Verb agreement can be tricky at the best of times. But it gets trickier still when it comes to compound subjects. Lucky for you that we’re here, then: reading our quick guide will help you avoid grammatical errors in your work.
What Are Compound Subjects?
The subject in a sentence is typically the thing or person acting. In the following, for example, the subject is ‘cat’, since the cat is the thing performing the verb (i.e. ‘is’):
The cat is teasing the dogs.
Here, we use a singular verb because ‘cat’ is singular. If the subject is plural, on the other hand, we would use a plural verb instead (i.e. ‘are’):
The dogs are chasing the cat.
A compound subject, meanwhile, is formed using ‘and’, ‘or’ or ‘nor’ to connect two things. But whether we use a singular or plural verb with a compound subject depends on how it’s formed.
(Photo: Stefano Mortellaro/flickr)
Compound Subjects Formed with ‘And’
When a compound subject is formed using ‘and’, you should almost always use a plural verb:
The dogs and the cat are running around in circles.
This is true even though ‘cat’ in the sentence above is a singular noun.
Compound Subjects Formed with ‘Or’ and ‘Nor’
When a compound subject is formed using ‘or’ or ‘nor’, however, the verb to use depends on the term closest to the verb. When this is a singular noun, we use a singular verb:
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Either the dogs or the cat is going to end up at the vet.
But when the term closest to the verb is a plural noun, we use a plural verb:
Neither the cat nor the dogs are innocent in this situation.
Make sure to check the verb you’re using when forming a compound with ‘or’ or ‘nor’.
Singular Compound Subjects
We said above that compound subjects formed with ‘and’ almost always take a plural verb. The ‘almost’ is because, in some cases, terms formed with ‘and’ are treated as singular. For instance:
Gin and tonic is my favourite drink.
This is simply because ‘gin and tonic’ is the name of a single thing. If we used a plural verb in the sentence above, it’d seem like we were referring to two separate drinks.
(Photo: sgroene)
This only applies when two terms are conventionally joined with ‘and’, though. Make sure to check online if you’re not sure whether to treat a phrase as singular or plural.