Lesson 3: Subject-Verb Agreement (Concord)

🟦 Introduction

Have you ever heard someone say: “He go to school every day”? Something feels off, right? That’s because the verb doesn’t match the subject.

This is called subject-verb agreement, or concord. In English, subjects and verbs must “agree” in number (singular or plural) and person (first, second, third).

WAEC often tests your ability to:

• Match subjects with correct verb forms

• Spot agreement errors in complex sentences

• Apply special rules for tricky subjects (e.g. collective nouns, “either/or”)

🟩 Key Concepts and Explanations

1. Basic Rule of Concord

A singular subject takes a singular verb.
A plural subject takes a plural verb.

2. Tricky Cases

A. Subjects Joined by “And”

• Tom and Jerry are friends. (Plural)

B. Subjects Joined by “Or” / “Either…or” / “Neither…nor”

• Either James or John is coming. (Nearest subject rule)

• Neither the teacher nor the students were late.

C. Collective Nouns

• The team is winning. (As a unit – singular)

• The team are arguing among themselves. (As individuals – plural)

D. Indefinite Pronouns

• Everyone, someone, each, anybody → take singular verbs

• All, many, few → take plural verbs

3. Special Cases

• Titles of books/movies: “The Avengers” is popular. (Title = singular)

• Amounts/Time/Distance: Ten years is a long time.

• Uncountable nouns: Information is important. (not “are”)

🟨 Practice Exercises

✏️ Exercise 1: Fill in the Correct Verb

1. The list of items _______ on the desk. (is/are)

2. Mathematics _______ my best subject. (is/are)

3. Each of the players _______ a jersey. (has/have)

4. The books on the shelf _______ dusty. (is/are)

5. Either my brother or my sisters _______ visiting today. (is/are)

✏️ Exercise 2: Correct the Errors

Rewrite the sentence with correct concord.

6. The students in the class was noisy.

7. Neither the boy nor the girls has arrived.

8. All of the food are gone.

9. My trousers is torn.

10. A number of students was absent.

✏️ Exercise 3: Choose the Correct Option

11. One of the dogs ______ barking.
    A. were
    B. is
    C. are
    D. have

12. Ten litres of oil ______ needed.
    A. is
    B. are
    C. were
    D. be

13. The committee ______ divided in their opinion.
    A. is
    B. are
    C. has
    D. was

14. The man with the keys ______ outside.
    A. are
    B. were
    C. is
    D. have

15. Everyone in the group ______ excited.
    A. were
    B. are
    C. is
    D. have

✅ Answers and Explanations

Exercise 1

1. is – subject is “list” (singular)

2. is – “Mathematics” is singular

3. has – “Each” is singular

4. are – subject is “books” (plural)

5. are – nearest subject “sisters” is plural

Exercise 2
6. were – “students” is plural
7. have – nearest subject “girls” is plural
8. is – “food” is uncountable
9. are – “trousers” is plural in form
10. were – “a number of” = plural meaning

Exercise 3
11. B. is – “one” is the subject
12. A. is – measurement = singular
13. B. are – committee seen as individuals
14. C. is – subject is “man”
15. C. is – “everyone” is singular

🔁 Recap

You’ve learned:

• The core rule of subject-verb agreement

• How to handle tricky subjects like collective nouns and indefinite pronouns

• How to correct common concord errors

🪞 Reflection Prompt

Write five sentences. In each one, use a different type of subject (e.g., a collective noun, an indefinite pronoun, a plural noun, a title, and a “neither/nor” structure).
Under each sentence, explain why your verb choice is correct.