Science, Technology and Engineering

Academic Language and Learning

Subject verb agreement errors

In English grammar, subjects must ‘agree with’ verbs. We use different forms of verbs for different types of subjects. The following table gives some examples to illustrate.

Subject verb agreement with the verb ‘to be’ is a little more complicated.

Making subjects agree with verbs is fairly easy when the sentence is short and the subject is right next to its verb. However, when sentences are long and complex, subject verb agreement can be more difficult, as in the following example.

Punctuating long sentences, such as the ones in the following examples, cause difficulties for many writers. INCORRECT

Punctuating long sentences, such as the ones in the following examples causes difficulties for many writers. CORRECT

In order to check whether the subject agrees with the verb, you first need to identify the main verb in the sentence (‘cause’ in the sentences above) and then ask who or what causes difficulties? The answer is ‘punctuating’. Punctuating = ‘it’, so we need to use the verb form with the ‘s’ i.e. punctuating… causes difficulties…

Errors also frequently occur when the sentence starts with ‘there is/are’.

There is not many studies which have investigated the science of navel gazing. INCORRECT

There are not many studies which have investigated the science of navel gazing. CORRECT