We all know these meanings of "agree," but when we talk about subject-verb agreement, we're talking about something different: matching subjects and verbs according to number. That is, when you have a singular subject, you have to match it with a singular verb form: The boy plays. When you have a plural subject, you must have a plural verb form: The boys play.

　　In short, simple sentences, you should have no problem with agreement. You can hear the problem: The boys plays. When it's wrong, it just sounds funny. However, there are four potential problem spots that you need to watch carefully:

　　● stuff in between the subject and verb

　　● reversed sentence order

　　● "-body," "-one," and "-thing" words

　　● "who," "which," and "that"

　　Stuff in between subjects and verbs

　　The stuff here is usually a prepositional phrase that separates the subject from the verb. Remember how we crossed out prepositional phrases in order to find the subject? Do the same thing if you're having problems with agreement. Now, look at the following sentence and decide what's wrong with it:

　　The dishes in the kitchen is dirty.

　　Good guess! The subject and the verb don't agree. What's the probable cause for the problem? Kitchen (a singular noun) is right in front of is (a singular verb). If kitchen were the subject, that would be okay. But, it's not. Cross out the prepositional phrase and you're left with:

　　The dishes in the kitchen is dirty.

　　"The dishes . . . is dirty?" sounds wrong, doesn't it? The subject is plural, but the verb is singular. They don't agree. The correct version is:

　　The dishes in the kitchen are dirty.

Once you know how to look for this problem, it shouldn't be too hard to get rid of it when you proofread your paper.