Basic Subject-Verb Agreement: WASSCE English Language

The boy walks to school. The boys walk to school. One small change — boy to boys — and the verb has to change too: walks to walk. This is subject-verb agreement, the rule that the verb must match its subject in number. Singular subject takes singular verb. Plural subject takes plural verb.

The basic rule is simple. The trouble comes when the subject is hidden behind a long phrase, when it is a collective noun, when it involves either / or, or when the sentence starts with there is / there are. Each of these is a WAEC trap.

This lesson covers the basic rule. Lessons 2–5 cover the trickier cases. Lesson 6 closes with the full error checklist.

Definition

Subject-verb agreement is the rule that the verb must agree with its subject in number (singular or plural) and person (first, second, third).

Singular subject → singular verb. The boy walks.
Plural subject → plural verb. The boys walk.
First person singular (I) → base form. I walk.
Third person singular (he, she, it) → -s form. He walks.

The basic rule

A verb must match its subject in number.

Singular subject + singular verb

Singular subjects take the -s form of the verb in the simple present.

Aminata walks to school. (Aminata = singular → walks)
The boy runs fast. (the boy = singular → runs)
Mariama studies every evening. (singular → studies)
The book is on the table. (singular → is)
Foday was at the wedding. (singular → was)

Plural subject + plural verb

Plural subjects take the base form (no -s) of the verb.

Aminata and Mariama walk to school. (plural → walk)
The boys run fast. (plural → run)
The students study hard. (plural → study)
The books are on the table. (plural → are)
They were at the wedding. (plural → were)

The -s rule for present-tense verbs

In the simple present, only third-person singular subjects (he, she, it, the boy, Aminata) trigger the -s form of the verb.

Person	Subject	Verb
1st singular	I	walk
2nd singular	you	walk
3rd singular	he, she, it, the boy	walks
1st plural	we	walk
2nd plural	you	walk
3rd plural	they, the boys	walk

Notice that only the third-person singular row gets the -s. Everything else uses the base form.

This is why students often forget the -s in the third-person singular — Krio does not require it.

❌ Aminata walk to school. (third-person singular needs -s)
✓ Aminata walks to school.
❌ Mariama study every evening.
✓ Mariama studies every evening.

Be — the most irregular verb

Be has the most agreement forms.

Simple present

Person	Form
1st singular	I am
2nd singular	you are
3rd singular	he/she/it is
1st plural	we are
2nd plural	you are
3rd plural	they are

Simple past

Person	Form
1st singular	I was
2nd singular	you were
3rd singular	he/she/it was
1st plural	we were
2nd plural	you were
3rd plural	they were

Other tenses (will be, has been) do not change for person.

Common errors with be

❌ Aminata are at school. (singular subject + plural verb)
✓ Aminata is at school.
❌ They is at the wedding.
✓ They are at the wedding.
❌ I were tired.
✓ I was tired.
❌ You was late.
✓ You were late.

Have — another irregular

Have has two forms in the simple present.

I/you/we/they have
He/she/it has
Aminata has a new book.
We have new books.
The boy has finished.
The boys have finished.

Do — the third irregular

Same pattern.

I/you/we/they do
He/she/it does
Aminata does her homework every evening.
They do their homework together.
He does not want to go.
We do not want to go.

Common errors in the basic rule

Error 1 — Missing -s in third-person singular

The most common error in West African English. Krio does not mark this distinction.

❌ Aminata walk to school. → ✓ Aminata walks to school.
❌ Foday study at night. → ✓ Foday studies at night.
❌ Mariama like mangoes. → ✓ Mariama likes mangoes.
❌ The book belong to me. → ✓ The book belongs to me.

Error 2 — Extra -s with plural subject

The opposite mistake — adding -s when the subject is plural.

❌ The boys walks to school.
✓ The boys walk to school.
❌ Aminata and Mariama studies hard.
✓ Aminata and Mariama study hard.

Error 3 — Wrong form of be

❌ Aminata are at school. → ✓ Aminata is at school.
❌ They is happy. → ✓ They are happy.
❌ I were waiting. → ✓ I was waiting.

Auxiliary + main verb agreement

When there is an auxiliary verb (have, has, will, can, must, may), the auxiliary agrees with the subject. The main verb does NOT change.

Aminata has finished. (auxiliary has agrees with singular subject)
The boys have finished. (auxiliary have agrees with plural subject)
Aminata will finish. (modal will — no agreement change)
The boys will finish. (same form)
Aminata must finish. / The boys must finish. (no change)

With modals (can, could, will, would, may, might, must, shall, should), there is no change for person or number. The main verb stays in the base form.

