Error Spotting
🔒 Log in to trackSubject–verb agreement errors
🔒 Log in to trackAgreement errors are the single largest error family in SSC English. The trap is always the same: words are inserted between the true subject and the verb.
| Construction | Rule | SSC-style example |
|---|---|---|
| Each / every / either / neither / everyone / nobody | always singular | Each of the boys has submitted his work. |
| Either... or / Neither... nor | verb agrees with the NEARER subject | Neither the manager nor the employees were present. |
| as well as / along with / together with / in addition to | verb follows the FIRST subject | The captain, as well as the players, was fined. |
| A number of + plural | plural verb | A number of students were absent. |
| The number of + plural | singular verb | The number of students is small. |
| One of the + plural noun + who/that | plural verb (relative refers to the plural noun) | He is one of those officers who work late. |
| One of the + plural noun (no relative) | singular verb for the main clause | One of my friends is going to London. |
| Uncountables (news, physics, economics) | singular | The news is good. |
| Plural-form pairs (scissors, trousers) | plural; 'a pair of' → singular | These trousers are new; a pair is enough. |
| Collective nouns | unit → singular; members in disagreement → plural | The committee has decided; the jury were divided. |
| Amounts / distances / periods | single quantity → singular | Ten kilometres is a long walk. |
| Titles of books / country names | singular even if plural-looking | 'Gulliver's Travels' is a satire. |
The strip method: delete every prepositional phrase, 'as well as' cluster, and relative clause between subject and verb, then test number. The quality of the mangoes were not up to the mark → strip 'of the mangoes' → the quality ... were → wrong; the quality ... was.
Relative-clause verbs: the verb after who/which/that agrees with the noun the pronoun points back to. He is one of those officers who work late (officers work), but He is the only officer who works late (the only officer).
Interrupting positives: along with, together with, as well as, in addition to, accompanied by, and not — none of these creates a plural subject. The verb follows the original subject.
Watch the passive voice too: agreement errors also appear in passives — The letters was delivered → were delivered.
Detailed notes
The core idea
The verb must match its true subject in number: singular subject → singular verb (with -s in the present), plural subject → plural verb (no -s). The whole game of subject-verb agreement (SVA) is finding the true subject, because the exam hides it behind interrupting words.
Find the true subject: cover the middle
The subject is NEVER inside a phrase that begins with of, with, along with, as well as, together with, besides, like, unlike, including.
- Correct: The list of candidates is long. Incorrect: The list of candidates are long.
- Correct: The captain, as well as the players, was felicitated. Incorrect: …were felicitated.
- Correct: The quality of the mangoes was poor. Ask: what thing does the sentence talk about? That word is your subject.
Each, every, everyone, one of — always singular
- Correct: Each of the boys has submitted. Incorrect: Each of the boys have submitted.
- Correct: Every one of the players was fit.
- Correct: One of my friends is a pilot. (subject = one, not friends)
- Many a + singular noun takes a singular verb: Correct: Many a student has failed. Incorrect: Many a student have failed.
Either/or and neither/nor — the nearness rule
With either…or and neither…nor, the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
- Correct: Neither the manager nor his assistants were present.
- Correct: Either Ramesh or his cousins are coming.
- But neither of / either of + plural noun is singular: Correct: Neither of the answers is correct.
A number of vs the number of
- A number of = many → plural verb: A number of students were absent.
- The number of = the count → singular verb: The number of students was small.
Collective nouns and special singulars
- Collective nouns (team, committee, jury, family) usually take a singular verb: The committee has published its report.
- Nouns that look plural but are singular: news, mathematics, physics, economics: The news is good.
- Pair nouns (scissors, trousers, spectacles) take a plural verb: My spectacles are missing.
- Amounts and distances as one unit take a singular verb: Ten kilometres is a long walk.
- Two nouns joined by and usually take a plural verb, BUT a single idea or one person takes singular: Bread and butter is his breakfast; The poet and philosopher has arrived (one person).
