Why does adding -s make a noun plural but a verb singular?

It is a leftover from older stages of English, where verbs carried many more endings than they do now. Today only the third-person singular present-tense form keeps its -s: I walk, you walk, she walks, they walk. The practical takeaway is that you cannot use the -s ending as a clue to number without first knowing whether you are looking at a noun or a verb. In a correct sentence with a present-tense verb, usually only one of the two words carries the -s: "The dog barks" or "The dogs bark," never both and never neither.

Is it ever correct to write "there's two things"?

In casual speech, yes — almost everyone says it. In writing for school, no. "There" is only a placeholder, so the verb must agree with the real subject that follows it, which is "things." Write "There are two things." Because the contraction "there's" hides the singular "is," a good proofreading habit is to expand every "there's" to "there is" and then check what follows.

Should I say "none is" or "none are"?

Both are acceptable, and the choice depends on the noun after "of." When "none" refers to a mass or an idea of "not one," use singular: "None of the water was wasted." When it refers to countable items and means "not any," plural is standard and extremely common: "None of the tickets were refunded." Some teachers prefer the strict singular because "none" comes from "not one," so if your class has a stated preference, follow it and stay consistent within a piece of writing.

What is the fastest way to check agreement when I proofread?

Do a targeted pass rather than rereading everything. Look only for the forms where agreement actually shows: is/are, was/were, has/have, does/do, and present-tense verbs ending in -s. For each one, cross out every prepositional phrase and every interrupter like "as well as," then say the bare subject and verb aloud as a two-word sentence. Pay extra attention to any sentence starting with "there," "here," or a prepositional phrase, since those hide the subject after the verb.

ENGL-1.2

Subject-Verb Agreement

Learn to match every verb to its true subject — through interrupting phrases, inverted order, indefinite pronouns, and compound or collective subjects.

What you'll do in this lesson

A voice-first session with the Crimsora tutor on Subject-Verb Agreement, then targeted practice and FRQs — with the tutor adapting to where you get stuck.

Start Subject-Verb Agreement free

What this lesson covers

Almost every subject-verb agreement error you will ever make comes from the same cause: your ear locks onto the noun closest to the verb instead of the noun that is actually doing the acting. "The box of old letters are on the table" sounds fine out loud, because "letters" is sitting right next to the verb — but "letters" is not the subject. "Box" is, and a box is.

This lesson trains you to find the true grammatical subject no matter where a writer buries it: behind a long modifying phrase, after the verb in an inverted sentence, inside a slippery pronoun like "neither" or "none," or inside a group noun like "team." You already know what nouns and verbs are from the previous lesson; here you learn to make them agree in number. Get this control now and it stays with you in every essay, lab report, and email you write.

Number, and the One Rule Underneath Everything

Number means singular (one) or plural (more than one). A verb must match the number of its subject. English is odd here: nouns add -s to become plural, but present-tense verbs add -s to become singular. "One dog barks. Two dogs bark." That reversal is why the -s ending confuses so many writers.

Agreement only shows up in certain places, which is good news — you do not have to check every verb. It appears in the present tense ("walks / walk"), in the verb "to be" in both present and past ("is / are," "was / were"), and in "has / have" and "does / do." In the simple past of regular verbs there is no difference at all: "walked" works for one subject or fifty. So when you proofread, your eyes should stop on exactly these forms.

The underlying rule is a single sentence: the verb agrees with its subject, never with any other noun in the sentence. Everything else in this lesson is just a catalog of the disguises subjects wear.

A fast diagnostic: point at the verb, then ask "who or what is doing this?" The answer is the subject. Then strip the sentence to those two words and say it aloud. "The recommendations of the committee chair seem reasonable" reduces to "recommendations seem." Correct. If the two-word version sounds wrong, the full sentence is wrong.

One more caution: agreement is about the subject's grammatical form, not its meaning. "Mathematics," "news," and "physics" end in -s but take singular verbs, because they name one field or one thing.

Seeing Through Interrupting Phrases

The single most common agreement error in student writing happens when material sits between the subject and the verb. Prepositional phrases are the usual culprits: "of the students," "in the boxes," "with her friends," "along with the coaches." A noun inside a prepositional phrase can never be the subject of the sentence.

The fix is mechanical. Cross out every prepositional phrase, then look at what is left.

Sentence	Cross out	True subject	Verb
The stack of overdue library books ___ growing.	of overdue library books	stack	is
The players on the varsity team ___ practicing.	on the varsity team	players	are
A list of names and addresses ___ been posted.	of names and addresses	list	has

Watch out for a second family of interrupters that look like they add people but grammatically do not: "along with," "as well as," "in addition to," "together with," "including," "accompanied by." These are not the same as "and." "The principal, as well as two teachers, is attending" keeps the singular verb, because only "principal" is the subject. If you want a plural verb, use "and": "The principal and two teachers are attending."

Relative clauses interrupt too: "The book that she borrowed from her cousins is overdue." The verb "is" belongs to "book," not "cousins."

Where students actually go wrong: they read the sentence aloud, hear the nearby plural noun, and "correct" a verb that was already right. Trust the crossing-out procedure over your ear, especially in long sentences where the subject and verb are ten words apart.

