Agreement between subject and predicate
If a sentence has a singular subject it is followed by a singular verb, and if it has a plural subject it is followed by a plural verb; that is, the verb agrees with the subject. Compare:
She lives in China. and More people live in Asia than in any other continent. When the subject of the sentence is complex the following verb must agree with the main noun in the subject. In the examples below the subject is underlined and the main noun is in bold. Notice how the verb, in italics, agrees with the main noun:
Many leading members of the opposition party have tried to justify the decision.
The only excuse that he gave for his actions was that he was tired.
Some nouns with a singular form can be treated either as singular (with a singular verb) or plural (with a plural verb):
The council has (or have) postponed a decision on the new road.
Other words like this include association, audience, class, club, college, committee, community, company, crowd, department, electorate, enemy, family, firm, generation, government, group, jury, orchestra, population, press, public, school, staff, team, university, and the names of specific organisations such as the Bank of England, the BBC, IBM, Sony. We use a singular verb if we see the institution or organisation as a whole unit, and a plural verb if we see it as a collection of individuals. Often you can use either with very little difference in meaning, although in formal writing (such as academic writing) it is more common to use a singular verb.
In some contexts a plural form of the verb is needed. We would say:
The committee usually raise their hands to vote 'Yes'. (not ...raises its hands...)
as this is something that the individuals do, not the committee as a whole. In others, a singular form is preferred. We would say:
The school is to close next year. (not The school are...)
as we are talking about something which happens to the school as a building or institution, not to the individuals that comprise it.
Some nouns are usually plural and take a plural verb. These include belongings, clothes, congratulations, earnings, goods, outskirts, particulars(= information), premises (= building), riches, savings, stairs, surroundings, thanks:
The company's earningshave increased for the last five years.
The nouns police, people, and staff also always have a plural verb. The noun whereabouts can be used with either a singular or plural verb.
Some nouns always end in -s and look as if they are plural, but when we use them as the subject of a sentence they have a singular verb:
The news from the Middle East seems very encouraging.
Other words like this include means (= 'method' or 'money'); some academic disciplines, e.g. economics, linguistics, mathematics, phonetics, politics, statistics, physics; some sports, e.g. gymnastics, athletics; and some diseases, e.g. diabetes, measles, rabies. However, compare:
| academic disciplines | general use |
| Politics is popular at this university. Statisticswas always my worst subject. Economicshas only recently been recognized as a scientific study. | Her politicsare bordering on the fascist. (=political belief) Statistics are able to prove anything you want them to. (=numerical information) The economics behind their policies are unreasonable. (=the financial system) |
| With any of, each of, either of, neither of,or none ofand a plural nounwe can use a singular or plural verb. However, we prefer a singular verb in careful written English. | I don't think anyof them knows (or know) where the money is hidden. Neither ofthe French athletes has (or have) won this year. |
| With a/the majority of, a number of, a lot of, plenty of, all (of),or some (of)and a plural nounwe use a plural verb. But if we say the number of,we use a singular verb. | A number ofrefugees have been turnedback at the border. The number of books in the library has | risen to over five million. |
| With any of, none of, the majority of, a lotof, plenty of, all (of), some (of)and an uncountable nounwe use a singular verb. | Allthe furniture was destroyed in the fire. |
| With eachand everyand a singular nounwe use a singular verb. (For each of,see above.) | Every room has its own bathroom, but The boys have eachdrawn a picture. |
| With everyone, everybody, everything(and similar words beginning any-, some- and no-) we use a singular verb. | Practically everyonethinks that Judith should be given the job. |
Some phrases with a plural form are thought of as a single thing and have a singular verb. These include phrases referring to measurements, amounts and quantities:
About three metresseparates the runners in first and second places.
The fifty poundshe gave me was soon spent.
When a subject has two or more items joined by and, we usually use a plural verb:
Jean and Davidare moving back to Australia.
However, phrases connected by and can also be followed by singular verbs if we think of them as making up a single item:
Meat pie andpeas is Tom's favourite at the moment, (or Meat pie and peas are...)
Other phrases like this include fish and chips,and research and development(or Rand D).
When a subject is made up of two or more items joined by (either) ...or...or (neither) ...nor...we use a singular verb if the last item is singular (although a plural verb is sometimes used in informal English), and a plural verb if it is plural:
Eitherthe station or the cinemais a good place to meet, (or ...are... in informal English)
Neitherthe President nor hisrepresentatives are to attend the meeting.
If the last item is singular and the previous item plural, we can use a singular or plural verb:
Eitherthe teachers orthe principal is (or are) to blame for the accident.
After per cent(also percent or %) we usea singular verb:
Aninflation rate of only 2per cent makesa big difference to exports.
Around 10 per cent of the forest is destroyed each year.
However, in phrases where we can use of + plural nounwe use a plural verb:
I would say that about 50 per cent of the houses needmajor repairs.
Of those interviewed, only 20 per cent (= of people interviewed) admitto smoking.
But where we use a singular noun that can be thought of either as a whole unit or a collection of individuals, we can use a singular or plural verb:
Some 80 per cent of the electorate is expected to vote. (or ...areexpected...)