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The family is having a picnic.

Subject / Verb Agreement

Match subjects and verbs with confidence. Learn when singular or plural verbs are correct, including tricky cases with titles, amounts, measurements, and collective nouns in 11 Plus English.

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Fascinating Fact:

Titles, time, and money amounts usually take singular verbs. Ten pounds is enough. Three days is plenty. The Lion King is on tonight.

In 11 Plus English, subject–verb agreement means the verb must match the subject in number. Watch for interruptions, phrases in between, and special cases like collective nouns and quantities.

Key Terms

Subject: The person or thing the sentence is about, for example The team.
Verb: The action or state of being, for example plays, is, are.
Agreement: Using a singular verb with a singular subject, and a plural verb with a plural subject.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

Do collective nouns take is or are?

Both are possible. Use is when the group acts as one unit (The team is winning). Use are when you mean individuals (The team are signing autographs).

Which verb do I use with amounts and measurements?

Treat totals as singular: Five kilometres is far, Two hundred pounds is enough. If you stress separate units, a plural is possible: The pounds were counted.

How do I choose between there is and there are?

Match the verb to the real subject after it: There is a biscuit (singular), There are biscuits (plural). Ignore any extra words in between.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong?

Some of the money was missing

Each takes his turn at riding the horse

Everyone in the club has a set of golf clubs

Everyone in the club have a set of golf clubs

When used as a subject, 'everyone' takes a singular verb

2 .

In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong?

Each of the students are responsible for looking after their things

None of them speak French

None of them speaks French

Everyone has left the building

'Each' always requires a singular verb. 'None' can be used with a verb in the singular/plural form

3 .

In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong?

Neither of the two computers is working

Neither of the two computers are working

Which book do you want? Either is fine with me

None of the athletes have turned up for the meet

The pronouns 'neither' and 'either' are singular and require singular verb forms

4 .

In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong?

Either my father or my brothers is going to drive me to the cinema

Either my brothers or my father is going to drive me to the cinema

Either my father or my brothers are going to drive me to the cinema

Either my mother or my father is going to drive me to the cinema

With 'either ... or ...' or 'neither ... nor ...' the subject closer to the verb determines the number of the verb. In this case, 'brothers' is closer than 'father', so you need 'are' NOT 'is'

5 .

In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong?

Here are the toys for Peter

There are two ways to solve this problem

There is two ways to solve this problem

Here is something for you

'There' and 'here' are never subjects. In this case, 'two ways' is the subject, so the verb has to be in the plural form: 'are'. By the way, these are called expletive constructions

6 .

In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong?

The director, along with his executives, is in a meeting

The director, along with his executives, are in a meeting

The director and the chief executive are in a meeting

The director is in a meeting

Ignore 'stuff' that is written between a subject and its verb: 'along with his executives'. This 'stuff' is normally set off by commas. In this case, the subject ('director') is in the singular, so it requires a singular verb form: 'is'

7 .

In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong?

The police have been informed

The family is having a picnic

My trousers is torn

My trousers are torn

Some nouns are ALWAYS plural: these require a plural verb form. In this case, 'are'. Nouns which are always plural include the following: scissors, clothes, shorts, glasses (for one's eyes), jeans, binoculars, slacks and pliers

8 .

In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong?

People is easily duped by politicians

People are easily duped by politicians

The government are doing a good job

The government is doing a good job

In British English, most collective nouns can be treated as singular or plural; however, 'people' and 'police' require a plural verb form

9 .

In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong?

He has a lot of knowledge about this subject

The furniture in her house is very modern

The news is bad

The news are bad

'News' ends in '-s', but it is NOT a plural: it is singular and requires a singular verb form. Here are some other words that are singular and require singular verb forms: weather, anger, advice, music, information and measles

10 .

In which of the following sentences is the subject-verb agreement wrong?

He was one of those workers that was fired

He was one of those workers that were fired

He was the only one of the workers who was fired

The number of road accidents has fallen

If the subject is followed by 'one of the' or 'one of those', the verb form agrees with the object of the preposition. In this case, 'workers' is plural, so the verb has to be in the plural form: 'were'. The verb does NOT agree with the subject 'he'. If the subject is followed by 'the only one of', the verb has to be in the singular form. Finally, when used as representing a group or unit, the expression 'the number' takes a verb in the singular

Author: Frank Evans (Specialist 11 Plus Teacher and Tutor)