You might not naturally think of language as having the ability to agree or disagree, but when there is an issue with agreement, it are glaringly obvious.
The problem with subject-verb agreement in the previous sentence was probably painful to read, wasn’t it? There are some basic but firm rules about agreement in the English language; some are instinctive, while others require more practice to understand.
Agreement in Language Definition
To fully grasp the concept of agreement, begin with the definition.
Agreement is when a word changes form to “agree” in value with a word to which it is linked.
Another term for the concept of agreement is concord. Both these terms imply the harmony created between two words or parts of speech (and the disharmony when they are not in agreement). For example, these books illustrates how the number of the demonstrative (these) must harmonize with the number of the noun (books). Without this agreement, we’d have a phrase like “this books” or “these book” which is clearly incorrect.
Agreement is an instance of a broader grammatical term called inflection.
Inflection is when the expression of the grammatical category of a word changes because of a word it becomes linked to. The inflection of a verb is called conjugation, and the inflection of nouns, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, participles, numerals, articles, determiners, participles, prepositions, and postpositions is called declension.
In English, the grammatical categories that are most often altered to “agree” are person and number.
Fig. 1 - Agreement in language is like a handshake; the two words agree to work together.
In English, one can say, "I talk a lot," but when the subject shifts from first person (I) to third person (he/ she), the verb must change slightly, too; "he talks a lot." Notice the addition of the ‘s’ to the verb. We call this phenomenon subject-verb agreement, and it’s prevalent in English.
Subject-verb Agreement
Subject-verb agreement refers to matching a verb to its subject in number, person, and, when necessary, gender.
English doesn’t use grammatical gender like other languages. For example, Spanish uses grammatical gender, so Spanish verbs must agree with the gender of the subject.
Corto – short (male)
Corta – short (female)
Pronouns are some of the few words that are gendered in English.
Old English used to treat nouns as either male or female. With a grammatical system similar to German, Old English once required speakers to memorize the gender of words. By the 11th century, grammatical gender began to fall away as English came in contact with other languages and transitioned to Middle English. As a result, the Modern English we speak today barely relies on gender.
Like gender, person as a grammatical category isn’t a common concern for agreement in modern English. The verb be (am, are, is) is the exception and changes with person.
I am hungry (first person)
She is hungry (second person)
They are hungry (third person)
The verb be changes with person; whether first, second, or third person. Because gender and person very seldom affect Modern English, the vast majority of subject-verb agreement depends on number.
The leaves fall on the sidewalk.
The leaf falls on the sidewalk.
Subject-verb Agreement Rules
There are a few rules that govern subject-verb agreement. While native English speakers rarely think about these rules expressly, it’s helpful to understand them to better understand how the language functions.
Basic Subject-verb Agreement Rule
Singular subjects receive singular verbs, and plural subjects receive plural verbs.
Agreement Rules for Compound Subjects
1. Compound subjects that use or or nor can take either plural or singular verbs.
The spatula or the whisk is in the drawer.
2. Compound subjects that use the word “and” require plural verbs.
He and the team are at the courthouse.
Agreement Rules for Plural Subjects
1. Plural-form subjects are typically singular when used as titles, so they take a singular verb.
Physics is my favorite subject.
2. Collective nouns can be singular or plural, depending on how they are understood in context. A word like team is considered singular—even though it refers to a number of people or things—and thus uses a singular verb. On the other hand, collective nouns like party members are considered plural and thus take a plural verb.
A swarm of bees flies together (singular)
Many Facebook users post every day (plural)
If the subject nearest the verb is singular, use singular. If the subject nearest the verb is plural, use plural.
3. The word they (and its possessive form their) can be either singular or plural. It might refer to a group of people or a single person. Read the context for information about whether the subject is singular or plural.
Fig. 2 - Example of singular they: "We need a new manager. They will need to have the skills to take us to the next level."
Someone in this office is a thief; they eat my lunch all the time! (singular)
People change their minds all the time. (plural)
Agreement Rule for Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns like anyone, everywhere, and nothing are singular and take a singular verb.
No one likes her cooking.
Agreement Rule for Gerunds
Gerunds typically function as singular nouns and thus take a singular verb.
Breaking and entering is illegal.
Reminder, gerunds are derived from verbs but function as nouns and end in -ing. E.g., reading in, “I find reading relaxing.”
Agreement Rule for “A Pair”
A pair of something is a singular noun and takes a singular verb. For example, pair in the following example is the singular subject:
That pair of scissors is rusty.
Agreement Rule for Time, etc.
Time, money, and measurements are considered a singular unit, so use a singular verb.
Forty-five minutes is a long time to wait for a pizza.
Subject-verb Agreement Examples in Literature
As subject-verb agreement is the primary concern for English speakers, the following examples illustrate a few of the rules of subject-verb agreement as seen in literature.
The following sentence is from A Tale of Two Cities (1859) by Charles Dickens and illustrates the subject-verb agreement rule about collective nouns.
No crowd was about the door; no people were discernible at any of the many windows; nor even a chance passer-by was in the street. (Chapter 6)
This sentence has two examples of collective nouns; one is singular (crowd), and the other is plural (people). The word crowd is treated as a singular noun and so is connected to the singular verb was. Following the semicolon is another collective noun, people, but in this case, the collective noun functions as a plural noun, and so the verb is plural—were.
The next example is from The Problem of Pain (1940) by C.S. Lewis.
Everyone knows that fasting is a different experience from missing your dinner by accident or through poverty. (Chapter 4)
Subject-verb agreement rule #4 explains the way Lewis worded this sentence. Everyone is an indefinite pronoun, which is treated as a singular noun. This is why the verb to know is conjugated with a singular noun—knows.
Types of Agreement in Linguistics
There are two types of agreement in linguistics: formal agreement and notional agreement.
Because of the rules mentioned above, an English speaker could not say “I is” or “you is” because this would contradict the laws of subject-verb agreement. The speaker must instead say, “I am” or “you are.” This is an example of formal agreement. A formal agreement is based on the grammatical category of the words involved.
The words “I am” agree with one another because I is a singular personal pronoun, and am is the first-person singular form of the verb to be. Their agreement is a formal agreement, not a notional agreement.
As opposed to formal agreement, notional agreement is formed based on meaning rather than grammatical category. The subject-verb agreement rule that states collective nouns can be singular or plural, depending on how they are understood in context, is based on notional agreement.
For example, The United States is often referred to as a single unit and is thus paired with singular verbs. E.g., “The United States is responsible for the majority of oil consumption in the world.” In a different context, the United States might be understood as a collection of multiple states, and so a plural noun. You might hear someone use the term “these united states” which is a plural noun (notice the plural determiner these).
Agreement - Key takeaways
- Agreement is when a word changes form to “agree” in value with a word to which it is linked.
- Agreement is an instance of a broader grammatical term called inflection.
- There are two types of agreement in linguistics: formal agreement and notional agreement.
- Subject-verb agreement refers to matching a verb to its subject in number, person, and, when necessary, gender.
- In English, the grammatical categories that are most often altered to “agree” are gender and number.
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