Agreement of Nouns/Pronouns (the Subject of the Verb) with Irregular Verbs

The singular and plural forms of certain present-tense verbs are irregular. The pronoun (subject of the verb) must agree with the verb (subject).

Irregular Verbs with Associated Pronouns

Singular	Plural
I 'am'; he,she, it 'is'	We, you, they, those 'are'
I, he, she, it 'was'	We, you, they, those 'were'
I 'have', he, she, it 'has'	We, you, they, those 'have'
I 'do', he, she, it 'does'	We, you, they, those 'do'

Examples with pronouns:

I am one of the best grammarians in the class.

He is the fastest swimmer on the team.

It is a beautiful day for gardening.

We were entertained by the clowns.

You have the right idea.

They do want to take a walk before dinner.

Examples with nouns:

 

Singular

• The horse is whinnying.
• Red is a good color for that curtain.
• The little girl was happy.   
• The salad has enough lettuce.
• Those do not match these.

Plural

• The horses are running.
• The lights are glowing
• Those are delicious chocolates.
• He and she were friends for a long time.
• They have a lot to do today.

Exercise 1: Noun-Verb Agreement