Rules for subject verb agreement
1.When words like the following are used as subjects, they take singular verb.
2.When every and each come before a singular subject joined by and, the verb is singular.
3.Prepositional phrases that come between the subject and the verb do not change the number of the subject.
4.When the verb comes before the subject as in there or here sentences, it agrees with the subject that immediately follows the verb.
5.“Introductory it” is always singular.
6.Subjects joined by and take a plural verb (except for number 2).
7.Several, many, both, few are plural words and take a plural verb.
8.Some nouns are always plural and always take a plural verb.
9.Some words such as none, any, all, more, most, some, majority, half may take either singular or plural verbs depending on the meaning.
10.When subjects are joined by words such as neither, either, not only the verb must agree with the closer subject.
11.Collective nouns are usually singular when regarded as a unit.
12.Some nouns have the same singular and plural form. They take singular or plural verb depending on the meaning.
13.Expressions stating amount of time, money, weight, volume are plural in form but take a singular verb as in:
Three weeks is a long time.
Two hundred dollars is a lot of money.
14.Some nouns look plural with –s but they take a singular verb.
15.Generic references with the require plural verb.
16.Note the use of foreign plurals.
Singular Plural
Analysis Analyses
Datum Data
Criterion Criteria
Radius Radii
17.Don’t forget that some common English words have irregular plurals.
Plural Singular
Child Children
Person People
18.A relative pronoun takes a singular or plural verb depending on which noun it modifies.
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