Subject-Verb Agreement and Common Errors
Subject-Verb Agreement and Common Errors
Error spotting gives three or four questions in the qualifying paper and agreement is the largest single source of them. The rules are mechanical, which makes them reliable: once the pattern is recognised the answer follows without any judgement, so this topic repays a careful reading.
The Basic Rule
A singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb. The difficulty is only in spotting which word is really the subject, because words often sit between the subject and the verb.
| Pattern | Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Subject + of phrase | Agrees with the subject | The box of books is heavy |
| Two subjects with and | Plural | Ram and Shyam are here |
| Two subjects with or / nor | Agrees with the nearer one | Either the boys or the teacher is coming |
| Each, every, everyone | Singular | Every student has a book |
| Collective noun as one unit | Singular | The team is playing well |
The of phrase is the commonest trap. In The box of books is heavy, the subject is box, not books, so the verb stays singular. Cover the of phrase with a finger and the answer becomes obvious.
✗ The box of books are heavy | ✓ The subject is box, not books, so the verb is is
Words That Look Plural
- News, mathematics, physics, politics end in s but are singular — News is good.
- Scissors, trousers, spectacles are plural — My spectacles are new.
- Furniture, information, advice, luggage are uncountable and take a singular verb; they have no plural form.
- Police, cattle, people take a plural verb — The police have arrived.
These four groups produce more questions than any rule of grammar in a qualifying paper, because they contradict what the ending suggests. Learn them as four lists, not as one.
Common Indian-English Errors
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| Discuss about the matter | Discuss the matter |
| Return back home | Return home |
| Superior than others | Superior to others |
| One of my friend | One of my friends |
| He is having a car | He has a car |
| Cope up with the work | Cope with the work |
Two patterns explain most of these. Some verbs take no preposition — discuss, order, resemble, marry. And some adjectives take to, not than — superior, inferior, senior, junior, prefer.
सबसे बड़ा जाल: of वाले हिस्से को ढक दीजिए — verb हमेशा मुख्य subject से मिलता है।
TRE pointer: Cover the of phrase and the agreement question answers itself. Learn the four odd lists — news singular, scissors plural, furniture uncountable, police plural. In error spotting, discuss about, return back, superior than, one of my friend are the four that appear most often, because they sound correct in everyday Indian English.
60-Second Recap
- A singular subject takes a singular verb; find the real subject first.
- In 'the box of books is heavy' the subject is box, not books.
- With or and nor the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
- News and mathematics are singular; scissors and trousers are plural.
- Furniture, information and advice are uncountable; police takes a plural verb.
- Discuss, return and superior take no about, back or than.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is 'The box of books is heavy' correct?
Because the subject of the sentence is box, which is singular, and the phrase of books only describes it. The verb must agree with the real subject, not with the nearest noun. Covering the of phrase while reading makes the correct verb obvious.
Is 'news' singular or plural?
Singular, in spite of ending in s. News is good is correct, not news are good. Mathematics, physics and politics behave the same way. On the other hand scissors, trousers and spectacles are plural, and police and cattle take plural verbs.
What is wrong with 'discuss about the matter'?
Discuss already carries the sense of about, so adding the preposition is repetition. The correct form is discuss the matter. The same applies to order, resemble and marry, none of which takes a preposition after it in standard English.
Why is 'superior than' wrong?
Because superior, inferior, senior, junior and prefer take to, not than. The correct form is superior to others. These words come from Latin comparatives and already carry the comparative sense, so than is never used with them.