Top 26 Subject verb Agreement Rules

Verb agreement rules in the English language are one of those things that make it easy to impress your friends and family with a wide range of vocabulary.
In this article, you’ll learn about some common verb agreements and how they work. You can click here for an interactive quiz on subject verb agreement rules in the English language!.

The “40 rules of subject-verb agreement ppt” is a list of the most important rules that you should know about. The list includes both traditional and modern rules.

Term definition: (Rules for Subject-Verb Agreement) The verb in a sentence must agree with the subject. To put it another way, the verb utilized is dependent on the person and number. The subject-verb agreement is the term for this. Consider the following scenario:

1. He appears. (The verb must be singular if the subject is singular.)
2. They arrive. (The verb must be plural if the subject is plural.)

(See subject-verb agreement examples for further examples.)

We must be able to distinguish between single and Verbs in plural forms.

WITH EXAMPLES OF THE TOP 26 RULES OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

To proceed with the subject-verb agreement To understand the rules, you must first understand the distinction between a verb and a noun.

Noun + s/es = Plural noun (When es/s is added to a noun, it becomes plural).

Singular Noun = Verb + s/es (Verb becomes singular when s/es is added)

Rule 1

If two subjects are joined by ‘and‘, the Verbs in plural form will be used.

Ram and Shyam, for example, are on their way.

Rule 2

If two or more than two nouns are adjectives are joined by ‘and’ but only person or thing or idea is discussed Verb in the singular will be used.

Examples:

1. My philosopher, friend, and guide has arrived. (replace ‘have’ with ‘has’)
2. The race will be won by those who go slowly and steadily. (replace ‘win’ with ‘wins’)
3. My favorite dish is fish and chips. (no mistakes)

If two uncountable nouns are joined by ‘and‘ and if tow different subjects are discussed, Verbs in plural form will be used.

Poverty and unhappiness, for example, are linked.

Rule 3

If the topic is connected by ‘as well as’, ‘with’, ‘alongwith’, ‘along with’, ‘and not’, ‘and not’, ‘and not’, ‘and not’, ‘and not’, ‘and not’, ‘and not’, ‘and not’, ‘and not’, The verb will agree with the first subject if it contains the words ‘in addition to’, ‘but’, ‘besides’, ‘except’, ‘rather than’, ‘accompained by’, ‘like’, ‘unlike’, ‘no less than’, ‘nothing but’.

Examples:

1. Ram, as well as his parents, are on their way.
2. The commander, as well as the crew, perished.
3. Unlike my uncles, my father is quite strict.

Rule 4

If an article is placed just before the 1st subject, it means the person/think is the same for which two nouns are used. Hence Verb in the singular will be used.

Examples:

1. She purchased a white and black gown.
2. Churchil was a brilliant orator and politician in his day. (wrong) Churchil was a well-known orator and politician in his day. (right)

If, on the other hand, an article precedes each topic, it refers to separate people/things.

Hence Verbs in plural form will be used.

The director and producer, for example, have arrived.

Rule 5

The verb will agree with the closest subject if two subjects are linked by ‘neither….nor’, ‘either… or’, ‘not only’,…’but also’, ‘nor’, ‘or’, ‘none-but’.

Examples:

1. Ram and Shyam are yet to arrive.
2. Either Ram or his companions have arrived.
3. Has Shyam or Ram arrived?

Rule 6

‘None of’ indicates ‘neither of the two items’ or ‘neither of the two persons.’

The circumstances of the case were unknown to neither of the division bench judges. (Correct)

• ‘None of’ denotes that something or someone is not part of a group.

1. He was neglected by none of his four boys. (incorrect)
2. None of his four sons were interested in looking after him.

• ‘One of the two things or persons’ indicates ‘any of the two things or people.’

Examples:

1. Any one of the five members is to blame. (incorrect)
2. One of the five members has made a mistake. (correct)
3. The trusteeship will be given to one of the twins. (correct)

The word ‘not’ is not used with the word ‘both.’ ‘Neither of’ is used in this case.

1. The test was not taken by any of them.
2. Neither of them bothered to take the test.

Rule 7

Certain nouns are plural in form but singular in meaning. Hence they take Verb in the singular.

1. Mathematics is a fascinating topic to study.
2. Politics isn’t really my thing.

Note: If ‘Statics‘ means ‘data‘, Mathematics‘ means ‘Calculation‘ and ‘Politics‘ means ‘Political thought‘, Verbs in plural form is used.

For instance, statics have revealed multiple scams in the Commonwealth Games’ organization.

Rule 8

We usually match the verb to the closest subject, but this is incorrect. Match the verb to the sentence’s primary topic.

Examples:

1. Apples are of high quality.
2. He is the one who is to blame, not his parents.
3. The victims’ request for the cases relating to rioting to be transferred to other states has been granted.

