Pronoun Verb Agreement

Subject-Verb Agreement and Pronoun-Verb Agreement – Introduction

Subject-verb agreement and pronoun-verb agreement are two closely related grammar topics. They help make sure that verbs match their partners – the subjects or pronouns – in a sentence. It's all about getting the words to work together correctly! Let’s learn more about subject-verb agreements and pronoun-verb agreement and practise your understanding of this grammar topic.

Subject-Verb Agreement – Definition

Every sentence needs a subject (the person or thing that is doing something) and a verb (the action word).

That means that if there’s just one subject – what we call a singular subject – the verb is singular. If the subject is plural (meaning that there’s more than one subject), the verb is plural.

Pronoun-Verb Agreement – Definition

It’s important that the subject “agrees” with the verb in a sentence. We use the same rule for pronouns and verbs. A pronoun is a word we use instead of a noun or a name. For example, we can use the pronoun he instead of the name Pip, the pronoun she instead of the name Koko, or the pronoun they instead of Koko and Pip.

Distinguishing Pronoun- and Subject-Verb Agreements

The subject of a sentence can be expressed with a name, a noun or a pronoun. As the chart below shows, these three kinds of words can all be used for the same subject.

So a pronoun can be used for the subject of a sentence, and the verb needs to agree with it in the same way as when a noun or a name is used for the subject.

The Function of Pronoun- and Subject-Verb Agreements

A subject-verb agreement and pronoun-verb agreement is important for expressing ourselves comprehensively and correctly. These agreements work together to make our language more effective, making it apparent who is doing the action.

Pronoun- and Subject-Verb Agreement – Rules

Subject-verb agreement and pronoun-verb agreement follow rules to make sentences grammatically correct.

For singular subjects, you use a singular verb like is or goes, while plural subjects require plural verbs like are or go. In pronoun-verb agreement, the same rules apply to the pronouns that replace nouns or names. Singular pronouns such as he or she are used with singular verbs, and plural pronouns like they are paired with plural verbs. Following these rules ensures that sentences make sense and sound right, making communication clear and precise.

Pronoun- and Subject-Verb Agreement – Examples

Let’s look at some sentences to get some practice.

Pip stands on the table. In this sentence, Pip is the subject. There’s only one of him, so the subject is singular. For subjects that are a he, she or an it, we add an -s or -es to regular present-tense verbs. When we do this, the subject agrees with the verb.

He stands on the table. Here we’ve used the pronoun he instead of the name of the subject. And look … we still have an -s at the end of the verb … because pronouns also have to agree with verbs.

Koko has a flower on her head. In this sentence, Koko is the subject. The form has of the verb to have is used for a third person singular subject.

She has a flower on her head. In this version of the sentence, we’ve used the pronoun she instead of Koko’s name. The verb stays the same: It agrees with the pronoun she.

Koko and Pip look at the safe. Now we have two subjects in our sentence: Koko and Pip. We call that a plural subject. We don’t have an -s at the end of the verb now, because we don’t need it for plural subjects.

They look at the safe. If we use the plural pronoun they instead of the names Koko and Pip, the verb also has to agree with the subject.

Pronoun- and Subject-Verb Agreement – Common Mistakes

Most pronoun- and subject-verb agreement errors and mistakes happen when the speaker or writer isn’t sure whether the subject is singular or plural. Here’s how to avoid them.

Check how many subjects there are. If there are two subjects joined by and, it can be easy to forget the first subject. Look at the following false sentence.

❌ She and Pip goes to the pool every day.

If you just look at the subject Pip, you might think that you need the verb goes here. But because there are two subjects – she and Pip – you need a verb that agrees with a plural subject: go.

✅ She and Pip go to the pool every day.

Inverted sentences In an inverted sentence, the subject comes after the verb. Pronoun and subject-verb agreement in inverted sentences makes a little more detective work because the subject isn’t at the beginning of the sentence. To find the subject, first look for the verb and then find out who or what the verb is for. In the following sentences, Koko and Pip are the subjects. Their names can also be replaced by the pronoun they. In both cases, we use the plural form of the verb. The same rules apply as with non-inverted sentences.

Not only do Koko and Pip love to play chess, but they always win. Not once have they lost a game.

Collective nouns Words like family, team and class are collective nouns. They’re used to talk about a group of people or things. However, even though there can be many people or things in the group, we use singular pronouns and plurals for them. We treat them like one thing. Here are some examples.

❌ Our class are very noisy. They’re really big.

✅ Our class is very noisy. It’s really big.

❌ That team are great. They won every game.

✅ That team is great. It won every game.

Subject-Verb Agreements and Pronoun-Verb Agreements – Summary

Subject-verb agreement is about making sure words in a sentence work together correctly. When we talk or write, we need to make sure the action word (the verb) matches the person or thing doing the action (the subject). We have to use words that fit together properly, so our sentences sound right. Pronoun-verb agreement is similar, but it's about using pronouns like he, she and they instead of using the same names or nouns every time. Just like with other types of words used for subjects, pronouns need matching verbs. It's all about keeping our sentences clear and sounding good.

Pronoun- and Subject-Verb Agreement Anchor Chart

Here’s an anchor chart to help you remember what you’ve learned about pronoun- and subject verb agreement!