One of the most fundamental rules in English grammar, and one that quickly separates fluent speakers from beginners, is subject-verb agreement. Think of the subject and the verb as dance partners in a sentence: they have to move together in harmony. If they don’t match, the whole sentence feels clumsy and incorrect. The good news is that for the simple present tense—the tense we use for facts, habits, and routines—there is one golden rule that, once mastered, will solve the vast majority of your agreement issues.

This concept of verb conjugation (changing the verb form) does not exist in the same way. Therefore, learners must make a conscious effort to identify the subject as singular or plural and then apply the “-s” rule accordingly. It is a key difference that requires consistent practice to master.

In conclusion, mastering subject-verb agreement in the simple present is a matter of consistently applying the golden rule and learning to correctly identify the true subject of your sentence. By watching out for prepositional phrases and understanding the rules for special subjects, you can ensure your writing is clear, correct, and sounds natural.