Subject-verb agreement
Find the real subject and match the verb, including the traps of long noun phrases, uncountable nouns and quantifier expressions.
- Marking criterion
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- Where it pays off
- Writing Task 1 · Writing Task 2 · Speaking all parts
Agreement errors are usually not knowledge failures. They happen when a long phrase separates the subject from its verb and the writer agrees with the nearest noun instead of the real one. The fix is a habit: before writing the verb, delete the modifiers and check what is left.
Strip the sentence to its subject
Cross out prepositional phrases and relative clauses, then look at what remains.
- 'The proportion of students who complete their degree on time (has / have) fallen.' Strip it: 'The proportion has fallen.'
- 'One of the main reasons (is / are) cost.' Strip it: 'One is cost.'
- 'The effects of air pollution on children (is / are) severe.' Strip it: 'The effects are severe.'
Quantifier expressions that reverse
Two similar-looking phrases behave in opposite ways, and IELTS writing uses both constantly.
- 'The number of' takes a singular verb: 'The number of applicants has risen.'
- 'A number of' takes a plural verb: 'A number of applicants have withdrawn.'
- 'The majority of' and 'a proportion of' agree with the noun that follows: 'the majority of people are', 'the majority of the population is'.
- 'Each', 'every', 'either' and 'neither' take a singular verb: 'Each of the countries has a different policy.'
Nouns that look plural but are not
Several high-frequency academic nouns are uncountable in English even where their equivalent is countable in other languages.
- Always singular, never with an -s: information, research, advice, equipment, knowledge, evidence, progress, feedback, traffic.
- 'News' and 'economics' end in -s but take a singular verb.
- Collective nouns such as government, team and company usually take a singular verb in academic writing: 'The government has announced'.
There is and there are
The verb agrees with the noun after it, not with 'there'.
- 'There is a clear upward trend.'
- 'There are several possible explanations.'
- In a list, agree with the first item: 'There is one main cause and several minor ones.'
Corrected examples
Incorrect: The number of cars on the road have doubled.
Correct: The number of cars on the road has doubled.
The subject is 'the number', which is singular. 'Cars' sits inside a prepositional phrase.
Incorrect: Researches shows that sleep affects memory.
Correct: Research shows that sleep affects memory.
'Research' is uncountable, so it has no plural form and takes a singular verb.
Incorrect: Each of the four charts show a different pattern.
Correct: Each of the four charts shows a different pattern.
'Each' is the subject and is singular, regardless of what follows it.
Quick checklist
- Delete the modifiers and check the bare subject before writing the verb.
- 'The number of' is singular; 'a number of' is plural.
- Never pluralise information, research, advice, equipment or evidence.
- In 'there is / there are', agree with the noun that follows.
Apply it to a real response and check the length and structure.
Open the writing checklist