TOEIC Subject–Verb Agreement: Find the Real Subject
Match the finite verb to the subject’s head noun, not automatically to the noun closest to the blank. In The list of suppliers is ready, list controls is. With either…or or neither…nor joining subjects of different number, standard usage commonly follows the nearer subject. That is a specific coordination rule, not a rule for every sentence.
Find the head noun before choosing a verb
In “The cost of the replacement parts has increased,” parts is plural but sits inside an of-phrase. The subject’s head is cost, so has agrees with it. Temporarily bracket “of the replacement parts” and the structure becomes easier to see.
An inserted phrase such as along with the assistants also does not turn a singular head into a plural subject: “The manager, along with the assistants, is attending.” By contrast, manager and assistants normally makes a plural coordinated subject. Learn the relationship between the nouns rather than simply counting them.
If the options differ in both tense and number, settle the time separately. The tense guide and verb-form guide help keep those decisions apart.
Neither…nor and either…or
| Subject | Verb | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Neither the director nor the assistant | is available | Both are singular |
| Neither the director nor the assistants | are available | Nearer subject is plural |
| Neither the assistants nor the director | is available | Nearer subject is singular |
| Either the supervisor or the technicians | have the key | Nearer subject is plural |
The proximity rule is useful in standard test-style constructions. In your own writing, a mixed-number subject can sound awkward; you can often rewrite it as two clauses. Do not transfer proximity to a phrase introduced by of, with or along with.
“Neither of the reports is complete” is a different construction from neither X nor Y. Formal writing normally treats neither as singular here, although plural agreement occurs in less formal usage.
Each, everyone and number expressions
| Expression | Agreement | Example |
|---|---|---|
| each / every + singular noun | Singular | Each invoice requires a signature. |
| everyone / everybody | Singular | Everyone has a copy. |
| a number of + plural noun | Plural | A number of orders are delayed. |
| the number of + plural noun | Singular | The number of orders is increasing. |
| one of + plural noun | Singular head one | One of the printers is broken. |
A collective noun such as team can take different agreement depending on the variety of English and whether the members or the unit are emphasised. Data also varies by register. Those cases need context; the reliable starting point is the head noun and the intended meaning, not a claim that one form is always wrong.
A relative clause can hide the main subject: “The employee who handles returns is away.” Handles agrees inside the relative clause; is belongs to the main clause. Our relative-pronoun guide helps you separate those boundaries.
Why our refreshed agreement count is 208
The plan used a broad agreement search and counted 218 items, including noun-number and pronoun agreement. Restricting skill labels to subject-verb agreement gives 208 questions: 38 easy, 138 medium and 32 hard, or 15.4% hard. The keyed answer were occurs 65 times within that group.
Within these 208 stems, 97 contain neither followed later by nor. This is a text-pattern count, not a manual judgment that every one tests exactly the same rule. The concentration makes it worth practising this structure, but it does not mean were is a safe default answer.
Were also appears in hypothetical conditions, where the explanation can differ from ordinary plural agreement. See TOEIC conditionals before applying the number rule to “If I were…” or “Were the manager to…”.
Six subject–verb agreement questions
- The list of approved vendors ___ on the desk. (A is / B are / C were / D have been)
- Neither the manager nor the assistants ___ available now. (A is / B was / C are / D has been)
- Neither the assistants nor the manager ___ available now. (A are / B is / C were / D have been)
- Each of the invoices ___ a reference number. (A contain / B contains / C are containing / D have contained)
- A number of customers ___ requested refunds. (A has / B is / C have / D was)
- The number of support tickets ___ increasing this week. (A are / B have / C were / D is)
Answers: name the controller
- A. List is the singular head; of approved vendors does not control the verb.
- C. With neither…nor, the nearer coordinated subject assistants is plural.
- B. The nearer coordinated subject manager is singular.
- B. Each is singular, even with the plural noun in the of-phrase.
- C. A number of customers means several customers and takes plural have.
- D. The number names a single count, so is increasing.
For each correction, underline the subject head and cross out only the interrupting phrase. Then reverse the nouns in a neither…nor example and change the verb if necessary. This exercise exposes whether you understand the structure or simply memorised the previous answer.
Reference: University of Wisconsin–Madison Writing Center on subject–verb agreement. For the broader workflow, return to Part 5 tips.
Sources and counting method
The figures come from all 16,214 active, original eng-test.com questions fetched on 27 September 2026. Topic counts use skill labels or exact context tags; groups can overlap. Difficulty means an editorial label, not a measured learner error rate or the difficulty of an official TOEIC paper. Matches /subject[ -]verb agreement/i; broader noun and pronoun agreement labels are excluded.
Download the aggregate counts and matching rules. No learner records are included. The exercises in this guide are newly written teaching examples, not official ETS questions. For the wider picture, see our Reading bank analysis.
Frequently asked questions
Why is The list of suppliers is correct despite plural suppliers?
- The head noun of the subject is list. Suppliers is inside an of-phrase and does not determine the main verb’s number.
Which subject controls the verb in neither the manager nor the assistants?
- In standard proximity agreement, the nearer coordinated subject assistants controls the plural verb: are or were, according to tense.
Do a number of and the number of take the same agreement?
- No. A number of customers takes a plural verb. The number of customers takes a singular verb because number is the head.
Does along with create a plural subject like and?
- Normally no. The manager, along with the assistants, is attending still has the singular head manager. And normally creates a coordinated plural subject.