Subjects and Verbs MUST Agree . . . but What Does That Mean?

Subjects and verbs are some of the most important elements in a sentence. If I’m being honest, they’re probably THE most important parts of a sentence—after all, you need both of them to even form the sentence in the first place.

These grammatical coworkers absolutely MUST get along. It’s not an option for them to disagree with each other or else the entire sentence will completely fall apart. But what do we really mean when we say that subjects and verbs must agree? Let’s get into it.

(First, a quick aside: I’m a visual learner, so visual cues are important to me. For all of the examples in this post, I’ll make the subjects green and their associated verbs blue so that you can see which noun is the subject and which verb goes with it.)

What Is Subject-Verb Agreement?

The very simple explanation of subject-verb agreement is that singular subjects must have a singular verb, and plural subjects must have a plural verb. Easy enough! Put another way, you could say that subjects must agree in person and number.

Remember that we’re talking about subjects and verbs here—other nouns in the sentence do not matter for subject-verb agreement. No matter how many nouns are tossed into the predicate, the only ones we care about are the nouns in the subject.

For example, in the sentence “The recipe requires flour, sugar, eggs, and milk,” the subject is “the recipe,” which is singular; that means we need a singular verb: “requires.” It doesn’t matter that there are a bunch of nouns in the predicate and some of those nouns are plural—we only care about the subject. If we were to flip the sentence around and put those other nouns in the subject slot, we’d need a plural noun: “Flour, sugar, eggs, and milk are required for the recipe.” The plural subject (“flour, sugar, eggs, and milk”) requires a plural verb (“are”).

Examples:

• Stanley is going to the grocery store.

• The dogs eat kibble topped with eggs for breakfast.

• I am an introvert; my colleagues are extroverts.

With just one subject, subject-verb agreement is pretty simple. But what happens when we start running into multiple subjects, indefinite pronouns, and—heaven forbid—collective nouns?

Multiple Subjects Joined by “And”

When you have multiple subjects joined by and, you need a plural verb. The connector word and indicates that the subjects are working together, so it’s almost like a single, plural entity.

Greg and Andy go running together each morning.

Paint, rollers, and a tray are required before you can begin painting.

Both the Thomas family and the Williamson family play tennis.

The best teacher and the worst teacher in the school are in the science department.

Multiple Subjects Joined by “Or”

And indicates the subjects are working together, but or indicates that they’re working separately. Because of this, two or more subjects connected by or or nor need a singular verb. The verb should agree with the subject that is closest to it (so if the closest subject is plural, use a plural verb; if it’s singular, use a singular verb).

Neither the cleaning nor the painting was finished today.

Janey or her friends have your car keys.

A squirrel or a mouse is getting into the bird feed in the garage.

Either he or I am going to be fired.

Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are words like “nation,” “family,” and “faculty” that are technically singular but are made up of many individuals.

When you have a collective noun as the subject, you need to determine whether the noun is working as a single entity or as multiple individuals. If it’s working as one entity, use a singular verb; if the noun conveys the idea of many individuals working separately, use a plural verb.

The country has a powerful army.

The family is going on vacation this May.

The faculty are arguing about when to hold the assembly.

Names of Countries, Companies, etc.

Most of the time, the names of countries, companies, and other entities that are made up of many individuals are treated as singular (meaning they need a singular verb). However, it’s up to the writer to decide whether the noun is functioning as a unit or as many individual units.

The United States is holding another election soon.

Starbucks announces a new drink every winter.

The committee argue for hours every time a new rule is proposed.

Indefinite Pronouns (Anybody, Everyone, etc.)

Indefinite pronouns are words like anybody, anyone, everybody, everyone, nobody, no one, somebody, and someone. These words take singular verbs.

Everyone receives a new laptop when they’re hired.

No one shouts louder than my friend Marissa.

“There Is” / “There Are” Sentences

Sentences that start with “there is” or “there are” have the subject come AFTER the verb. You’ll have to track down the subject and make sure the verb (either “is” or “are”) agrees with it!

There is a new coffee shop on the corner.

There are several trees down in my neighborhood.

What questions do you have about subject-verb agreement? Drop them in the comments, and I’ll find you an answer!

Check out 12 potential PITFALLS to AVOID with subject-verb agreement!

Sources:

• Purdue University. “Making Subjects and Verbs Agree.” Subject/Verb Agreement – Purdue OWL® – Purdue University. Accessed April 10, 2025. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/subject_verb_agreement.html.
• The Chicago Manual of Style. 17th ed. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 2017.
• Einsohn, Amy. The Copyeditor’s Handbook. 3rd ed. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: Univ of California Pr, 2011.