Subject–Verb Agreement with Common Distractors

Hello! In the last lesson, you checked apostrophes by asking what a word means: is it a contraction, a possessive, or neither? Subject–verb agreement calls for a similar habit. Before choosing a verb, find the subject it belongs to. A nearby plural word can be distracting if it is not the subject.

This matters when you write longer sentences for an article or client email. “The list of changes is ready” may sound less obvious than “The list is ready,” but the same rule governs both. Today you’ll learn to find the subject through common distractions and choose a verb that agrees with it.

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Start with the subject, not the nearest noun

The subject tells us who or what a clause is about; the verb expresses an action or state. In standard written English, they must agree:

The writer checks the facts.
The writers check the facts.

In the present tense, a verb often ends in -s with a singular third-person subject (the writer checks; she checks) but not with a plural subject (the writers check; they check). That is the opposite of the familiar noun pattern, where adding -s often makes a noun plural. So don’t use the ending alone to judge the whole sentence: identify the subject and verb together.

Other verbs change form more noticeably:

Subject	Forms that agree
the draft / it	is, was, has, does
the drafts / they	are, were, have, do
I	am, was, have, do
you	are, were, have, do

Notice that I and you do not follow the she checks pattern: write I check and you check. If there is a helping verb, it often carries the agreement: The editor has checked the links; the editors have checked the links. The main verb checked does not change.

Watch the selected parts of mmmEnglish’s Subject Verb Agreement | English Lesson | Common Grammar Mistakes for the basic pattern and for verbs such as do/does and have/has.

One point from the video is especially useful in proofreading: doesn’t goes with he, she, it, or another singular third-person subject; don’t goes with I, you, and plural subjects. Write The article doesn’t answer the question, but The articles don’t answer the question.

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Set aside words that interrupt the match

Consider a sentence you might use when discussing a writing project:

The list of proposed changes is ready.

Changes is plural and sits close to the verb, but it is not the subject. The sentence is about the list. To check it, temporarily set aside the descriptive phrase of proposed changes: “The list is ready.”

The same method works with other interruptions:

The opening of the three articles needs revision.
The articles in the opening folder need revision.

In the first sentence, articles tells you which opening is meant; opening controls needs. In the second, articles controls need. Agreement depends on the sentence’s structure, not simply on which noun is closest to the verb.

Phrases beginning with with, including, as well as, or together with can also distract you. They add information but do not turn a singular subject into a plural one:

The editor, along with two writers, is reviewing the draft.
The writers, together with the editor, are reviewing the draft.

This is different from joining subjects with and, which we’ll examine shortly.

A particularly common pattern is one of the ...:

One of the articles needs a new headline.

Articles is plural because you are choosing from several articles. But the subject is one, so the verb is needs. The same reasoning gives you Each of the articles is ready: each refers to items one at a time, despite the plural noun later in the phrase.

OpenStax’s 6.6 Editing Focus: Subject-Verb Agreement develops these checks into a short series of questions. Read it now; the following sections of this lesson will put its compound subjects, indefinite pronouns, and reversed word order into a writing context.

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Decide what and, or, and nor are joining

When and joins two separate subjects, the resulting subject is usually plural:

The outline and draft are ready for review.
The writer and editor have discussed the headline.

Compare that with as well as: The outline, as well as the draft, is ready makes outline the subject and adds the draft as extra information. If you mean that both are ready, The outline and draft are ready says so more directly.

With or and nor, the subjects are alternatives rather than a combined pair. When one is singular and the other plural, match the verb to the subject nearest the verb:

Either the editor or the writers are checking the sources.
Either the writers or the editor is checking the sources.

The same rule applies to neither ... nor. This construction can feel awkward when the two subjects have different numbers, even when the verb is correct. In a draft, you can often rewrite it for a smoother sentence: The editor or the writers will check the sources. With will, you do not have to choose between is and are.

The central distinction is simple: and generally combines two subjects; or and nor present alternatives. An and phrase that names one established unit can take a singular verb, but in ordinary writing about separate people or things, the plural form is the dependable choice.

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Treat indefinite pronouns according to what they refer to

An indefinite pronoun refers to a person or thing without naming a particular one. Some look as if they might refer to a whole group, but they take a singular verb:

Everyone is waiting for the draft.
Each of the sections has a clear heading.
Neither of the proposed headlines works.

In these sentences, everyone, each, and neither control the verbs—not sections or headlines. Other common singular forms include someone, anyone, nobody, and something.

Others are plural:

Several of the sections need examples.
Both of the headlines work.

The useful complication is that words such as some, most, and all can refer either to a singular amount or to plural items. Look at what they mean in context:

Some of the advice is useful.
Some of the suggestions are useful.
Most of the article is complete.
Most of the articles are complete.

Here, advice and article point to singular amounts or things; suggestions and articles point to multiple items. Don’t memorize “some is singular” or “most is plural.” Check what follows and what the sentence means.

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Check sentences whose subject is less visible

In a sentence beginning with there is or there are, there is not the subject. Look after the verb:

There is one unclear claim in the draft.
There are three unclear claims in the draft.

For a polished sentence, avoid using there’s with a plural noun: There are three claims is clearer than There’s three claims.

Questions can put the verb before the subject, too:

Does the article include an example?
Do the articles include examples?

The subjects are article and articles. The helping verb changes from does to do; include stays in its basic form. You would not write Does the article includes.

Finally, a word ending in -s is not always plural, and a noun naming a group is not always treated as plural. The news is encouraging, despite the final s. In American English professional prose, a collective noun such as team is ordinarily singular when you mean the group as one unit: The team is preparing the report. If you need to emphasize the individuals, naming them removes the ambiguity: The team members are preparing their sections. These cases matter, but they do not replace the main method: identify what the subject refers to, then select the matching verb.

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Make agreement a separate editing check

While drafting, your attention is usually on meaning. During a later pass, check agreement deliberately, especially in long sentences. For each clause:

1. Find the verb that might need checking.
2. Ask who or what the clause says is doing or being that thing.
3. Set aside descriptive phrases that interrupt the subject–verb pair.
4. Check whether the subject is singular, plural, joined to another subject, or an indefinite pronoun. If the verb comes first, look after it for the subject.

Here is that pass on two sentences from a draft:

Draft: The list of examples are useful, and everyone on the project have a copy.
Edited: The list of examples is useful, and everyone on the project has a copy.

In the first clause, list is singular; of examples does not change it. In the second, everyone takes a singular verb even though it refers to multiple people. The edits are small, but they keep the sentence’s grammar aligned with its meaning.

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Takeaways

To maintain subject–verb agreement, find the actual subject before choosing the verb. Ignore intervening phrases when deciding its number; remember that one, each, and everyone take singular verbs; distinguish subjects joined by and from alternatives joined by or or nor; and look after the verb in sentences beginning with there or in questions.

In the next lesson, you’ll apply the same attention to reference: making sure pronouns clearly point to the right person or thing and agree with what they refer to.