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Concord · 4 min read

Subject–verb agreement

Illustration for Subject–verb agreement in Concord
Subject–verb agreement · Concord

Concord means agreement. A singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb: 'The boy runs' but 'The boys run'.

Words that come between the subject and the verb do not change the agreement. In 'The bag of oranges is heavy', the subject is 'bag', not 'oranges', so the verb is 'is'.

Subjects joined by 'and' are usually plural, but subjects joined by 'or', 'nor', 'as well as' or 'together with' agree with the nearer or the main subject. 'The teacher, as well as the students, was present.'

Key points

  • •Find the true subject before choosing the verb.
  • •Ignore phrases beginning with 'of', 'with', 'as well as', 'including'.
  • •'Either ... or' and 'neither ... nor' agree with the nearer subject.