Subject Verb Agreement
About Course
Subject–Verb Agreement
Course objective
By the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
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Identify the subject and verb in a sentence.
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Decide whether the subject is singular or plural.
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Choose the correct verb form automatically.
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Handle common tricky structures such as “everyone,” “each,” “there is/are,” and subjects separated from the verb.
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Use subject–verb agreement correctly in real conversation.
1. Start with the Core Rule
The golden rule
A singular subject takes a singular verb.
A plural subject takes a plural verb.
| Subject | Verb | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | am | I am ready. |
| You | are | You are ready. |
| He | is | He is ready. |
| She | is | She is ready. |
| It | is | It is ready. |
| We | are | We are ready. |
| They | are | They are ready. |
Present simple
This is where students most commonly make mistakes.
Singular → verb usually takes -s/-es
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He works here.
-
She speaks English.
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Rohit teaches English.
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The boy plays football.
Plural → base verb
-
They work here.
-
We speak English.
-
The students study English.
-
The boys play football.
Important speaking drill
Teacher:
He ___ English.
Student:
He speaks English.
Teacher:
They ___ English.
Student:
They speak English.
Repeat with different subjects until the student responds automatically.
2. Teach Students to Find the Subject
Students often choose the verb based on the nearest noun, which causes many errors.
Example
❌ The students in my class speaks English.
Correct:
✅ The students in my class speak English.
Why?
The subject is students, not class.
More examples
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The boy with his friends is outside.
-
The teacher in the classrooms is busy.
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The students from my village are talented.
-
The book on the tables is mine.
Rule
Ignore the words between the subject and the verb.
This is an extremely important skill for advanced learners.
3. Singular and Plural Nouns
Teach students to recognize the difference quickly.
Singular
-
boy
-
girl
-
student
-
teacher
-
book
-
car
-
house
Plural
-
boys
-
girls
-
students
-
teachers
-
books
-
cars
-
houses
Practice
Ask:
Student or students?
Student → is
Students → are
Then:
The student ___ ready.
The students ___ ready.
4. The Most Important Verb Patterns
Teach these as patterns, rather than making students memorize grammar terminology.
BE
| Subject | Verb |
|---|---|
| I | am |
| He/She/It | is |
| You/We/They | are |
Examples:
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I am tired.
-
She is happy.
-
They are ready.
HAVE
-
I/You/We/They have
-
He/She/It has
Examples:
-
I have a car.
-
They have a problem.
-
She has a car.
-
He has a question.
DO
-
I/You/We/They do
-
He/She/It does
Examples:
-
They do their work.
-
She does her work.
5. The “Does” Rule
This is particularly important for speaking.
Students often say:
❌ He doesn’t likes coffee.
Correct:
✅ He doesn’t like coffee.
Why?
Does already carries the -s.
Pattern
He likes coffee.
But:
He doesn’t like coffee.
And:
Does he like coffee?
Not:
❌ Does he likes coffee?
Drill
Teacher:
He likes tea.
Student:
He doesn’t like tea.
Teacher:
She plays tennis.
Student:
She doesn’t play tennis.
Teacher:
Does she play tennis?
Student:
Yes, she does.
6. Questions
Teach students that questions often change the verb structure.
Present simple
Does + singular subject + base verb
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Does he work here?
-
Does she speak English?
-
Does your brother play football?
Do + plural subject + base verb
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Do they work here?
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Do you speak English?
-
Do your friends play football?
Speaking drill
Ask students rapid-fire questions:
Does he work here?
Do they work here?
Does she speak English?
Do they speak English?
The goal is automaticity, not explanation.
7. Compound Subjects — AND
When two subjects are joined by and, normally use a plural verb.
-
Rohit and John are friends.
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My father and mother work together.
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English and mathematics are important.
Pattern
A + B → plural verb
Drill
Teacher:
Rohit and John ___ students.
Student:
are
Teacher:
Tea and coffee ___ popular.
Student:
are
8. OR / NOR
This is slightly more advanced.
When subjects are joined by or/nor, the verb generally agrees with the subject closer to it.
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Either the teacher or the students are responsible.
-
Either the students or the teacher is responsible.
This is worth introducing after students master the basic rules.
9. Indefinite Pronouns — The Big Trap
Students frequently make mistakes with these.
Always singular
-
everyone
-
everybody
-
someone
-
somebody
-
anyone
-
anybody
-
no one
-
nobody
-
each
-
every
Examples:
✅ Everyone is ready.
❌ Everyone are ready.
✅ Everybody wants to learn.
❌ Everybody want to learn.
✅ Each student has a book.
❌ Each student have a book.
Easy memory rule
Everyone sounds plural, but grammatically it is singular.
10. “Each” and “Every”
Each + singular noun + singular verb
-
Each student has a book.
-
Each child needs attention.
