SECTION 2 — SUBJECT–VERB AGREEMENT (Concepts 16–31)

16. Collective nouns (as a single unit) take singular verbs

• Wrong: The committee have decided to postpone the meeting.
• Fix: The committee has decided to postpone the meeting.
• Wrong: The jury were unable to reach a verdict, so it were dismissed.
• Fix: The jury was unable to reach a verdict, so it was dismissed.
• Wrong: The team are travelling to the state finals next week.
• Fix: The team is travelling to the state finals next week. Why this happens: a committee or jury is made up of many individual people, so it feels plural in meaning — but grammatically, English treats the group as one unit unless the sentence is specifically about its members acting individually.

17. "A number of" (plural) vs. "the number of" (singular)

• Wrong: The number of applicants were high this year.
• Fix: The number of applicants was high this year.
• Wrong: A number of employees was transferred to the new branch.
• Fix: A number of employees were transferred to the new branch.
• Wrong: The number of complaints have gone down since the new system started.
• Fix: The number of complaints has gone down since the new system started.

18. Subjects joined by "and" take a plural verb; joined by "or/nor" the verb agrees with the nearer subject

• Wrong: Neither the manager nor the employees was informed.
• Fix: Neither the manager nor the employees were informed.
• Wrong: Either the clerks or the supervisor are responsible for the discrepancy.
• Fix: Either the clerks or the supervisor is responsible for the discrepancy.
• Wrong: The accountant and the auditor was present at the closing meeting.
• Fix: The accountant and the auditor were present at the closing meeting.

19. "Each," "every," "either," "neither" + singular noun + singular verb

• Wrong: Every student and teacher were present at the function.
• Fix: Every student and teacher was present at the function.
• Wrong: Each officer and clerk have received the new circular.
• Fix: Each officer and clerk has received the new circular.
• Wrong: Every window and door were checked before the branch closed.
• Fix: Every window and door was checked before the branch closed. Why this happens: "student and teacher" looks like two people joined by "and," which normally takes a plural verb — but "every" and "each" placed before a list of singular nouns treat each item separately, so the verb stays singular no matter how many nouns follow.

20. Fractions/percentages agree with the noun that follows "of"

• Wrong: Half of the workers was on strike.
• Fix: Half of the workers were on strike.
• Wrong: Seventy percent of the syllabus have been completed.
• Fix: Seventy percent of the syllabus has been completed.
• Wrong: One-third of the applications was rejected at the screening stage.
• Fix: One-third of the applications were rejected at the screening stage.

21. Words like "news," "mathematics," "physics," "economics," "civics" are singular

• Wrong: The news about the merger were shocking.
• Fix: The news about the merger was shocking.
• Wrong: Economics are her favourite subject in college.
• Fix: Economics is her favourite subject in college.
• Wrong: Statistics are a compulsory paper for this course.
• Fix: Statistics is a compulsory paper for this course.

22. "Along with," "together with," "as well as," "besides," "in addition to" do not make the subject plural

• Wrong: The director, along with his team, were present at the launch.
• Fix: The director, along with his team, was present at the launch.
• Wrong: The principal, as well as the teachers, are attending the workshop.
• Fix: The principal, as well as the teachers, is attending the workshop.
• Wrong: The clerk, together with two peons, were asked to stay back.
• Fix: The clerk, together with two peons, was asked to stay back. Why this happens: these phrases add extra people to the sentence and read like "and," but grammatically they're treated as parenthetical asides set off by commas — the true subject stays the single noun before the comma.

23. Titles of books, films, schemes, or organisations are treated as singular even if plural in form

• Wrong: "Two States" are a popular novel.
• Fix: "Two States" is a popular novel.
• Wrong: "Rules of the Game" were written by a well-known coach.
• Fix: "Rules of the Game" was written by a well-known coach.
• Wrong: "United Nations" were founded after the Second World War.
• Fix: "United Nations" was founded after the Second World War.

24. When the subject follows the verb ("there is/are"), the verb still agrees with the real subject

• Wrong: There is many reasons to doubt his claim.
• Fix: There are many reasons to doubt his claim.
• Wrong: There was several vacancies advertised last week.
• Fix: There were several vacancies advertised last week.
• Wrong: There is two ways to solve this problem.
• Fix: There are two ways to solve this problem.

