Subject-verb agreement
Matching verbs with singular, plural and collective subjects.
The rule
A singular subject takes a singular verb; a plural subject takes a plural verb. “The boy runs.” “The boys run.”
Tricky cases
- Words between subject and verb do not change agreement: “The list of items is ready.”
- Each, every, everyone, either and neither are singular.
- With “either… or” / “neither… nor”, the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
- Uncountable nouns (information, furniture, advice) take singular verbs.
Practice questions
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