Subject-Verb Agreement — Quick Reference
The Rule in 10 Seconds
Section titled “The Rule in 10 Seconds”In Present Simple, third-person singular subjects (he, she, it, a person, everyone) need -s/-es on the verb. Everything else stays base form.
| Subject | Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I / you / we / they | base form | They work here. |
| he / she / it | base + s | She works here. |
Third-Person -s Rule
He / She / It / Name / Singular noun + verb + s → The cat sleeps. Sarah runs. It costs $5.
Tricky Subjects
Section titled “Tricky Subjects”| Subject | Singular or Plural? | Example |
|---|---|---|
| everyone / everybody | Singular ✅ | Everyone has a ticket. |
| someone / somebody | Singular ✅ | Somebody is at the door. |
| nobody / no one | Singular ✅ | Nobody knows the answer. |
| each / every + noun | Singular ✅ | Each student has a book. |
| neither / either | Singular ✅ | Neither option is good. |
| the news | Singular ✅ | The news is bad. |
| the team / the family | Singular (US) / Plural (UK) | The team is/are ready. |
| the police | Plural ✅ | The police are here. |
| the people | Plural ✅ | The people want change. |
Compound Subjects
Section titled “Compound Subjects”| Connector | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A and B | Plural | Tom and Jerry are friends. |
| A or B | Match the closest | Tom or his friends are coming. |
| Neither A nor B | Match the closest | Neither the kids nor the teacher is happy. |
| A, along with B | Match A (ignore B) | The CEO, along with her staff, is here. |
| A, as well as B | Match A (ignore B) | The teacher, as well as the students, was late. |
There is / There are
Section titled “There is / There are”| Noun after “there” | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Singular / uncountable | there is | There is a problem. / There is water. |
| Plural | there are | There are three cats. |
Common Mistakes
Section titled “Common Mistakes”She don't like coffee.
She doesn't like coffee.
She = third person singular → doesn't, not don't.
Everyone have their own opinion.
Everyone has their own opinion.
Everyone is grammatically singular → has. (Using 'their' as a pronoun is fine.)
The news are shocking.
The news is shocking.
News looks plural but is always singular in English.
Neither of them are correct.
Neither of them is correct.
'Neither' is singular. The 'of them' part doesn't change the agreement.
There is many reasons.
There are many reasons.
Reasons is plural → there are.
Want the full lesson? → Subject-Verb Agreement →
Mandarin speaker? → Why agreement doesn’t exist in 中文 →