Subject–Verb Agreement Mistakes
A2 · ElementaryCommon Grammar MistakesThe list of items is long, not are long — find the TRUE subject before you choose the verb.
What you'll learn
- The verb must agree with the real subject of the sentence, not with the nearest noun
- A prepositional phrase between the subject and the verb (of items, of the car) doesn't change what the verb agrees with
- Indefinite pronouns like everyone, everybody, somebody, someone, nobody, and each are grammatically singular, even though they can refer to many people
- 'Neither of' and 'each of' take a singular verb
- A few nouns look plural but are treated as singular (news), and a few look singular but describe a group (people, police — always plural)
Find the true subject first
Most subject–verb agreement mistakes happen not because the rule itself is hard, but because something sits between the subject and the verb and distracts you from what the real subject is.
Don't agree with a noun inside a prepositional phrase
When a phrase like 'of the students', 'of items', or 'to the car' comes between the subject and the verb, the verb still agrees with the original subject — not with the noun closest to it.
Indefinite pronouns are singular
Everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, no one, nobody, anyone, anybody, and each are grammatically singular — they take a singular verb, even when they clearly refer to a group of people.
A few nouns don't look like what they are
'News' ends in -s but is uncountable and singular. Words like 'people' and 'police' look singular but are always treated as plural.
Real English
Watch out
The subject is 'list' (singular), not 'items' — the prepositional phrase doesn't change the verb's agreement.
'Everyone' is grammatically singular, even though it refers to many people.
'Each of' always takes a singular verb.
'News' looks plural but is grammatically uncountable and singular.
Real life — Describing a messy desk
"Where's my stapler?"
"I think the box of pens is on top of it — everything on this desk is a mess."
"Honestly, everyone here has the same problem."
"True — the number of things piling up on my desk just keeps growing."
Practice
Exercise 1 · Choose the correct sentence
Which is correct?
Exercise 2 · Choose the correct sentence
Which is correct?
Exercise 3 · Choose the correct sentence
Which is correct?
Exercise 4 · Choose the correct sentence
Which is correct?
Exercise 5 · Choose the correct sentence
Which is correct?
Exercise 6 · Choose the correct sentence
Which is correct?
Exercise 7 · Choose the correct sentence
Which is correct?
Exercise 8 · Choose the correct sentence
Which is correct?
Exercise 9 · Correct the mistake
Correct the mistake: The box of chocolates are on the shelf.
Exercise 10 · Correct the mistake
Correct the mistake: Somebody have left their bag here.
Quick challenge
Five quick questions to check what stuck.
Question 1 / 5
Score: 0/0
Which is correct?
You learned
- The verb agrees with the true subject, not the nearest noun.
- A prepositional phrase between subject and verb doesn't change agreement.
- Everyone, everybody, someone, each, and similar words are singular.
- 'News' is singular; 'people' and 'police' are always plural.
Related grammar lessons
Adjective vs Adverb Mistakes
A focused review of the most common mix-ups between adjectives and adverbs — dropped -ly endings, and adjectives that get replaced by adverbs after linking verbs.
Common Verb Mistakes
A focused review of the most frequent verb mistakes learners make — extra 'be', missing -s, double tense marking, and misplaced auxiliary verbs.
Common Article Mistakes
A focused review of the most persistent article mistakes — missing 'a/an' before a job or role, and an extra 'the' added to general statements or place names that don't need one.
Common Preposition Mistakes
A focused review of the prepositions most often paired with the wrong verb or adjective — married to (not with), depend on (not of), listen to (not nothing at all).