Inverted Order and Sentences That Start With There

Normal English order is subject-verb. When a sentence inverts that order, the subject comes after the verb, and writers often agree with whatever came first instead.

Sentences beginning with "there" or "here" are the classic case. "There" is an expletive — a placeholder — never a subject. The real subject follows the verb: "There are three reasons for the delay" (subject: "reasons"). "There is one reason for the delay" (subject: "reason"). The contraction "there's" hides this; "there's four people waiting" is a spoken habit that should not appear in writing.

Questions invert too: "Where are the extra chairs?" Flip it back into statement order — "The extra chairs are where" — and agreement becomes obvious.

Writers also invert for style, usually by fronting a prepositional phrase: "Beyond the last row of lockers stands a vending machine" (subject: "machine," singular) versus "Beyond the last row of lockers stand two vending machines." Notice that "lockers" is plural and sits right before the verb, and it still has no influence.

A related trap is the linking-verb mismatch. With "is" or "are," the verb agrees with the subject, not with the noun after it: "The main attraction is the fireworks" (subject: "attraction"). "Fireworks are the main attraction" (subject: "fireworks"). Both are correct because the subject changed, not because the sentence is inconsistent.

The reliable move for every inverted sentence is the same: mentally rewrite it in subject-verb order before choosing the verb. If you cannot tell which noun is the subject, ask which noun the sentence is asserting exists or is doing something.

Indefinite Pronouns, Compounds, and Collectives

Three special subject types account for most of the remaining errors.

Indefinite pronouns are words like "everyone" and "several" that do not name a specific person or thing.

Always singular	Always plural	Depends on the phrase that follows
each, either, neither, one, everyone, everybody, everything, someone, somebody, anyone, anybody, nobody, nothing, much	both, few, many, several, others	some, any, none, all, most, half (and other fractions)

"Each of the runners has a number." "Each" is singular no matter how plural the following phrase sounds — this one trips up nearly everybody. In the third column, look at the object of "of": "Most of the pizza is gone" but "Most of the slices are gone."

Compound subjects joined by "and" are plural: "Rain and wind were expected." The exception is a compound naming one single thing or idea: "Macaroni and cheese is on the menu." When "each" or "every" precedes the compound, go singular: "Every student and teacher was notified."

When subjects are joined by "or," "nor," "either...or," or "neither...nor," the verb agrees with the nearer subject: "Neither the coach nor the players were available." Reverse them and the verb changes: "Neither the players nor the coach was available." Skilled writers often put the plural second so the sentence sounds smoother.

Collective nouns — "team," "family," "jury," "class," "audience," "committee" — take a singular verb in American usage when the group acts as one unit: "The jury has reached a verdict." Use a plural verb only when members act individually, and even then it is usually clearer to rewrite: "The jury members were arguing."

Amounts, Titles, and Other Nouns That Look Plural

A final cluster of subjects fools writers because their form and their meaning disagree.

Amounts, distances, and periods of time take singular verbs when they name one quantity: "Twenty dollars is a fair price." "Three miles seems far in the rain." "Six weeks was long enough." You are treating the amount as a single block, not as separate dollars or miles.

Titles of works and names of organizations are singular even when plural words appear inside them: "Great Expectations is on the reading list." "The United Nations has issued a statement."

Nouns that end in -s but name one thing take singular verbs: "mathematics," "physics," "economics," "civics," "news," "measles," "ethics" (as a field of study). "The news was discouraging."

Nouns that name one two-part object go the other way and take plural verbs: "scissors," "pants," "jeans," "tweezers," "glasses," "pliers." "These scissors are dull." Add "pair of" and the subject becomes "pair": "A pair of scissors is in the drawer."

The number versus a number: "The number of applicants is rising" (singular — "number" is one figure) but "A number of applicants have withdrawn" (plural — "a number of" means "several").

Finally, watch who, which, and that when they begin a clause. The verb inside the clause agrees with the word the pronoun refers to: "She is one of the students who volunteer every week" — "who" stands for "students," so the verb is plural. Compare: "She is the only one of the students who volunteers every week," where "who" refers to "one."

Key terms

Number.: The grammatical property of being singular (one) or plural (more than one). Subjects and verbs must match in number.
Subject.: The noun or pronoun that performs the verb's action or is described by it. It is never located inside a prepositional phrase.
Prepositional phrase.: A preposition plus its object, such as "of the students" or "in the drawers." Crossing these out reveals the true subject.
Indefinite pronoun.: A pronoun such as each, everyone, several, or none that does not refer to a specific person or thing. Some are always singular, some always plural, and some take their number from the following phrase.
Compound subject.: Two or more subjects sharing one verb. Joined by "and" it is plural; joined by "or" or "nor" the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
Collective noun.: A singular noun naming a group, such as team, jury, or committee. In American usage it takes a singular verb when the group acts as one unit.
Expletive construction.: A sentence opening with "there" or "here" as a placeholder; the real subject follows the verb, as in "There are two options."
Inverted order.: Any sentence in which the verb comes before its subject, common in questions and in sentences that begin with a prepositional phrase.

