Subject-Verb Agreement: The Mistakes Even Educated Indians Make
You’re sitting in a boardroom in Gurugram or drafting a high-stakes email to a client in London. Your vocabulary is sophisticated, your technical knowledge is undisputed, and your confidence is high. Then you type: “One of my team members have already sent the report.”
In that split second, the grammar slips. Even if the recipient doesn’t consciously correct you, the psychological weight of your sentence shifts. Many assume Subject-Verb Agreement (SVA) is a basic topic taught in Class 5. Yet, in my years of coaching at Enable Academy, I’ve found that even CEOs, senior software architects, and UPSC aspirants consistently trip over the same six or seven specific patterns. Let’s stop making these “educated” mistakes and refine your professional English.
The “One of My Friends” Trap
This is arguably the most common error in Indian English. Because we’re thinking about the many “friends” or “colleagues” in our head, our brain naturally wants to use a plural verb. However, the subject of the sentence isn’t the group; it’s the single individual you’re picking out from that group.
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| One of my friends are moving to Canada next month. | One of my friends is moving to Canada next month. |
| One of the printers in the Bengaluru office aren’t working. | One of the printers in the Bengaluru office isn’t working. |
Think of it this way: One (singular) is the boss of the sentence. Everything else is just extra information.
The “Distance” Distraction: Separated Subjects
In complex professional writing, we often separate the subject from the verb with long prepositional phrases. This is where most writers lose the plot. We tend to match the verb to the word closest to it, rather than the actual subject.
Consider this sentence about a quality check at a manufacturing plant in Pune:
The quality of these exported Alphonso mangoes are world-class.
Why is this wrong? Because “quality” is the subject, not “mangoes.”
The “Of” Rule: Usually, the noun before the word “of” is the real subject.
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| The cost of all the new laptops and ergonomic chairs have exceeded the budget. | The cost of all the new laptops and ergonomic chairs has exceeded the budget. |
Uncountable Nouns That “Look” Plural
In Indian English, we often pluralise words that are technically uncountable in standard English. Words like advice, information, furniture, and equipment never take an ‘s’ and always take a singular verb.
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| All the informations provided by the client were incorrect. | All the information provided by the client was incorrect. |
| The furnitures in the new Mumbai office are very modern. | The furniture in the new Mumbai office is very modern. |
If you want to make them plural, you must use “pieces of” or “items of”:
- The pieces of furniture in the new Mumbai office are very modern.
Always treat “news” as singular. Even though it ends in ‘s’, it is not plural: “The news about the TCS merger is true.”
“A Number of” vs “The Number of”
This is a favourite for IELTS and GRE examiners because it is counter-intuitive.
- A number of = Several/Many (Plural)
- The number of = A specific total/figure (Singular)
Imagine you’re looking at placement statistics at an IIT:
- A number of students have been placed in international firms. (Many students have...)
- The number of students placed has increased since last year. (The figure/total has...)
Collective Nouns: The “Committee” Confusion
In Indian English (which follows British conventions), collective nouns like committee, team, jury, and government can be tricky. Generally, if the group is acting as one single unit, use a singular verb. If you’re thinking of the individual members, you can use plural, though singular is safer in formal Indian contexts like a UPSC essay or a corporate memo.
- The committee has submitted its report to the Ministry.
- The team is celebrating the cricket victory at the Taj.
“Police” is an exception you must memorise. It is always plural:
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| The police has arrested the suspect. | The police have arrested the suspect. |
Other correct forms: “The police are investigating...”
"Each," "Every," and "Everyone": Always Singular
Words like each, every, everyone, everybody, everything, someone, and anyone always take a singular verb. Even when these words refer to a large group of people or things, the grammar treats each item individually.
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| Every employee in the Hyderabad office have signed the NDA. | Every employee in the Hyderabad office has signed the NDA. |
| Each of the reports submitted by the team were reviewed. | Each of the reports submitted by the team was reviewed. |
A quick mental trick: replace every or each with one. "One employee has signed…" sounds natural, confirming you need a singular verb.
Quick Reference: The SVA Cheat Sheet
| Subject Pattern | Verb Type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| One of the [Plural Noun] | Singular | One of the cars is missing. |
| The quality/price of... | Singular | The price of gold is rising. |
| A number of... | Plural | A number of issues were discussed. |
| The number of... | Singular | The number of errors is low. |
| Furniture / Advice / News | Singular | The advice was helpful. |
| Police | Plural | The police are patrolling the area. |
| Each / Every / Everyone | Singular | Every employee needs to sign. |
The “As Well As” Illusion
When you use phrases like as well as, along with, or together with, they do not create a plural subject. They are just extra parenthetical information. The verb only cares about the first subject mentioned.
| Incorrect | Correct |
|---|---|
| Ravi, along with his project managers, are attending the conference in Hyderabad. | Ravi, along with his project managers, is attending the conference in Hyderabad. |
If you want to use “are,” you must use “and”: “Ravi and his project managers are attending...”
Key Takeaways
- Focus on the Head Noun: In long sentences, ignore the words inside “of” or “with” phrases; find the main noun.
- Uncountables Stay Singular: Never add ‘s’ to information, advice, or furniture.
- The “One of” Rule: “One of...” is always followed by a plural noun but a singular verb.
- Police is Plural: Always use “the police are” or “the police have.”
Final Thought
Professionalism in English isn’t about using big words; it’s about the precision of your logic. And nothing shows logic better than a perfectly placed singular verb. Master SVA, and you master the art of sounding effortlessly authoritative.