LibGuides: Sentences and style: 3f. Subject-verb agreement

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Subject-verb agreement

Just as nouns can be singular or plural, so too can verbs be singular or plural. When constructing a sentence, make sure that your noun, which forms the subject of the sentence, and the verb agree in number.

For example:

The girls is leaving now - "girls" is plural; "is" is singular. The correct version of this sentence is "The girls are leaving now".
Everyone on the team are getting a new uniform - "everyone" is singular; "are" is plural. The correct version of this sentence is "Everyone on the team is getting a new uniform".

For more information regarding subject-verb agreement, including examples and self-test exercises, please refer to The Owl at Purdue: Making Subjects and Verbs Agree.