❌ Aminata can finishes the work. (wrong — base form after modal)
✓ Aminata can finish the work.

Compound tenses

The agreement is on the auxiliary, not the main verb.

Aminata has been waiting. (3rd singular: has)
The boys have been waiting. (plural: have)
Aminata is reading. (singular: is)
The boys are reading. (plural: are)

Worked example

Choose the correct verb form.

Aminata (walk / walks) to school every day.
The boys (run / runs) faster than the girls.
Mariama (study / studies) at the library.
They (is / are) at the wedding.
Foday (was / were) at home yesterday.
The students (has / have) finished the test.
Aminata (do / does) her homework every evening.
We (don't / doesn't) like spicy food.
Aminata can (finish / finishes) the work by 5.
He (was / were) sleeping when the phone rang.

Work through:

walks — third-person singular
run — plural
studies — third-person singular (y → ies)
are — plural
was — third-person singular
have — plural
does — third-person singular
don't — first-person plural (we don't)
finish — base form after modal
was — third-person singular

I and you — special cases

I and you take base form verbs in the simple present, not the -s form.

I walk to school. (not walks)
You walk to school. (not walks)
I study every evening. (not studies)
You like mangoes. (not likes)

With be:

I am happy. (not I are)
You are happy. (not you is)

Spelling of the -s form

For the third-person singular present tense:

(a) Most verbs: just add -s. walk → walks, eat → eats, read → reads

(b) Verbs ending in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -x, -z, -o: add -es. miss → misses, wash → washes, watch → watches, fix → fixes, buzz → buzzes, go → goes, do → does

(c) Verbs ending in consonant + y: change y to i and add -es. study → studies, try → tries, cry → cries

(d) Verbs ending in vowel + y: just add -s. play → plays, enjoy → enjoys

Common errors:

❌ Aminata studys hard.
✓ Aminata studies hard.
❌ Foday gos to school.
✓ Foday goes to school.

In Sierra Leone

A short paragraph shows correct basic agreement:

Aminata wakes up at 6 every morning. She brushes her teeth, eats breakfast, and walks to school with her sister. Her sister Mariama studies at the same school. They enjoy the journey together. Their younger brother, Foday, goes to a different school. He plays football every evening, while Aminata and Mariama study together.

Their parents are strict. Their mother insists that they finish their homework before they sleep. Their father, who is a teacher, helps them with Mathematics. He explains difficult problems patiently. "You need to understand, not just memorise," he often says.

Verb forms used correctly:

3rd singular -s: wakes, brushes, eats, walks, studies, goes, plays, insists, helps, explains, says
Plural base form: enjoy, study, are
be forms: are (plural), is (singular)

No wrong -s drops. No wrong addition of -s to plurals.

Common mistake

Top basic agreement errors:

1. Missing -s in third-person singular.

❌ Aminata walk to school.
✓ Aminata walks to school.

2. Adding -s to plural subjects.

❌ The boys walks to school.
✓ The boys walk to school.

3. Wrong form of be.

❌ They is happy. → ✓ They are happy.
❌ He are tired. → ✓ He is tired.
❌ I were waiting. → ✓ I was waiting.

4. Wrong form of have.

❌ Aminata have a book. → ✓ Aminata has a book.
❌ They has finished. → ✓ They have finished.

5. Verb form after modal.

❌ She can walks fast.
✓ She can walk fast. (base form after modal)

WAEC tests this

Basic subject-verb agreement is heavily tested in WAEC:

Choose the correct verb for the subject.
Missing -s in third-person singular — error identification.
Adding -s to plural — error identification.
Wrong form of be / have / do for the subject.
Verb form after modal — base form, not -s.

Nearly every WAEC paper has 3–5 agreement questions. The rules are mechanical once learned.

Quick self-check

Choose the correct verb. Answers below.

Aminata (walk / walks) to school every day.
The students (study / studies) hard for WAEC.
Mariama (do / does) her homework every evening.
We (was / were) tired after the journey.
He (have / has) two brothers.
The girls (play / plays) football on Sundays.
Foday (don't / doesn't) like coffee.
I (am / is / are) going to Bo tomorrow.
They (was / were) at the meeting.
Aminata can (finish / finishes) the work by Friday.

Answers

walks
study
does
were
has
play
doesn't
am
were
finish

What's next

In the next lesson we look at tricky subjects — when the subject is harder to identify because of intervening phrases, compound subjects with and, or phrases that look plural but are singular (and vice versa). These are where WAEC starts to make the topic harder.

Basic Subject-Verb Agreement