Quick check in three steps
- Underline the verb. 2. Cross out every phrase between the verb and the noun before it. 3. Match number with the remaining noun, then apply the special rules above.
Quick revision
- Never let the nearest noun decide — cover the interrupting phrase.
- each / every / one of / many a / neither of → singular verb.
- neither…nor / either…or → verb agrees with the NEARER subject.
- a number of → plural; the number of → singular.
- news, mathematics, physics → singular; spectacles, scissors → plural.
- as well as, along with, with → verb follows the FIRST subject.
Types of questions asked
Every way this subtopic shows up in exams — how to recognise it, the formula or logic to use, and a solved example.
Type 1: 'One of / every one of + plural noun' agreementvery common2 practice Q
The sentence has 'one of the …' or 'each/every one of the …' just before the verb, and the options differ in the verb's number.
- Remember: the subject is ONE (or each/every one), not the plural noun after 'of'.
- Singular subject → singular verb.
- Check the tense separately; number is decided first.
Why it works: the plural noun sits next to the verb and pulls the eye; the rule outranks the pull.
Example: "One of the laptops displayed at the expo (1) ______ sold within an hour." Choose the error: were / was / is / are
Subject = one (singular) → one was sold. 'Were sold' is the error.
Type 2: Either…or / neither…nor — verb follows the nearer subjectvery common2 practice Q
Two subjects joined by either…or or neither…nor, with the verb placed after the second one.
- Ignore the first subject entirely.
- Look at the subject just BEFORE the verb (the nearer one).
- Match the verb to that subject's number.
Why it works: the nearness rule is absolute in standard grammar, and the setter always makes the two subjects differ in number.
Example: "Neither the collector nor his assistants (1) ______ available at the camp site." was / were / is / has been
Nearer subject = assistants (plural) → were available. 'Was' agrees with the distant 'collector' and is wrong.
Type 3: Each / every / many a + singular verbcommon2 practice Q
The subject begins with each, every, many a, or every…and every….
- Each, every and many a are unconditionally singular.
- Even 'every boy and every girl' stays singular when every repeats before both nouns.
- Match the verb (and the following possessive, which may be his/her, not their).
Why it works: these words point to members one at a time, so English keeps the verb singular.
Example: "Every man and every woman in the village (1) ______ counted in the survey." were / was / are / have been
'Every … and every …' keeps the verb singular → was counted. 'Were' wrongly follows the pair idea.
Type 4: A number of vs the number ofcommon2 practice Q
The subject phrase is 'a/the number of + plural noun' — the only difference is the small word a/the.
- 'A number of' means MANY → plural verb.
- 'The number of' means THE COUNT → singular verb.
- Read the article before 'number' slowly; the whole question lives in it.
Why it works: one letter of meaning (indefinite vs definite) flips the number, and the options exploit the miss.
Example: "The number of accidents on this highway (1) ______ fallen after the new signals." have / has / are / were
'The number of' = the count, singular → has fallen. 'Have fallen' treats it as plural.
Shortcut tricks
⚡ Subject hunt backwards
From the verb, walk backwards past 'of...' phrases until you hit a noun or pronoun without a preposition in front — that is the subject that decides the verb.
⚡ Proximity rule flash
See neither/nor or either/or with two subjects? The verb matches the second (nearer) subject. Check that, and the item usually collapses instantly.
Example: Neither the manager nor / the employees was / present at / the meeting.
Nearer subject 'employees' is plural → were present. Part 2 carries the error.
⚡ Quantity is singular
Sums of money, distances, time spans and weights take a singular verb even in plural form: 'Ten kilometres is a long walk', 'Five hundred rupees was the fine'.
Where students lose marks
Using a plural verb after 'each/every/either' joined to a noun ('Each of the boys have...').
Taking 'a number of' and 'the number of' as the same (plural vs singular).
Making 'news, mathematics, physics' plural because they end in -s.
Agreeing with 'one of the + plural noun' and writing 'who works' — the relative refers to the plural noun.
Practice sets — 12 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Each answer comes with a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 12 questions
Suggested time 7 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.