Glossary
subject-verb agreement
Subject-verb agreement means the verb matches its subject in number — a singular subject takes a singular verb, a plural subject a plural verb.
Subject-verb agreement is the rule that a verb's form must match the number of its subject: the dressing is dry, the dressings are dry. English shows it plainly in the present tense and in the past tense of be, which is why almost every agreement question is set there. The mistakes come from distance and disguise, not from the rule. A phrase between subject and verb does not change the subject — the patient, along with two visitors, is waiting — and the noun nearest the verb is often the wrong one to match. Compound subjects joined by and take a plural verb, while either … or and neither … nor take the number of the nearer part. Words such as each, everyone, nobody and each of the are singular however many people they imply, and collective nouns such as team are singular when the group acts as one. Find the subject first, then choose the verb.
Taught in
Related terms
- clause — A clause is a group of words with its own subject and verb; an independent clause can stand as a sentence, a dependent one cannot.
- verb tense — Verb tense is the form of a verb that places an action in time — past, present or future — and shows whether it is ongoing or finished.
Source: The grammar guide in this course, whose conventions follow the US Government Publishing Office's Style Manual for standard written American English, with standard grammar references for agreement, case, tense and sentence structure. The GPO manual is US federal government material, not subject to copyright in the United States. Every definition and example above was written for this course; no reference text is reproduced. (GPO Style Manual accessed 2026-10-27; definitions written 2026-10-27)