-
Each person is responsible.
Every + singular noun + singular verb
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Every student needs practice.
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Every teacher has responsibilities.
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Every class starts at 9.
Speaking drill
Give students:
Each student…
They complete the sentence.
Each student needs…
Each student has…
Each student wants…
11. There Is / There Are
This is extremely useful in everyday English.
Singular
There is a book on the table.
Plural
There are three books on the table.
Common mistake
❌ There is many students in the class.
✅ There are many students in the class.
Real-life drill
Show objects around the classroom.
Student says:
There is a chair.
There are five students.
There is a bottle.
There are two windows.
This makes grammar practical and visual.
12. Collective Nouns
Introduce this at an intermediate level.
Examples:
-
team
-
family
-
class
-
government
-
committee
-
staff
For standard learner English, teach:
The team is ready.
My family lives in Imphal.
The class is very active.
Don’t overwhelm beginners with dialectal variations.
13. Words That Look Plural but Are Singular
Another useful advanced section:
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Mathematics is difficult.
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Economics is interesting.
-
News is important.
Students often think:
mathematics → plural → are
But:
Mathematics is my favourite subject.
14. Subjects That Look Singular but Are Plural
Introduce common examples:
-
People are friendly.
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Children are playing.
-
Men are working.
-
Women are talking.
Not:
❌ People is…
❌ Children is…
15. The “Of” Trap
This is one of the best exercises for Indian learners.
Example
The quality of these products is good.
The student may incorrectly choose are because of “products.”
But the subject is:
quality
Therefore:
Quality is
Another example:
The students of this school are talented.
Subject = students.
Teach this:
Don’t look at the noun closest to the verb.
Find the real subject.
16. Common Indian-English Errors
I would specifically include these in your course because they are highly relevant to spoken English training.
❌ He don’t know.
✅ He doesn’t know.
❌ She don’t like coffee.
✅ She doesn’t like coffee.
❌ He have a car.
✅ He has a car.
❌ They has a problem.
✅ They have a problem.
❌ Everyone are happy.
✅ Everyone is happy.
❌ People is becoming aware.
✅ People are becoming aware.
❌ There is many reasons.
✅ There are many reasons.
❌ My friends is coming.
✅ My friends are coming.
❌ One of my friend is here.
✅ One of my friends is here.
❌ Each students has a book.
✅ Each student has a book.
17. “One of…” — Important Pattern
Teach this as a fixed structure:
One of + plural noun + singular verb
Examples:
-
One of my friends is a doctor.
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One of the students is absent.
-
One of my teachers has retired.
The subject is one, not friends/students/teachers.
18. Conversation Practice
This is where I would make your course different from a traditional grammar class.
Give students a topic:
Topic: My Family
Ask them to speak for 60 seconds.
Tell me about your family.
Listen specifically for:
-
My father work…
-
My mother have…
-
My brothers is…
-
Everyone are…
Don’t interrupt every sentence.
Instead, note their errors and conduct a correction round afterward.
19. Error Correction Game
Say a sentence.
Student must identify:
Correct / Incorrect
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He works in a bank. ✅
-
They works in a bank. ❌
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She don’t like coffee. ❌
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Everyone is ready. ✅
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My friends is coming. ❌
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There are many students. ✅
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Each student has a book. ✅
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One of my friends are a doctor. ❌
Then ask:
Why?
This develops grammatical awareness.
20. Final Speaking Challenge
2-minute task: “My Daily Life”
Ask the student to speak for two minutes.
They must naturally use:
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is/are
-
has/have
-
do/does
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singular subjects
-
plural subjects
-
everyone/every
-
there is/there are
-
one of…
Assessment
Score them on:
| Area | Score |
|---|---|
| Subject identification | /5 |
| Correct verb choice | /5 |
| Accuracy while speaking | /5 |
| Self-correction | /5 |
| Fluency | /5 |
Total: 25
Recommended Lesson Structure
For a 60-minute spoken-English class, I’d structure it like this:
0–5 min — Diagnostic
Let the student speak and identify their existing errors.
5–15 min — Core rule
Singular vs plural + basic verb patterns.
15–25 min — Controlled practice
Fill-in-the-blank and rapid-response drills.
25–35 min — Common traps
Doesn’t + base verb, everyone, each, one of, there is/are.
35–45 min — Error correction
Indian-English error examples.
45–55 min — Conversation practice
Student speaks; trainer records errors.
55–60 min — Feedback + challenge
Student repeats corrected sentences and receives a score.
The teaching principle I’d strongly recommend
Don’t make the student spend 60 minutes learning rules like “third-person singular present simple.”
Instead, build this response:
He → works
They → work
She → has
They → have
He doesn’t → like
Everyone → is
There is → one
There are → many
For spoken English, automaticity is the goal; grammar terminology is secondary.
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