Subjects and verbs must agree in person and number. Person refers to the forms I or we (first person), you (second person), and he, she, it, and they (third person). Number shows whether a word refers to one thing (singular) or more than one thing (plural). In a sentence, subjects and verbs need to be consistent in person and number: I drive, you drive, she drives.

Subject-verb agreement errors often occur in complicated sentences, in sentences with compound subjects, or in sentences where the subject and verb are separated by other words or phrases. The following sections will help you look for and revise common errors in subject-verb agreement.

When two or more singular subjects are joined by or, either . . . or, or neither . . . nor, use a singular verb.

When one singular and one plural subject are joined by or, either . . . or, or neither . . . nor, the verb should agree in number with the subject nearest to it.

When a collective noun refers to a group as one unit acting together, use a singular verb. When the members of the group are acting as individuals, use a plural verb. To make their meaning clearer and avoid awkwardness, writers often add members or a similar noun.

The committee is acting as a unit.

The team members are acting individually.

Indefinite pronouns do not refer to a specific person, place, or object. They refer to people, places, or things in general. Singular indefinite pronouns include the following: each, either, neither, anyone, anybody, anything, everyone, everybody, everything, one, no one, nobody, nothing, someone, somebody, something.

Other indefinite pronouns, such as several, both, many, and few, take a plural verb.

Some indefinite pronouns, such as all, any, more, most, some, and none, take either a singular or a plural verb depending on the noun they refer to. To decide which verb to use, follow this rule: Treat the indefinite pronoun as singular if it refers to something that cannot be counted and as plural if it refers to more than one of something that can be counted.

You cannot count water.

You can count children.

When a relative pronoun (who, which, that) refers to a singular noun, use a singular verb. When it refers to a plural noun, use a plural verb.

Who refers to Toni Morrison, and because Toni Morrison is singular, the verb enjoys is singular.

That refers to stores, a plural noun.

Using one of the often leads to errors in subject-verb agreement. The phrase one of the plus a noun is plural.

That refers to birds, and since birds is plural, the verb drink is plural.

However, only one of the plus a noun is singular: The cheetah is the only one of the big cats that has nonretractable claws.

When a sentence begins with either here or there (which cannot function as a subject) or with a prepositional phrase, the subject often follows the verb. Look for the subject after the verb and make sure the subject and verb agree.

Linking verbs, such as forms of be and feel, look, and taste, connect a subject with a word or phrase that renames or describes it. In sentences with linking verbs, the verb should agree with the subject.