Rule 9

Collective noun always takes a Verb in the singular. Examples:

1. In the field, a herd of cows is grazing.
2. The committee has reached a unanimous conclusion.

If there is a division among the members of the collective noun or we talk about the members of the collective noun, Verbs in plural form and plural pronoun are used.

1. In their verdict, the jury is split.
2. Seats have been assigned to the audience.

Rule 10

The plural number will always take a Verbs in plural form.

In my class, there are a hundred lads.

Note: If plural noun is used after cardinal adjectives (one, two, three, four etc.) and if plural noun denotes certain amount, weight, height or period, Verb in the singular will be used.

In other words, we can say that the plural numbers used as a singular unit will take a Verb in the singular.

Examples:

1. I have a hundred rupees in my pocket.
2. On foot, ten miles is a significant distance.

Rules for Subject-Verb Agreement

Rule 11

When a relative pronoun connects a subject and a verb, the verb employed will agree with the antecedent to the relative pronoun.

Examples:

1. She is one of the most noble ladies that has ever walked the face of the world. (Because it is a relative pronoun, we use ‘have’ instead of ‘has’ here.)
2. I’m not one of those people that blindly trusts everyone they meet. (Because person is a relative pronoun, we say ‘they meet’ instead of ‘I meet’ here.)

In this sort of inquiry, try to comprehend the meaning of the statement.

Rule 12

Each, Every, Everyone, Someone, Somebody, Nobody, None, One, Any, Many a, There are many., are singular. Hence they will take a Verb in the singular, singular noun, and singular pronoun. Examples:

1. Every student has arrived.
2. Each male and each girl have arrived.
3. Both one’s friend and one’s adversary must be tolerated. (Instead of ‘his,’ use ‘one’s.’)
4. Many students have failed to do their assignments. (Instead of ‘their,’ use ‘his.’)
5. There were many men present.

Note that the word many may be used in the following ways:

• Many men have arrived.
• A large number of guys have arrived.
• A great /A good A large number of guys have arrived.

Rule 13

If you use ‘of’ after each, every, one, and so on. The noun or pronoun immediately after ‘of’ will be plural in form. The verb, pronoun, adjective, and other words in the later half of the phrase, on the other hand, will be singular.

For instance, one of the boys/them has completed his work.

Rule 14

If ‘each‘ is used after Plural noun or plural pronoun, Verbs in plural form is used.

Each of us has a responsibility to our country.

Rule 15

If Indefinite Pronoun ‘One‘ comes as the subject of a sentence, it takes Verb in the singular and singular pronoun ‘one‘, ‘one’s‘, and ‘oneself‘ and not ‘he‘, ‘him‘, ‘his‘ or ‘himself‘. For example:

Examples:

• It is important to maintain one’s word. (incorrect)
• It is important to maintain one’s word. (correct)

Rule 16

If a sentence begins with if, as if, as though, suppose, I wish, in case, would that, etc., it is expressing an imaginary position. In such sentences, the verb ‘were’ is used regardless of the subject’s number.

Examples:

1. I wish I could be a bird.
2. He would assist others if he were wealthy.

Rule 17

An optative Sentences, singular subject takes Verbs in plural form.

Long live the Queen, for example.

(‘live‘ = Verbs in plural form, ‘queen‘ = singular subject)

Rule 18

A number of / ‘a large number of ‘/ ‘a great number of’ is used with plural countable noun. Hence they will take Verbs in plural form.

A large number of pupils were there, for example. (correct)

Note: A number of denotes the number of plural countable noun. It will take Verb in the singular.

• There are fifty lads in the group. (incorrect)
• There are fifty lads in the group. (correct)

Rule 19

With uncountable nouns we use ‘Amount of /Quantity of’ followed by a Verb in the singular.

Examples:

• The funds available are insufficient. (correct)
• The amount of money available is insufficient. (correct)

Rule 20

‘All‘ can be used in both countable and uncountable sense. When used as uncountable, it takes Verb in the singular and when used as countable, it takes Verbs in plural form.

Examples:

1. Everything works out in the end.
2. At home, everything is well.

Rule 21

Scenery, Poetry, Furniture, Advice, Information, Hair, Business, Mischief, Bread, Stationery, Crockery, Luggage, Baggage, Postage, Knowledge, Wastage, Jewelry, Breakage, Equipment, Evidence, Work (works means literary pieces), News, Percentage, Dirt, Dust, Traffic, Electricity, Music, Confectionery, pottery, Bakery, Behaviour, Word (When used in sense of discussion) Fuel and Cost are uncountable nouns and hence will take Verb in the singular. These nouns will not take article. ‘A/An‘, ‘many‘, ‘few‘, ‘number of‘, and ‘plural form‘.

