Pariksha SaathiSubject-Verb Agreement Questions with Solutions
The core rule is simple — singular subjects take singular verbs, plural subjects take plural verbs — but exam questions test it through a handful of specific situations where it’s easy to lose track of which word is actually the subject. Here’s the approach, four fully worked examples, and a few to try yourself.
The approach, quickly
- Indefinite pronouns — each, every, everyone, everybody, someone, somebody, either, neither — are always treated as singular, even when followed by "of the [plural noun]."
- With "either...or," "neither...nor," or plain "or"/"nor" joining two subjects, the verb agrees with the subject NEARER to it, not the one farther away.
- Collective nouns (team, committee, family, jury) take a singular verb when acting as a single unit — which is the default assumption unless the sentence specifically emphasises the members acting individually.
- A phrase inserted between the subject and the verb — "along with," "as well as," "together with," "in addition to" — does NOT change the verb’s number; the verb still agrees with the original subject, not the noun inside the inserted phrase.
Worked examples
1. Choose the correct verb: Each of the students ___ submitted their assignment. (A) have (B) has
Solution
- "Each" is an indefinite pronoun and is always singular, regardless of the plural noun ("students") that follows it.
Answer: has
2. Choose the correct verb: Neither the manager nor the employees ___ aware of the change. (A) is (B) are
Solution
- With "neither...nor," the verb agrees with the nearer subject — "employees" (plural) — not the farther one.
Answer: are
3. Choose the correct verb: The committee ___ decided to postpone the meeting. (A) have (B) has
Solution
- "Committee" is a collective noun acting as a single unit here, so it takes the singular verb "has."
Answer: has
4. Choose the correct verb: The teacher, along with her students, ___ visiting the museum today. (A) are (B) is
Solution
- The inserted phrase "along with her students" doesn’t change the verb’s number — the actual subject is still the singular "the teacher."
Answer: is
Try these yourself
Identify the true subject and whether it’s singular or plural, then check against the answer.
1. Choose the correct verb: Everybody in the class ___ excited about the trip. (A) are (B) is
Answer: is
2. Choose the correct verb: Either the coach or the players ___ responsible for the decision. (A) is (B) are
Answer: are
3. Choose the correct verb: The news ___ surprising to everyone. (A) are (B) is
Answer: is
Where this comes up
Subject-Verb Agreement is tested directly in the English Language section of every exam Pariksha Saathi covers — SSC CGL, SSC MTS, SSC CHSL, IBPS PO, IBPS Clerk, SBI PO and SBI Clerk — and underlies many Spotting Errors and Sentence Improvement questions too.
Practice more Subject-Verb Agreement questions
This page covers the approach and a handful of worked examples. Pariksha Saathi has full topic-wise practice sets for Subject-Verb Agreement (and every other English/Reasoning/Quant topic) with instant scoring and explanations — free, no account required.
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