How do I check my writing for subject-verb agreement errors?
Paste your text into a subject-verb agreement checker to scan every clause for mismatched subjects and verbs. The tool flags singular subjects paired with plural verbs and vice versa, handles tricky patterns like "either/or" and phrases between the subject and verb, and suggests the correct verb form. Each flag explains the rule, so you fix the error and learn it.
Subject-verb agreement is the basic contract of every sentence: the subject and verb must match in number. Most mismatches are not ignorance - they are distance. A long phrase wedges itself between the subject and the verb, and the writer agrees the verb with the nearest noun instead of the real subject. A checker finds the true subject for every verb and tests the match.
What a subject-verb agreement checker does
Agreement errors hide in specific patterns. The checker parses each sentence and tests every subject-verb pair:
- Basic agreement: singular subjects with singular verbs ("she writes") and plural subjects with plural verbs ("they write").
- Intervening phrases: "The list of items is on the table" - the checker ignores the words between the subject and the verb.
- Compound subjects: "Tom and I are" takes a plural verb, while "either/or" and "neither/nor" make the verb agree with the nearer subject.
- Indefinite pronouns: "each," "everyone," and "nobody" are singular; "both," "few," and "several" are plural.
- Collective nouns: "team," "staff," and "committee" take singular verbs in American English, with plural use possible in British English.
- Inverted sentences: "There are three reasons" - the verb agrees with the true subject that follows it.
Depending on the input, it returns each flagged pair with the suggested verb form and the rule behind it.
What to enter
An agreement checker parses sentence structure, so it needs real sentences to work with. Enter complete, accurate text:
- The actual passage or full document, not isolated phrases. Agreement is a sentence-level relationship.
- Complete sentences with punctuation. Fragments have no verb to test.
- The final version of your text. Late edits add subjects and verbs, and every new clause is a new agreement test.
- Plain text without tables, citations, or formatting codes, which can break sentence parsing.
Bullet points and headings deserve their own pass - check them as full sentences so every verb gets tested.
Worked example: before and after
Original paragraph:
"The list of features are impressive. Neither the manager nor the employees was happy. Each of the reports need review. There is several issues to fix. The team have agreed on the plan."
The checker flags five agreement problems:
- "list ... are" should be "list ... is": "list" is the singular subject, and the prepositional phrase "of features" does not change its number.
- "nor the employees was" should be "were": with "neither/nor," the verb agrees with the nearer subject, which is plural here.
- "Each ... need" should be "needs": "each" is always singular, no matter how plural the rest of the sentence feels.
- "There is several issues" should be "There are several issues": the verb agrees with "issues," the true subject after it.
- "team have" should be "team has": a collective noun takes a singular verb in standard American English.
Corrected version:
"The list of features is impressive. Neither the manager nor the employees were happy. Each of the reports needs review. There are several issues to fix. The team has agreed on the plan."
Every fix follows a simple rule, and once you see the pattern, you will start catching agreement errors before the checker does.
How to read the result
A result should be treated as a decision aid. Look for three things:
- The flagged subject-verb pair and the suggested verb form. Most flags name the subject the checker identified and show the corrected verb.
- The rule behind the suggestion. Intervening-phrase, compound-subject, and indefinite-pronoun flags each follow different logic.
- The subject the checker chose. In long sentences it can misidentify the subject - verify it found the right one before accepting the fix.
Fix flags in reading order, one paragraph at a time. When a flag cites a rule you did not know, note the example - that is the fastest way to internalize it.
Agreement rules worth knowing
Most flags trace back to a small set of rules. Learn these and the checker's suggestions will rarely surprise you:
- Singular subjects take verbs ending in -s in the present tense ("he runs"); plural subjects take the base form ("they run").
- Ignore prepositional phrases between the subject and the verb: "The box of chocolates is open."
- Subjects joined by "and" take a plural verb; subjects joined by "or" or "nor" agree with the nearer subject.
- "Each," "every," "either," "neither," "everyone," and "anybody" are singular.
- In "there is" and "there are" sentences, the verb agrees with the noun that follows.
- Collective nouns take one number per document - pick singular or plural and stay consistent.
When in doubt, strip the sentence to its bones: find the true subject, then match the verb to it.
Common mistakes when using a subject-verb agreement checker
- Checking fragments or headings without verbs. With no verb to test, the checker has nothing to judge.
- Accepting every collective-noun flag. British English allows "the team are" - match the flag to your audience's convention.
- Treating "data" as always plural. In technical writing it often is; in general writing "data is" is widely accepted - decide once per document.
- Confusing "a number of" with "the number of." "A number of people are" is plural, but "The number of people is" is singular.
- Ignoring questions and inverted sentences. The subject comes after the verb, so double-check the checker's subject choice.
- Checking too early. Final edits add clauses; run the last check on the final draft.
Practical tips for better results
Before checking, read your draft once and underline every verb - then ask, for each one, "who or what is doing this?" If the answer is far from the verb, that sentence is a prime suspect. Pay special attention to sentences starting with "there" and to subjects followed by long prepositional phrases; these two patterns produce most agreement errors. When the checker flags a sentence, strip it to subject and verb before deciding - if "The list of features are" becomes "list are," the error is obvious. And keep a short list of your repeat offenders ("each," "data," "team") to review at the end of every document.
When a checker is not enough
A subject-verb agreement checker enforces standard rules, but real writing has judgment calls: collective nouns differ between American and British English, "data" shifts by field, and creative writing sometimes breaks agreement for voice or rhythm. A checker also struggles with genuinely ambiguous sentences where even careful readers disagree about the subject - if the tool is confused, rewrite the sentence rather than forcing a verb to fit. For high-stakes writing, pair the checker with a careful read-through of every flagged sentence.
Frequently asked questions
Is it "the team is" or "the team are"?
In American English, "the team is" - collective nouns take singular verbs. In British English, "the team are" is acceptable when emphasizing the members. Pick the convention your audience expects and use it consistently throughout the document.
Does the verb after "each" stay singular?
Always. "Each of the reports needs review," "Each student has a laptop." "Each" is singular no matter how plural the surrounding words are, which is exactly why it produces so many flags.
What about "either/or" and "neither/nor"?
The verb agrees with the nearer subject: "Neither the manager nor the employees were happy," but "Neither the employees nor the manager was happy." When the subjects differ in number, put the plural one last to keep the sentence natural.
Why do "there is" and "there are" cause so many errors?
Because the true subject comes after the verb, writers default to the singular "there's" for everything. The fix is mechanical: "there is" before singular nouns ("there is a reason"), "there are" before plurals ("there are reasons").
Can the checker handle questions?
Yes - it parses inverted word order in questions ("Does he know?" "Have they arrived?") and tests agreement the same way. Still, verify the subject it identified, because long questions with intervening phrases are the hardest sentences to parse.