Mastering number and person in English grammar is essential for achieving correct subject-verb agreement, distinguishing singular and plural forms, and refining your sentence structure. In ordinary English, verbs have few inflectional endings, but understanding how they indicate number, person, and mood helps you express accurate thoughts and fine shades of meaning.
What Is Number and Person in English Verbs?
There are two numbers in English grammar: singular and plural. In poetry and biblical style, the indicative mood can distinguish between singular and plural in the second and third persons of the present tense and the second person of the past tense.
However, in ordinary language, only the third person indicative of a present tense form can indicate the number clearly. For a comprehensive look at foundational rules, check out this guide on the proper use of number and person.
There are two numbers, singular and plural: thou singěst, ye sing; thou sangěst, ye sang; he sings (or singěth), they sing.
The verb be goes a little further in indicating number. This is a survival of older usage, which carefully distinguished singular and plural across all tenses and moods:
- First person: I am (singular), we are (plural) / I was (singular), we were (plural)
- Third person: he is (singular), they are (plural) / he was (singular), they were (plural)
In poetic and biblical style, you can always distinguish between singular and plural in the second person:
- thou givěst, ye give
- thou gavěst, ye gave
Elsewhere, English does not formally distinguish singular and plural through distinct verb endings. Instead, the subject makes the idea of number and person clear:
- I sing, we sing
- you (speaking to a definite person) sing, you boys sing
- I sang, you sang, he sang, we sang, you boys sang, they sang
- if he sing, if they sing
The few endings that verbs retain indicate not only the number but also the person and the mood. For instance, the absence of an ending in the third person singular of a present tense form usually marks it as a subjunctive:
- he comes (indicative)
- if he come (subjunctive)
Only two verbs have a special subjunctive form here: if he be and if he have (regularly formed from have, while the indicative is is an irregular, contracted form).
Agreement of Verb with Subject in Number and Person
The English verb—except for the copula be—has no endings in ordinary speech for the past tense and the first and second persons of the present tense. It distinguishes numbers only in the third person of the present tense:
- Our dog barks too much. (Singular)
- Our dogs bark too much. (Plural)
The verbal ending -s indicates the singular, while the lack of an ending indicates the plural. These simple forms allow us to express precise thoughts and convey fine shades of meaning:
| Context / Sentence Example | Meaning & Rule |
|---|---|
| Three-fourths of the surface of the earth is sea. | Referring to a collective mass. |
| Three-fourths of our old college class are married. | Referring to individual people. |
| Three times 3 is (or are) 9. | Fluctuation of usage based on different points of view. |
The point of view sometimes shifts from century to century. In older English it was quite common to put the verb in the plural after the subjects each one, everyone: Everyone in the house were in their beds' (Fielding, Tom Jones, VII, Ch. XIV). The singular of the verb is now required here in the literary language: Every one in the house was in his bed.'
The old plural idea survives in part in popular speech: 'Everyone in the house was in their beds.' Thus, in earlier periods, even educated people felt the plural idea in every and each, while today they perceive these words as representing separate individuals. However, in colloquial language, most people still say, 'Everyone was here, but they all went home early' (Current English Usage, p. 104), because an appropriate singular pronoun is often unavailable.
How Do Compound Subjects and Meaning Affect Agreement?
Grammar rules also interact with semantic meaning in complex sentence structures:
- We say today: 'The island of Australia with Tasmania constitutes the commonwealth of Australia.' In older English, the verb was generally in the plural. Present-day popular speech preserves this older usage, whereas the singular prevails in literary language.
- We now place the verb in agreement with the formal grammatical subject (e.g., the island of Australia), even though a plural idea is present.
- In many other expressions, we follow the overall meaning: 'There is lots of fun in it.' 'The white and the red rose are both beautiful.' 'The multitude, unacquainted with the best models, are captivated by whatever stuns or dazzles them.'
Sometimes, the minimal verbal inflection remaining in English causes worry and drives writers to dodge difficult questions of form:
- One writer, remembering the rule to make the verb agree with the nearest subject, says: 'Either he or I am in the wrong.'
- Another says: 'Either, he or I, is in the wrong,' construing either as a pronoun in the subject relation with he and I as explanatory appositives.
- Still another writer dodges the issue entirely by giving each subject a separate verb: 'Either he is in the wrong or I am.'
Key Takeaways
- English verbs distinguish number primarily in the third person present tense via the -s ending (singular) versus no ending (plural).
- The verb be retains distinct forms for singular and plural across multiple persons and tenses as a historical survival.
- Subject-verb agreement can depend on whether a noun phrase is viewed as a collective mass or as separate individuals.
- Usage shifts over time, creating differences between formal literary standards and colloquial speech regarding pronouns and plural concepts.
Quick Practice
Test your understanding of number and person by dropping your answers in the comments section below:
- Choose the correct verb form and explain why: "Three-fourths of the book ___ (is/are) fascinating."
- How does the verb be differ from regular English verbs when indicating number and person?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is number and person in English grammar?
Number refers to the distinction between singular (one) and plural (more than one), while person indicates whether a pronoun or verb relates to the speaker (first person), the person spoken to (second person), or the person/thing spoken about (third person).
How do English verbs show number and person?
Except for the copula verb be, ordinary English verbs only show number and person clearly in the third person singular present tense by adding an -s ending (e.g., he barks vs. they bark).
Why do subject-verb agreement rules sometimes fluctuate?
Agreement can fluctuate because writers and speakers occasionally choose between following the strict grammatical subject or following the logical semantic meaning (such as treating a collective term as individuals).