Subject-verb agreement

A verb must match its subject in number: a singular subject (one person or thing) takes a singular verb, and a plural subject (more than one) takes a plural verb. In the present simple, this shows up as the third-person -s ending: 'he works' but 'they work'.

Most learners apply this correctly in short sentences, but errors multiply once the subject gets longer, less obvious, or grammatically singular despite sounding like a group — the situations this lesson focuses on.

• My colleague speaks three languages fluently.(singular subject → verb + s)
• My colleagues speak three languages fluently.(plural subject → no -s)
• My colleague speak three languages fluently.(→ speaks — singular subject needs the -s ending)

In a long noun phrase, the true subject is often not the noun closest to the verb. Prepositional phrases and relative clauses can sit between the subject and its verb, and the brain tends to match the verb to whichever noun it just heard, not the real subject.

To find the real subject, strip away everything between the main noun and the verb, including any 'of', 'with', or 'who/which' phrase, and check what remains.

• The list of items on the shelves is surprisingly long.(subject = 'list' (singular), not 'items')
• The choices available to first-year students are limited.(subject = 'choices' (plural))
• The cost of the repairs were higher than we expected.(→ was — the subject is 'cost' (singular), not 'repairs')

'The number of' is itself the subject — a single, countable figure — so it always takes a singular verb, even though a plural noun follows it: 'The number of students has grown.' 'A number of' works differently: it functions as a quantifier meaning 'several' or 'many', so it takes a plural verb that agrees with the plural noun that follows.

This pair is one of the most tested agreement traps in English, precisely because the two phrases look almost identical but behave in opposite ways.

• The number of remote workers has doubled since 2020.('the number of' → singular verb)
• A number of remote workers have raised concerns about isolation.('a number of' = several → plural verb)
• The number of applicants have increased this month.(→ has increased — 'the number of' is the singular subject)

Indefinite pronouns like everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, nobody, anyone and each are grammatically singular in English, even though they often refer to a whole group of people. Native intuition can pull towards a plural verb because the meaning feels plural, but the grammar stays singular.

'Each' behaves the same way whether it stands alone or is followed by 'of + plural noun' — the noun after 'of' never becomes the subject.

• Everyone in the audience was silent during the announcement.
• Each of the applicants has a different background.('each' is the subject, not 'applicants')
• Everybody agree that the meeting ran too long.(→ agrees — 'everybody' is always singular)

Collective nouns — team, family, staff, government, committee, audience — name a group but can be treated as one unit (singular) or as its individual members (plural). American English almost always treats them as singular: 'The team is training hard.' British English allows either, often choosing plural when the members' individual actions matter: 'The team are training hard.'

Whichever choice you make, stay consistent for the rest of the sentence — don't switch between singular and plural pronouns for the same collective noun.

• The company is relocating its headquarters to Manchester.(US-style singular, consistent with 'its')
• The family are arguing about where to spend their holiday.(UK-style plural, consistent with 'their')
• The staff is unhappy about their new schedule.(→ 'its new schedule' (singular throughout) or 'The staff are unhappy about their new schedule' (plural throughout))

When two subjects are joined by 'or', 'nor', or 'either...or' / 'neither...nor', the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it, not the one further away. This proximity rule differs from 'and', which always creates a plural subject and a plural verb.

This distinction rarely comes up in casual speech, but it appears in more formal writing and in IELTS Task 2 arguments that weigh two possible subjects against each other.

• Neither the teacher nor the students were ready for the fire drill.(verb agrees with the nearer subject 'students' (plural))
• Either the manager or her assistant is going to sign the contract.(nearer subject 'assistant' is singular)
• Neither the players nor the coach were happy with the result.(→ was — the nearer subject 'coach' is singular)