What is Concord in English Grammar?

Concord in English grammar refers to the agreement between the subject and the
verb in the sentence. However, there are many different ways to apply this rule. Here we
look at the different types of concord, with examples. We also offer some tips and
resources to help you teach concord.
Concord definition
Concord is the need for grammatical agreement between the different parts of
speech in a sentence. The word concord comes from the Latin word for agreement.
Concord is needed for our sentences to make sense. All the words in
a sentence need to have the correct relationships to each other, otherwise the sentence
just won’t sound right.
While there are nine parts of speech that make up English grammar, only two are
absolutely necessary in a sentence: the verb and the subject. For this reason, concord in
English is sometimes referred to as subject-verb agreement.
Types of concord in English grammar
There are several different types of concord in English grammar. Here are the ones
you’re most likely to come across, with examples to demonstrate how they operate.
Grammatical concord
Grammatical concord is the easiest type of subject-verb agreement to grasp, and
it’s always the one we learn first. Put simply, it means that if the sentence has a singular
subject, it must also have a singular verb. If the subject of the sentence is plural, the verb
must be plural, too.
The subject of the sentence is the person, animal or thing doing the action. The
subject might be singular or plural. Let’s look at two sample sentences:
 The teacher speaks to the class.
 The teachers speak to the class.
In the first sentence, the subject (the teacher) is singular, so the sentence uses the singular
verb ‘speaks’. In the second sentence, there’s more than one teacher, so the plural verb
‘speak’ is used.
Things get a little more complicated when we add an object to the sentence before
the verb, as this can sometimes be mistaken for the subject. We have to be careful when
we’re looking at these kinds of sentences. For example:
 The books in the cupboard are stacked neatly.
 The dog in the garden is running around.
 In the first example, the books are the subject, not the cupboard. Therefore we use the
plural verb ‘are’. The subject in the second sentence is singular (‘the dog’), so in this case
we use the singular verb ‘is’.
Grammatical concord with more than one subject
What happens if there are multiple subjects in a sentence? If there’s more than
one subject, these work together as a plural subject, so the verb is plural, like this:
 Jack and Ali were caught in the rain.
Because there are two subjects (Jack and Ali) we use the plural verb ‘were’ instead of the
singular ‘was’.
However, there are a couple of exceptions to this rule.
The first exception is when both subjects are the same person or thing. For example:
 The largest animal and loudest sea creature is the blue whale.
 The singer and songwriter is Harry Styles.
In both of these cases, the subjects are the same person or animal, so we use the singular
verb ‘is’ in both sentences.
The other exception is when two things are always linked together in people’s minds, to
the point where, when spoken about together, we think of them as one thing. Here’s an
example:
 Fish and chips is my favourite dinner.
We always think of fish and chips as one dish, even though they’re different things and
can be eaten separately. When we refer to them together, we use the singular verb ‘is’.
Proximity concord
Proximity refers to the closeness of two things. In the case of sentences, we often
show proximity between two subjects by using the correlating conjunctions ‘either / or’
or ‘neither / nor’.
If both subjects are singular, the verb takes the singular form, as in these examples:
 Either the Prime Minister or the Chancellor is attending the meeting.
 Neither Mary nor her mother eats meat.
But, what happens when one subject is singular and the other is plural? In these cases,
the verb takes the form of the subject nearest to it in the sentence, like this:
 Either the Prime Minister or other Government ministers are attending the meeting.
 Neither Mary nor her parents eat meat.
Both of these sentences put the plural subject closest to the verb, so the verb takes its
plural form in both cases. If we reversed these sentences, so the singular subject was
 second, the verb would take its singular form (‘Neither Mary’s parents nor
Mary eats meat’).
Notional concord
The idea of notional concord relates to collective nouns. We use these to refer to
a group of people, animals or things. Some examples include:
 class
 choir
 audience
 congregation
 team
 flock
When we’re using collective nouns, the verb takes its singular form if there is no
action being taken in the sentence. If there is action happening, the verb should be plural,
as the people or animals in the collective are all taking action as individuals, even if it’s
the same action as each other. Let’s take a look at two examples:
 The class has the best exam results in the school.
 The class are sitting at their desks.
In the first example, there is no action being taken - the sentence is simply stating
a fact, so the verb here is singular. In the second example, the children in the class are
individually taking the action of sitting at their desks, so we use the plural form of the
verb.
Indefinite pronoun concord
Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that refer to things vaguely rather than
specifically. They give us ways to talk about people, things and quantities in abstract
terms. Some examples of indefinite pronouns are:
 anything / anyone / anybody
 something / someone / somebody
 everything / everyone / everybody
 nothing / no-one / nobody
When the subject of a sentence is an indefinite pronoun, we always use a singular verb.
For example:
 Everyone is coming to the party.
 Something has to be done about this.
 Is anybody there?
Measurement concord
 We use all kinds of measurements in our speech and writing, so it’s important to
know how to make the verb agree with the measurement we’re describing. If we’re
talking about measurements of time, money, amount or distance, we always tend to use
a singular verb, even if the measurement is plural. Here are some examples:
 Two weeks is not long enough for our Christmas holiday.
 Three hundred dollars is too much to spend on a concert ticket.
So, whether we’re talking about hours, kilometres or teaspoons, we always use the
singular form of the verb.
However, things change when we’re talking about percentages or fractions. In these
cases, the verb takes the same form as the subject, like this:
 50% of the building is occupied.
 Half the students are boys.
In the first sentence, the subject (the building) is singular, so the verb is singular, too. In
the second case, the subject (the students) is plural, so the verb takes the plural form.
We should also mention comparative measurements here, such as ‘more than’ and
‘fewer than’. If we’re using these expressions to talk about amounts of something, the
verb needs to correlate with the subject, whether it’s singular or plural. For example:
 More than one child is singing a solo in the concert.
 Fewer than ten days have been dry this month.
We can see here that the first example has a singular subject, so the verb is also singular.
In the second sentence, which has a plural subject, we use a plural verb.