A sentence is complete only when it has a subject and a predicate. The predicate contains the verb and may include the object. The subject tells who or what performs the action in the sentence. The verb expresses an action, state, or condition of the subject. 1.

Subject-verb agreement occurs when the subject of a sentence ‘agrees with’ the verb in terms of number, which can be singular (referring to one) or plural (referring to more than one)1. 

The table below demonstrates how singular and plural subjects pair with their respective verbs:

Let us look at some more examples. 

1. Singular Subject → Singular Verb

• He plays the guitar beautifully.

• Geeta reads a book every evening.

• The dog barks at the mailman every day.

• The cat does not sleep on the windowsill. (The main verb that follows ‘does not,’ or ‘did not’ should always be in its base/root form, which means it does not have an ‘s’ added to it.)

• He does not like chocolate.

• Pooja enjoyed the movie. BUT Pooja did not enjoy the movie. (‘enjoy’ is written in its present tense base/root form as soon as the verb do/does/did appear in the sentence)

2. Plural Subject → Plural Verb

• We play soccer in the park.

• They volunteer at the local animal shelter.

• Krushi and I love solving jigsaw puzzles.

• Mehul and his friends plan exciting trips each summer.

3. It is important to note that even though ‘I’ and ‘you’ are singular subjects/pronouns, they only use plural verb forms2. 

• I write stories in my journal.

• You prepare delicious meals for your loved ones.

• I did not answer his call. 

There are a few other rules for us to keep in mind to make sure that the subject is in agreement with its verb

1. Uncountable nouns, which represent things that cannot be counted individually, typically take singular verb forms in sentences2. 

• Music brings people joy.                                                (Music is uncountable, and ‘brings’ is a singular verb.)

• Weather affects our daily activities.                      (Weather is uncountable, and ‘affects’ is a singular verb.)

• Food provides nourishment for our bodies.       (Food is uncountable, and ‘provides’ is a singular verb.)

• Happiness is important for well-being.                (Happiness is uncountable, so it takes a singular helping verb, ‘is.’)

2. Two or more subjects that are connected by ‘and’ always require a plural verb2.

• Apples and oranges make a tasty fruit salad.

• She and her friends play cricket together.

• The cat and the dog chase each other in the yard.

• John and Sarah are siblings.

3. The helping verb 'had' is used with both singular and plural subjects2.

• She had a great idea.

• They had a delicious meal for dinner.

• The company had a successful year.

• We had a wonderful experience with our tour guide. 

Watch the video given below for a quick recap of this lesson.