Lesson 5 Subject-Verb Agreement (Singular and Plural Nouns)

Essential Question

How do we make the subjects and verbs make sense together in our sentences?

Grammar in the World

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Created by Mizzou Academy

When we talk about agreement between subjects and verbs, we don't mean that they're arguing about which path to take or which restaurant they should go to for dinner, but subjects and verbs do need to agree in number. In the English language, subjects can be singular or plural and the verbs we choose for the same sentence need to match. Let's start by seeing how much you know about subject-verb agreement already!

What Do I Know?

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Image courtesy of the University of Missouri

What do you already know about how subjects and verbs work together in sentences? Take this quiz to find out.

Look at each pair of sentences. Choose the one that has the correct subject-verb agreement:

Building Blocks

Grammar is a complex system and structure of language. Mizzou Academy Grammar Lab spotlights one skill (or block) at a time, but it’s often helpful to see how a skill works together with other, related blocks to build the language structure as a whole. You may find the following resource topics helpful as context for this lesson:

Learn About Subject-Verb Agreement in Singular and Plural Nouns

In life, it is impossible for people to agree with each other all of the time. In our communication, we at least can make sure the subject of our sentence agrees with its verb. Subject-verb agreement helps us communicate clearly with others (even if they don’t agree with us).

Subjects and Verbs

The subject of a sentence is the person, place, thing or idea that does or is something in a sentence. When a noun or pronoun functions as the subject in a sentence, we call them subject nouns and subject pronouns.

Our campus displays brilliant colors in the spring.

The tree blooms in bright pinks.

The verb in a sentence is the action or state of being that the subject does or is.

Our campus displays brilliant colors in the spring.

The tree blooms in bright pinks.

Identifying Subjects and Verbs

To find the subject of the sentence, ask who or what is doing the action. Then, notice whether the subject is singular or plural.
To find the verb of the sentence, what is this person/place/idea/thing doing? Then, match the verb to the subject to make it either singular or plural.

One extra tip to find the verb of the sentence is to put the word “she” or “they” before the word. If it makes sense, it is probably a verb:

All of the birds gather around our bird feeder.
(They birds? Nope. They gather? Yes -- gather is a verb.)
Each bird sings its own song.
(She each? She bird? Nope. She sings. Yes -- sings is a verb.)

Subject-Verb Agreement

When we write or speak, we make our subjects and verbs match -- they either are singular or plural.

A singular subject takes a singular verb.

In Missouri, the season of spring starts in March.

Rain falls this time of year.

A plural subject takes a plural verb.

Bees gather pollen from new flowers.

The parks and forests smell sweet.

In general, we add an -s to verbs to make them singular, and we add an -s to nouns to make them plural. (Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, especially with irregular verbs.)

Singular S-V Agreement	Plural S-V Agreement
Rain often *falls* in the spring.	The rains often *fall* in the spring.
My grandfather’s lilac bush *blooms* in the spring.	My grandfather’s lilac bushes *bloom* in the spring.
Each of Mizzou’s Botanical Gardens shows a variety of colors in the spring.	Mizzou’s Botanical Gardens *show* a variety of colors in the spring.
He *feeds* the birds in the spring.	They *feed* the birds in the spring.
My child *grows* faster in the spring than in the winter.	Children *grow* faster in the spring than in the winter.
She *enjoys* spring.	We *enjoy* spring.

Here are some tips to help create subject-verb agreement in your sentences.

1. Compound subjects count as singular when they use the conjunction “or”:

Your brother or you chooses which flowers to plant.
The robin or the wren sings a sweet song.

2. Compound subjects count as plural when they use the conjunction “and”:

Grandma and Grandpa plant lilacs every year.
The robin and wren sing sweet songs.

3. Personal pronouns take the singular form of masculine (he/him), feminine (she/her), and gender-neutral (they/them). The word “they” can be a singular or plural subject, depending on the context:

They plant flowers together every spring. (“They” refers to two or more people here.)
They chirp loudly at the birdfeeder. (“They” refers to two or more birds here.)

4. When referring to one person’s preferred pronoun, “they” is singular:

My neighbor Sam is a talented gardener. They plant flowers in the garden each year. (“They’ refers to one person here.)
They woke up early because the birds sang loudly outside their window. (You would use the context of the rest of the conversation to recognize “they” as a singular noun here.)

5. The words each, each one, either, neither, no one, nobody, everyone, everybody, anyone, anybody, someone, and somebody are singular subjects.

Somebody feeds the birds every day.

6. The words “some” and “all” are plural subjects.

All of our neighbors feed the birds every day.

7. Sometimes, words come between a subject and a verb. These words do not equal “and.” The verb will be singular or plural, depending on the number of the subject.

His mother, along with his entire family, hopes the hummingbirds will find the feeder.
Our dogs, like our lazy cat, take no interest in going outside when it rains.
Gabriella, one of my aunts, shares stories about her spring break beach trip.

Do I Get It?

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Image courtesy of Wikipedia.org

Spring, by Guiseppe Acimboldo (1563)

What have you learned about subject-verb agreement? Take this quiz to find out.

Read each sentence and choose the correct verb that agrees in number (singular or plural) with the subject.