Grammar: Subject–Verb Agreement

Learn how to avoid grammar errors with subject–verb agreement.

Table of contents

Example errors

Look at the example errors below. Can you fix them?

Incorrect
– One of the patients ~~were~~ given the medicine.
– First-year students is often used in psychology studies.
– The funding that the researchers received ~~were~~ provided by the government.

1. Verbs need to agree with their subjects. If a subject is singular, you need a singular verb. If the subject is plural, you need a plural verb.

– The participants were given a questionnaire.
– The researcher was surprised by the results.

2. Be careful! Uncountable nouns such as information, advice and money take a singular verb.

– This information [U] is available on the website.

3. With some phrases, subject–verb agreement is a little more complex.

One of the...
A plural noun is used after this phrase. However, the verb must agree with the subject, which is one. Example: – One of the findings was that…

None of the…
If an uncountable noun comes after this phrase, you need a singular verb; if the noun is plural, use a plural verb. Examples: – None of the questionnaires were completed. – None of the equipment was used.

… or… / … nor…
If a subject is made up of a singular noun and a plural noun joined by or or nor, the verb must agree with the second noun. Examples: – Neither the children nor the teacher was happy. – Either the teacher or her students have to attend.

together with / as well as / including
If you use one of these phrases, make sure that the verb still agrees with the subject only. Example: – The researcher, together with the confederate, was present at the meeting.

Here are the corrected errors from the start of the lesson.

Incorrect	Correct
– One of the patients ~~were~~ given the medicine.	– One of the patients was given the medicine.
– First-year students is often used in psychology studies.	– First-year students are often used in psychology studies.
– The funding that the researchers received ~~were~~ provided by the government.	– The funding [U] that the researchers received was provided by the government.