📘 Subject–Verb Agreement (Concord):
Definition
Subject–Verb Agreement means that the verb must agree in number (singular/plural) and person with its subject in a sentence.
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Singular subject → Singular verb
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Plural subject → Plural verb
👉 This rule ensures grammatical correctness in English sentences.
⚖️ Rules of Subject–Verb Agreement
Rule 1: Singular Subject → Singular Verb; Plural Subject → Plural Verb
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Example:
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He runs fast. (singular)
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They run fast. (plural)
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Rule 2: Two singular subjects joined by “and” → Plural Verb
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Example:
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Ram and Shyam are friends.
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⚠️ Exception: If the two subjects refer to one person/idea, verb is singular.
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Bread and butter is my breakfast.
Rule 3: Subjects joined by “or / nor / either…or / neither…nor” → Verb agrees with nearest subject
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Example:
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Either Ravi or his friends have done this.
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Neither the students nor the teacher was present.
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Rule 4: “Each / Every / Either / Neither / Everyone / Anybody / Someone / Nobody” → Always singular
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Example:
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Each boy is honest.
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Everyone likes music.
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Rule 5: Plural nouns with singular meaning → Singular Verb
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Example:
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Mathematics is difficult.
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News is interesting.
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Rule 6: Collective nouns (jury, team, committee, family, crowd, audience, etc.)
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If acting as a unit → Singular verb
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The team is playing well.
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If members act individually → Plural verb
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The team are arguing among themselves.
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Rule 7: Indefinite expressions of quantity / amount / distance / weight → Singular Verb
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Example:
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Five miles is a long distance.
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Ten thousand rupees was stolen.
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Rule 8: Words joined with “with, together with, along with, accompanied by, as well as” → Verb agrees with the first subject
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Example:
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The teacher, along with the students, is in the hall.
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The students, as well as the teacher, are in the hall.
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Rule 9: Nouns plural in form but singular in meaning → Singular Verb
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Example:
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Politics is a dirty game.
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Economics is interesting.
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Rule 10: “A number of” vs “The number of”
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A number of → Plural Verb
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A number of students are absent.
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The number of → Singular Verb
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The number of students is increasing.
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Rule 11: Relative Pronouns (who/which/that) → Verb agrees with antecedent
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Example:
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She is one of the girls who play football.
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She is the only one of the girls who plays football.
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Rule 12: None / Some / All / Most / Half → Depends on the noun
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Example:
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None of the work is done. (uncountable noun)
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None of the students are present. (countable noun)
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Rule 13: Fractions and Percentages → Depend on noun
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Example:
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50% of the rice is spoiled.
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50% of the students are absent.
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Rule 14: Inverted sentences (Here/There at the beginning) → Verb agrees with subject
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Example:
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There is a book on the table.
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There are many books on the table.
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Rule 15: Titles of books, movies, etc. (always singular)
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Example:
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“The Arabian Nights” is a famous book.
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“The Avengers” is a hit movie.
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Rule 16: Plural forms of measurement, sum, or period (considered one unit) → Singular Verb
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Example:
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Twenty years is a long time.
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Five hundred rupees is enough.
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Rule 17: “One of…” construction → Singular Verb
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Example:
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One of my friends is coming.
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Rule 18: When adjectives are used as nouns (the + adj.) → Plural Verb
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Example:
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The rich are not always happy.
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The poor suffer a lot.
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Rule 19: Special Expressions
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More than one → Singular Verb
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More than one student was absent.
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One of + plural noun → Singular Verb
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One of the boys is intelligent.
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Rule 20: Difficult cases with “many a, each of, every one of” → Singular Verb
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Example:
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Many a man has failed.
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Every one of the students was present.
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✅ Tip for Exams:
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Watch carefully for singular/plural traps in questions.
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Focus on collective nouns, fractions, indefinite pronouns, “or/nor” rules, and exceptions.
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These are the most common areas for tricky MCQs.
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