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Why Subject-Verb Agreement Is So Hard to Hear in English

The Hidden Pattern in Every English Sentence

Every English sentence has a secret code.

The subject and verb must match.

"He walks" is correct. "They walk" is correct.

But "He walk" is wrong. "They walks" is wrong.

Simple on paper.

Incredibly hard to hear in real speech.

The Listening Challenge

In my 25 years of teaching, I've noticed that even advanced students struggle to hear subject-verb agreement.

Why?

Three big reasons:

  1. These markers are unstressed and quick
    • "He walks to school" - the "-s" is barely pronounced
    • "They are going" often sounds like "They're goin'"
  2. Many languages don't have this pattern
    • Japanese verbs don't change with the subject
    • Chinese doesn't mark subject-verb agreement
  3. The patterns are inconsistent
    • Present tense: "I walk" vs. "He walks"
    • Past tense: "I walked" vs. "He walked" (same form)
    • Future: "I will walk" vs. "He will walk" (same form)

The Mental Picture Problem

When you miss subject-verb agreement, you miss who is doing what.

This creates a wrong mental picture.

Here's a real example from my classroom:

What the teacher said: "The students were excited about the trip."

What the student heard: "The student ??? excited about the trip."

The student missed the "were" completely. He couldn't create a clear mental picture of the situation.

Was it one student or many? Was it happening now or in the past?

Subject-verb agreement tells us these crucial details.

How Native Speakers Cheat

Native speakers don't carefully listen to every word.

They cheat.

They use grammar knowledge to fill in missing pieces.

If they hear "The student..." they automatically expect "...is/was."

If they hear "The students..." they automatically expect "...are/were."

This happens without thinking.

Non-native listeners need to develop this same automatic prediction skill.

Listen for the Pattern

Try this exercise. Can you hear the subject-verb pairs in these sentences?

  1. "The teacher asks a question."
  2. "The teachers ask a question."
  3. "The children are playing outside."
  4. "The child is playing outside."
  5. "He goes to work every day."
  6. "They go to work every day."

The differences are tiny but critical.

The Two-Step Listening Process

To improve your subject-verb agreement listening, try this two-step process:

  1. Identify the subject first
    • Is it singular or plural?
    • Is it first person (I/we), second person (you), or third person (he/she/it/they)?
  2. Predict the verb form
    • Singular third-person subjects → add -s in present tense
    • Plural subjects → use base form in present tense
    • "Be" verbs change completely (am/is/are/was/were)

Practice with The Less Said Podcast

The Less Said Podcast is perfect for practicing subject-verb agreement listening.

Try this exercise:

  1. Listen to Episode 2
  2. Pause after each sentence
  3. Write down the subject and verb
  4. Check if they match correctly

Remember:

Native speakers don't just hear better.

They predict better.

They fill in gaps automatically.

When you train your ear to catch subject-verb pairs, your overall comprehension will dramatically improve.

Tomorrow, we'll look specifically at the invisible "-s" ending in third-person singular verbs - the most commonly missed marker in English speech!