Subject-verb agreement errors often occur in the following situations.
- When other words or phrases come between the subject and its verb.
Faulty
The number of farm workers have remained constant over several decades.
(The subject, number, is singular and requires a singular verb, even though the phrase of farm workers appears between the subject and verb.)
- In sentences with two or more subjects joined by and. Subjects joined by and are plural and require a plural verb.
Faulty
A dot and a dash represents the letter A in Morse code.
(The subject, a dot and a dash, is plural and requires a plural verb.)
Faulty
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, media magnate Rupert Murdoch, and news correspondent Sam Donaldson was born on March 11.
(The subject, Antonin Scalia, Rupert Murdoch, and Sam Donaldson, is plural and requires a plural verb.)
- In sentences with two or more subjects joined by or, either . . . or, or neither . . . nor. In this case, the verb should agree with the subject that is closest to it.
Faulty Math or accounting appear to be a suitable major for you.
(The closest subject is singular, so the verb should be singular.)
Faulty Neither the sailors nor the boat were harmed by the storm.
(When one subject is plural and the other singular, the verb should agree with the subject closest to it.)
- With collective nouns, such as family, couple, and class.
Faulty
The school committee have voted to increase teachers' salaries.
(Because the committee is acting as a unit, a singular verb is needed.)
Faulty
The team is traveling by train, bus, and bike.
(Because the team members are acting individually, a plural verb is needed.)
- With indefinite pronouns such as anyone, everyone, each, every, no one, and something. Most indefinite pronouns are singular.
Faulty
Everyone in this room are welcome to express an opinion.
(Everyone is an indefinite pronoun, which requires a singular verb.)
- With relative pronouns, which need to agree with their antecedent.
Faulty
Toni Morrison, who enjoy unique success as both a popular and a literary author, won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1993.
(Who refers to Toni Morrison, and because Toni Morrison is singular, the verb should be singular.)
Faulty
Look for stores that displays this sign.
(That refers to stores, a plural noun. Therefore, the verb should be plural.)
- When a subject follows a verb, which often happens in sentences that begin with here or there or with a prepositional phrase.
Faulty
There are a false panel somewhere in this room.
(The subject is panel, which requires the singular verb is.)
Faulty
Under the stairs lurk a solitary spider.
(The subject is spider, which requires the singular verb lurks.)
- With a linking verb, which needs to agree with its subject, not the word or phrase that renames the subject.
Faulty
The bluebell are any of several plants in the lily family.
(The subject is bluebell, not plants, and requires the singular verb is.)
- When the subject is a title or a singular noun ending in -s.
Faulty
Gulliver's Travels are a satire by the eighteenth-century British writer Jonathan Swift.
(Even though it ends in with a plural word, Gulliver's Travels is one title and takes a singular verb.)
Faulty
Linguistics deal with the study of human speech.
(Although it ends in -s, linguistics is a singular noun and takes a singular verb.)
