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B1 Grammar
Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb must agree with the subject in number (singular/plural).
**Basic rule:** Singular subject → singular verb (with -s). Plural subject → plural verb (no -s).
- The boy **goals**. The boys **run**.
- She **has** a car. They **have** a car.
**Tricky cases:**
- **Everyone, someone, nobody, each** → SINGULAR
- Everyone **is** here. Each student **has** a book.
- **The news, mathematics, physics** → SINGULAR (look plural but aren't!)
- The news **is** shocking.
- **People, police, children** → PLURAL
- The police **are** investigating.
- **Either...or / Neither...nor** → verb agrees with NEAREST subject
- Neither the students nor the teacher **was** ready.
- **A lot of / some of / most of** → depends on the noun after "of"
- A lot of water **is** wasted. A lot of people **are** waiting.
Examples
The news about the elections is surprising.
Each of the players has to bring their own kit.
💡 "The team are..." or "The team is..."? In British English, collective nouns can be plural when referring to individuals: "The team are arguing among themselves."