Which is correct?
- My jeans was ripped.
- My jeans were ripped.
The word “jeans” ends in -S, but it’s one thing… so is it singular or plural? Keep watching to find out the correct answer!
Today I’m teaching you ten common mistakes that even advanced English learners make with subject-verb agreement. That simply means using the right verb form depending on whether the subject is singular or plural.
You can download my full guide to tricky subject-verb agreement – including a quiz – by clicking below.
❌ “People is tired.”
✅ “People are tired.”
The word “person” is singular, and the word “people” is plural.
❌ “Everyone are ready”
✅ “Everyone is ready”
Words like:
- everyone / everybody
- someone / somebody
- anyone / anybody
- no one / nobody
…are all grammatically singular.
They use is / was / has / likes / works, not are / were / have / like / work.
❌ “A number of employees is absent.”
✅ “A number of employees are absent”
We use “a number of” + a plural countable noun – so these sentences always take a plural verb.
❌ “Most of the population are poor.”
✅ “Most of the population is poor”
After words like most of, half of, some of, and none of, the next word is what determines whether it’s singular or plural:
- Some of the furniture is broken.
- Some of the chairs are broken.
- None of the food is healthy.
- None of the snacks are healthy.
❌ “There’s many reasons…”
✅ “There are many reasons…”
“There’s” = there is (singular)
“There are” (plural)
❌ “Each of the students have a book”
✅ “Each of the students has a book”
The words “each” and “every” are always singular.
❌ “One of my friends live downtown.”
✅ “One of my friends lives downtown.”
The subject is “one,” not “friends.” Sentences starting with “One of…” always take a singular verb.
❌ “My family are coming to visit”
✅ “My family is coming to visit”
In American English, we use singular verbs with collective nouns like family, team, staff, group.
❌ “The list of items are too long”
✅ “The list of items is too long”
The subject is “list,” not “items” – so we use a singular verb.
❌ “The bed and couch is very comfortable.”
✅ “The bed and couch are very comfortable.”
Even though “bed” is singular and “couch” is singular, the subject is both of them – two things – bed AND couch – so we say they ARE very comfortable.
Let’s go back to the example at the beginning – my jeans was/were ripped. Items like jeans, pants, shorts, glasses, and scissors take a PLURAL verb – my jeans were ripped. My glasses are old. These scissors are new.
Fix your English errors fast!
Now you know how to avoid some of the most common mistakes with subject-verb agreement!
Your next step is to download the PDF guide and try the quiz inside.
In my many years as a teacher, I’ve collected over 200 of the most common errors that English learners make – and made them easy to learn inside my course. From grammar errors to vocabulary mistakes and pronunciation problems, this course will help you find and fix your errors fast.
Click here learn more about the 200 common errors course and join it, so that you can speak English confidently without mistakes.
