Subject-verb agreement

Contributor: Matthew Baker

Subject-verb agreement means that your verb must be conjugated, or changed, to fit (or agree) with the subject. Subjects can be singular or plural. Think of singular and plural as mathematical concepts: Singular = 1; Plural = 2 or more. 

• Matt eats pizza.

In this sentence, the subject is Matt, which is singular; therefore, our verb is eats.

• Matt and Nate eat pizza.

In this sentence, the subject is Matt and Nate, which is plural; thus, we have to change our verb to eat.

Notice that third person singular verbs in the present tense take an s at the end, but plural verbs in the present tense do not. This pattern is typical of most regular verbs in English. Another easy way to remember this concept for regular present tense verbs is by thinking of the s at the end of third person singular verbs as the third person singular s. So whenever you have a subject that is in the third person (Matt or he/she/it), you will need to conjugate the verb with an s at the end.

A regular verb is one that conforms to the rules of grammar, whereas an irregular verb is one that does not.

Keep in mind that each sentence you write will need to have agreement between its subject and verb.

The following explains how to conjugate a regular present tense verb:

To eat (present tense)

I eat                

• I eat pizza.

You eat

• You eat pizza.

He/She/It eats

• Matt eats pizza; Janice eats pizza

We eat

• We eat pizza.

You eat

• You eat pizza.

They eat

• They eat pizza.

Unfortunately, there are some exceptions to this rule, and one you will encounter frequently will be the verb to be. The following chart explains how you can conjugate this verb in the present tense.

To be (present tense)

I am    

• I am hungry.

You are

• You are hungry.

He/She/It is

• Matt is hungry; Janice is hungry.

We are

• We are hungry.

You are

• You are hungry.

They are

• They are hungry.

In English we have many different verb tenses, but the most common one you will use besides the present tense will be the past tense. Normally in the past tense, you do not need to worry about subject-verb agreement because you can conjugate most regular past tense verbs to the singular or plural by adding an -ed to the end of the verb.

The following list shows you how to conjugate the regular past tense verb to talk.

To talk (past tense)

I talked

• I talked to my mother yesterday.

You talked

• You talked to your mother yesterday.

He/She/It talked

• Matt talked to his mother yesterday; Janice talked to her mother yesterday.

We talked

• Nate and I (we) talked to our mothers yesterday.

You talked

• You all talked to your mothers yesterday.

They talked

• Matt and Nate (they) talked to their mothers yesterday.

Just like with verbs in the present tense, however, some verbs do not follow the rules in the past tense. Even though to eat is a regular present tense verb, it is not a regular past tense verb. Unfortunately, these irregular past tense verbs do not have a handy rule to learn; therefore, you will have to memorize them or keep a resource handy whenever you want to use them.

To eat (past tense)

I ate    

• I ate pizza yesterday.

You ate

• You ate pizza yesterday.

He/She/It ate

• Matt ate pizza yesterday; Janice ate pizza yesterday.

We ate

• Nate and I (we) ate pizza yesterday.

You ate

• You all ate pizza yesterday

They ate

• Matt and Nate (they) ate pizza yesterday.