1. The Basic Rule
* Singular Subjects: Take a singular verb (e.g., "The cat sits on the mat.")
* Plural Subjects: Take a plural verb (e.g., "The cats sit on the mats.")
2. Subject-Verb Agreement
* Identify the Subject: Find the noun or pronoun that performs the action of the verb.
* Example: In "The dog barks loudly," "dog" is the subject.
* Match the Verb: The verb must agree with the subject in number (singular or plural).
* Singular subject + singular verb
* Plural subject + plural verb
3. Common Tricks and Exceptions
* Collective Nouns: Words like "team," "family," "group," or "committee" can be singular or plural depending on how they're used.
* Singular: "The team is practicing." (The team is acting as a unit)
* Plural: "The team are arguing about their strategy." (The individual members of the team are acting)
* Compound Subjects: Two or more subjects joined by "and" are usually plural.
* Example: "The dog and the cat are playing."
* Exception: If the compound subject refers to a single entity, it takes a singular verb.
* Example: "Peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich."
* Indefinite Pronouns: Words like "each," "everyone," "anyone," "somebody," "nothing," and "everything" are singular.
* Example: "Everybody wants to be happy."
* "Or" and "Nor": The verb agrees with the subject closer to it.
* Example: "Neither the students nor the teacher knows the answer."
* "There" and "Here": These words aren't subjects; the true subject comes after the verb.
* Example: "There are three books on the shelf." (The subject is "books")
4. Word Forms
* Plural nouns: Usually end in -s or -es (e.g., cats, boxes).
* Singular nouns: Usually don't end in -s (e.g., cat, box).
* Some nouns have irregular plurals: (e.g., children, men, mice).
5. Don't Be Fooled by Words in Between
* Ignore words that come between the subject and verb (prepositional phrases, etc.).
* Example: "The dog with the spots barks loudly." The subject is "dog," not "dog with the spots."
6. Don't Be Misled by the Subject Complement
* The subject complement renames the subject but doesn't change the subject's number.
* Example: "The team is a group of talented players." "Team" is still singular.
7. Practice Makes Perfect
* Reading and writing often helps you build your intuition for subject-verb agreement.