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Subject–Verb Agreement

Singular and plural with complex subjects

The subject and verb must perfectly match in number. This sounds basic, but complex IELTS sentences often "hide" the true subject behind long prepositional phrases.

🧠 Core Principles

  • Identify the true subject. Ignore phrases separated by "of", "who", or "which".
  • Group subjects (e.g., "A number of", "The majority of") require special attention.
  • Uncountable nouns (Information, Advice, Evidence, Research) always take a singular verb.

🎯 In Practice (IELTS Context)

The number of people who use electric cars are increasing.

The number of people who use electric cars is increasing.

Why? The true subject is "The number" (singular), not the "electric cars" directly preceding the verb.