25. Distances, amounts of money, and periods of time are usually singular when treated as one unit

• Wrong: Five kilometres are too far to walk.
• Fix: Five kilometres is too far to walk.
• Wrong: Two thousand rupees were deducted as processing fee.
• Fix: Two thousand rupees was deducted as processing fee.
• Wrong: Six months are a long time to wait for a refund.
• Fix: Six months is a long time to wait for a refund.

26. "Either...or" / "neither...nor" joining singular subjects takes a singular verb

• Wrong: Either Raj or Simran are going to represent the team.
• Fix: Either Raj or Simran is going to represent the team.
• Wrong: Neither the coach nor the captain were satisfied with the practice session.
• Fix: Neither the coach nor the captain was satisfied with the practice session.
• Wrong: Either the landlord or the tenant have to bear the repair cost.
• Fix: Either the landlord or the tenant has to bear the repair cost.

27. "None" is treated as singular in formal exam English unless clearly referring to countable plural items

• Wrong: None of the information were verified.
• Fix: None of the information was verified.
• Wrong: None of the candidates was disqualified from the interview. (countable, plural sense intended)
• Fix: None of the candidates were disqualified from the interview.
• Wrong: None of the equipment were damaged during transit.
• Fix: None of the equipment was damaged during transit.

28. Plural-looking nouns that take singular verbs: "billiards," "mumps," "measles"; and Latin/Greek-origin words like "series," "species," "corps"

• Wrong: This species are found only in the Western Ghats.
• Fix: This species is found only in the Western Ghats.
• Wrong: A new series of workshops have been announced by the university.
• Fix: A new series of workshops has been announced by the university.
• Wrong: Measles are a highly contagious disease among young children.
• Fix: Measles is a highly contagious disease among young children.

29. Singular-looking nouns that are always plural and take plural verbs: "police," "cattle," "people" (in the general sense), "clergy"

• Wrong: The police has arrested three suspects in the fraud case.
• Fix: The police have arrested three suspects in the fraud case.
• Wrong: The cattle was grazing near the canal.
• Fix: The cattle were grazing near the canal.
• Wrong: The people of this district is known for its hospitality.
• Fix: The people of this district are known for their hospitality. Why this happens: these nouns don't carry a plural "-s" ending, so they look grammatically singular even though they always refer to a group and always take a plural verb — the opposite trap of "news" and "mathematics," which do end in "-s" but are singular.

30. Two nouns referring to a single idea or person take a singular verb

• Wrong: The chairman and managing director have signed the order. (one person holding both titles)
• Fix: The chairman and managing director has signed the order.
• Wrong: Bread and butter are her only breakfast.
• Fix: Bread and butter is her only breakfast.
• Wrong: Slow and steady win the race, as the old saying goes.
• Fix: Slow and steady wins the race, as the old saying goes.

31. When a sentence begins with "It," the verb agrees with "it," not with the noun that follows

• Wrong: It were the auditors who raised the objection.
• Fix: It was the auditors who raised the objection.
• Wrong: It are the two clerks who signed the register late.
• Fix: It was the two clerks who signed the register late.
• Wrong: It were the delayed shipments that caused the loss.
• Fix: It was the delayed shipments that caused the loss.

Mini Practice — Section 2

1. The number of complaints filed this month have doubled.
2. Neither the supervisor nor the workers was informed about the shutdown.
3. Mathematics are compulsory for all engineering aspirants.
4. The police is investigating the matter thoroughly.
5. There was two vacancies left unfilled after the interviews.
6. Half of the cargo were damaged in transit.
7. "Panchatantra" were written thousands of years ago.
8. The cattle was sold at the weekly market on Sunday.
9. Either the printer or the scanners is out of order today.
10. It were the new regulations that caused the delay.

Answer Key

1. "have" → "has" ("the number of" is singular)
2. "was" → "were" (agrees with the nearer subject, "workers")
3. "are" → "is" ("Mathematics" is a singular subject)
4. "is" → "are" ("police" always takes a plural verb)
5. "was" → "were" (agrees with the real subject, "two vacancies")
6. "were" → "was" (fraction agrees with "cargo," an uncountable noun)
7. "were" → "was" (a book title is treated as singular)
8. "was" → "were" ("cattle" always takes a plural verb)
9. "is" → "are" (verb agrees with the nearer subject, "scanners")
10. "were" → "was" (verb agrees with "It," not the plural noun after it)

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