows a plural verb as well: The team are winning.

Examples from easy to hard

• The frog jumps. The frogs jump. (one or many)
• My uncle and aunt live in Ohio. (two subjects joined by and)
• The leaves on that maple tree turn red in October. (the subject is leaves, not tree)
• Each of the campers has a flashlight. (each is singular)
• Neither the coach nor the players were ready. (players is nearer the verb)
• Nobody in the two classes knows the password. (nobody is singular)

How it is taught in school

In the US, Common Core starts in grade 1, where children use singular and plural nouns with matching verbs in basic sentences, such as He hops and We hop (L.1.1.c). Grade 3 names it directly: students must ensure subject-verb agreement (L.3.1.f). In middle school, the focus moves to the tricky cases above, where the subject is harder to find.

In England, the national curriculum asks Year 4 pupils to use Standard English verb forms, such as we were instead of we was. In Years 5 and 6, pupils are expected to use correct subject-verb agreement with singular and plural subjects throughout their writing.

Helping at home

• Listen for it in speech. Many children hear forms like we was or he don't around them, and that is normal. Treat the written form as a second way of speaking that school expects, not as a mistake to scold.
• Play one or many: say a subject (the puppy, the puppies) and let your child finish the sentence with a matching verb.
• When a sentence sounds right but is not, cover the middle words. The list of chores is long becomes The list is long.
• Try the practice set below, then print a fresh subject-verb agreement worksheet with an answer key for another day.