Common Subject-Verb Agreement Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
The most frequent subject-verb agreement errors writers make and how to catch them.
Where writers actually slip up
Most subject-verb agreement mistakes cluster into a few familiar traps. Knowing them ahead of time is far easier than discovering them in a marked-up draft.
Subject-verb agreement means a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb. The team play and the team plays are not interchangeable.
Here are the errors that show up again and again, with the fix for each one.
When a long phrase sits between the subject and verb, underline the true subject first so the verb follows it, not the nearest noun.
Indefinite pronouns such as everyone, anybody, and nothing are singular more often than writers expect.
Collective nouns like team, staff, and data are the main source of disagreement between style guides, so decide your treatment early and stay consistent.
The mistakes that repeat most
- Letting a plural noun between the subject and verb pull the verb plural: The box of chocolates were open (should be was).
- Treating each and every as plural: Each of the options have merits (should be has).
- Forgetting that indefinite pronouns like anyone and nobody are singular.
- Mixing up there is and there are with plural subjects: There is three reasons (should be are).
Mistake, cause, and fix
| Common mistake | Why it happens | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
| Letting a plural noun between the subject and verb pull the verb plural: The box of chocolates were open | Habit or inattention while drafting. | Slow down and check on an editing pass. |
| Treating each and every as plural: Each of the options have merits | Habit or inattention while drafting. | Slow down and check on an editing pass. |
| Forgetting that indefinite pronouns like anyone and nobody are singular | Habit or inattention while drafting. | Slow down and check on an editing pass. |
| Mixing up there is and there are with plural subjects: There is three reasons | Habit or inattention while drafting. | Slow down and check on an editing pass. |
When you write fast, your ear fills in what should be there instead of what is. A separate editing pass is where these mistakes get caught.
Catching mistakes before they ship
- 1Draft first, fix later
Get the ideas down without obsessing over each sentence, then switch into editing mode.
- 2Use a checklist
Run through the common mistakes above as a deliberate pass over the draft.
- 3Read aloud
Speaking the words exposes errors your eyes glide over silently.
- 4Confirm with a checker
Let a grammar tool catch the rest, but review every suggestion it makes.
Mistakes at a glance
Turning mistakes into improvement
Every subject-verb agreement mistake you catch is a free lesson. Keep a short list of the ones you make most, and review it before you submit anything important.
Patterns of error are personal, so the most useful checklist is the one built from your own writing.
Within a few assignments, the mistakes that once plagued you start to disappear on their own.
Collective nouns like team, staff, and data are the main source of disagreement between style guides, so decide your treatment early and stay consistent.
When a long phrase sits between the subject and verb, underline the true subject first so the verb follows it, not the nearest noun.
Indefinite pronouns such as everyone, anybody, and nothing are singular more often than writers expect.
The writers who improve fastest are not the ones who never err, but the ones who track their errors and fix the pattern.
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