Examples:

1. Kashmir’s landscape has attracted us.
2. I passed the test, but my grade point average was low.
3. He has done something that is unforgivable.
4. His tresses are jet black.
5. I have certain tools that I’ll use for the job.

Although such nouns do not have a plural form, the singular/plural form of certain of these nouns is occasionally required. Certain words are added before the uncountable nouns to create the singular/plural form.

Examples:

1. He provided me with some facts.
2. All of the information she provided was accurate.
3. In the store, you may find a wide variety of furnishings.
4. I’m looking for a couple pieces of jewelry.
5. He took two pieces of bread and ate them both.
6. Please display some office stationery for me.
7. A strand of hair was discovered in the automobile by the cops.

Money is the plural form of the word money, which refers to monetary sums.

Money was collected and given to a women’s welfare organization.

Rule 22

Certain nouns exist in plural forms only. Thus ‘s’ cannot be removed from such nouns to make then singular. They take the Verbs in plural forms with them.

Scissors, tongs, pliers, bellows, gallows, fangs, alms, amends, archives, arrears, auspices, congratulations, embers, fireworks, lodgings, outskirts, particulars, proceeds, regards, riches, remains, savings, shambles, surroundings, tidings, troops, tactics, thanks, valuables, wages, belongings, braces, etc.

Examples:

1. What happened to my pants?
2. What happened to the tongs?
3. The money was put in a bank account.
4. His whole estate was taken.
5. The beggars were given alms.
6. The fire’s embers were still smoldering.

Note: Wages can be used in both singular & plural form. See the following sentences

Rules for Subject-Verb Agreement

Rule 23

News, innings, politics, summons, physics, economics, ethics, mathematics, mumps, measles, rickets, shingles, billiards, athletics are certain nouns that are plural in form but singular in meaning. They take Verb in the singular.

Examples:

1. There is no such thing as bad news.
2. Politics is a shady business.
3. Economics is a fascinating topic.
4. Honesty is required by ethics.

Rule 24

Cattle, cavalry, infantry, poultry, peasantry, children, gentry, police, and people are certain nouns are singular in form but plural in meaning. They take Verbs in plural form ‘s‘ is never used with these nouns.

Examples:

1. In the field, cattle are grazing.
2. Our infantry has made great strides ahead.
3. The thieves have been apprehended by the police.

Note that ‘people’ refers to a group of males, while ‘peoples’ refers to people of many races.

The Greeks, for example, were courageous. (We’re only talking about one race here.) As a result, using the word “people” is incorrect.)

Rule 25

Deer, sheep, series, species, fish, crew, team, jury, aircraft, counsel, are certain nouns that are used in both singular and plural form. If they are used in a singular sense, they take a Verb in the singular and if they are used in the plural sense, they take a Verbs in plural form.

Examples:

1. Our group is unrivaled.
2.  Our crew is putting their new outfit to the test.
3.  In the pond, there are two fish.
4.  The aquarium is home to a variety of species. (The term ‘fishes’ refers to a variety of fish species.)

Rule 26

The following statements demonstrate how the table’s rules are applied:

1. On Mars, there is no air.
2. There were no students that were interested in taking the test.
3. The first third of the term has been completed.
4. One-third of the pupils have completed the course.
5. Ninety percent of the work has been completed.
6. The majority of information is learned via experience.
7. The majority of the females are not present today.
8. Ninety percent of the pupils received excellent grades on the test.
9. Half of the contestants received perfect scores.
10. Some pupils have not yet taken the test.
11. The proportion of successful candidates is less.
12. There are many. city was ruined.
13. There were more than one city in ruins.
14. More than two crooks have been apprehended.
15. More than one strategy was devised.

 Note the distinction between sentences 12 and 13.

Rules for Subject-Verb Agreement pdf free download

The laws of subject-verb agreement Rules for subject-verb agreement (2990 downloads)

The “subject-verb agreement rules pdf oxford” is a list of 26 subject verb agreement rules. Oxford University Press has created this document to help people remember the correct way to write sentences and paragraphs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 20 rules on subject-verb agreement?

A: Subject-verb agreement is a grammatical term where the subject of a sentence and its verb must agree in number. For example, he runs should be run instead of him running.

What are the 14 subject-verb agreement rules?

A:
Subject-verb agreement rules are the guidelines for how to form sentences with verbs and subjects in English. The following is a list of those principles.
1) I before you, 2) singular subject takes plural verb, 3) masculine nouns take feminine adjectives (e.g., boy becomes girls), 4) definite articles go before indefinite article (a dog but an old cat).

What are the basic rules of subject-verb agreement?

A: In the English language, subject-verb agreement determines whether a pronoun agrees with its verb in number. For example, I take and you give.

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