Worked example

Choose the correct verb in each numbered slot and explain why.

(1) Neither the drummer nor the guitarists (was / were) ready when the curtain rose. (2) There (is / are) two microphones and an amplifier on the stage. (3) The band, along with its manager, (has / have) agreed to a shorter set. (4) Each of the songs on their last two albums (run / runs) under three minutes.

Slot 1: were. The subjects "drummer" and "guitarists" are joined by "nor," so the verb agrees with whichever subject is nearer. The nearer one is "guitarists," which is plural, so the verb is "were." If the sentence were flipped — "Neither the guitarists nor the drummer" — the correct verb would be "was."

Slot 2: are. This is an expletive construction, so "there" is not the subject; the subject follows the verb. Rewritten in normal order: "Two microphones and an amplifier are on the stage." The subject is a compound joined by "and," which is plural, and the element nearest the verb — "two microphones" — is plural as well, so both ways of looking at it give "are." Compare "There is one microphone on the stage," where the subject that follows the verb is singular.

Slot 3: has. Cross out the interrupter. "Along with its manager" is not joined by "and," so it does not create a compound subject. The subject is "band," a collective noun acting as one unit, so it takes the singular "has."

Slot 4: runs. Cross out both prepositional phrases — "of the songs" and "on their last two albums." What remains is "Each," an always-singular indefinite pronoun. The plural nouns "songs" and "albums" are pure noise. Reduced to two words, the sentence is "Each runs."

Practice questions

Which sentence uses the verb correctly?

The collection of rare coins were donated to the museum last spring.
Neither the witnesses nor the defendant remember the exact time.
Economics are the hardest class on my schedule this semester.
A number of parents have volunteered to chaperone the trip.

Answer: A number of parents have volunteered to chaperone the trip.

"A number of" means "several" and takes a plural verb, so "have volunteered" is right. The first sentence should be "was donated," because the subject is "collection" and "of rare coins" is a prepositional phrase. The second should be "remembers," since with "nor" the verb agrees with the nearer subject, "defendant." The third should be "is," because "economics" names one field of study despite the -s ending.

Rewrite the following sentence so the subject and verb agree, and explain in one or two sentences which noun controls the verb: "Beneath the pile of damp towels and forgotten sweatshirts sit a pair of running shoes my sister lost last spring."

Answer: Beneath the pile of damp towels and forgotten sweatshirts sits a pair of running shoes my sister lost last spring.

The sentence is inverted: it opens with a prepositional phrase, so the subject comes after the verb. Cross out "beneath the pile," "of damp towels and forgotten sweatshirts," and "of running shoes," and the subject is "pair," which is singular — so "sits." The sentence is deliberately built so that every noun sitting near the verb ("towels," "sweatshirts," "shoes") is plural and none of them is the subject.

Explain why "The committee has published its findings" and "The committee have been arguing all morning" can both be defensible, and suggest a better version of the second sentence.

Answer: Both are defensible because "committee" is a collective noun: it takes a singular verb when the group acts as one unit and, in some usage, a plural verb when the members act individually. A clearer rewrite is "The committee members have been arguing all morning."

In the first sentence the committee produces one document as a single body, so the singular "has" fits. In the second, the arguing is done by individuals disagreeing with one another, which is why the plural verb can appear (it is standard in British usage and occasionally in American writing). Because American readers usually expect collective nouns to be singular, the plural verb reads as an error even when it is intentional. Adding an explicitly plural word such as "members" makes the meaning and the grammar agree, which is the professional solution.

FAQ

Why does adding -s make a noun plural but a verb singular?: It is a leftover from older stages of English, where verbs carried many more endings than they do now. Today only the third-person singular present-tense form keeps its -s: I walk, you walk, she walks, they walk. The practical takeaway is that you cannot use the -s ending as a clue to number without first knowing whether you are looking at a noun or a verb. In a correct sentence with a present-tense verb, usually only one of the two words carries the -s: "The dog barks" or "The dogs bark," never both and never neither.
Is it ever correct to write "there's two things"?: In casual speech, yes — almost everyone says it. In writing for school, no. "There" is only a placeholder, so the verb must agree with the real subject that follows it, which is "things." Write "There are two things." Because the contraction "there's" hides the singular "is," a good proofreading habit is to expand every "there's" to "there is" and then check what follows.
Should I say "none is" or "none are"?: Both are acceptable, and the choice depends on the noun after "of." When "none" refers to a mass or an idea of "not one," use singular: "None of the water was wasted." When it refers to countable items and means "not any," plural is standard and extremely common: "None of the tickets were refunded." Some teachers prefer the strict singular because "none" comes from "not one," so if your class has a stated preference, follow it and stay consistent within a piece of writing.
What is the fastest way to check agreement when I proofread?: Do a targeted pass rather than rereading everything. Look only for the forms where agreement actually shows: is/are, was/were, has/have, does/do, and present-tense verbs ending in -s. For each one, cross out every prepositional phrase and every interrupter like "as well as," then say the bare subject and verb aloud as a two-word sentence. Pay extra attention to any sentence starting with "there," "here," or a prepositional phrase, since those hide the subject after the verb.

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