Subject Verb Agreement Checker: Fix Tricky Errors on Mac

Subject-verb agreement errors are among the most common writing mistakes, yet they slip past even experienced writers. A dedicated subject verb agreement checker can catch what your eyes miss -- especially when sentences have complex structures like prepositional phrases, compound subjects, or indefinite pronouns. WunderType lets you build exactly that: a custom AI-powered checker that works in any macOS application.

Why Subject-Verb Agreement Is So Tricky

English subject-verb agreement follows a simple rule: singular subjects take singular verbs, and plural subjects take plural verbs. In practice, though, several sentence structures make this surprisingly difficult:

• Intervening phrases: "The team of developers are working" sounds natural, but "team" is the subject, not "developers" -- so it should be "is working."
• Indefinite pronouns: Words like "each," "every," and "neither" are always singular, even when followed by plural nouns. "Each of the reports need" should be "needs."
• Compound subjects with nor: When "neither...nor" connects a singular and a plural subject, the verb agrees with the nearer subject. "Neither the manager nor the employees was informed" should be "were informed."
• Expletive constructions: In sentences starting with "there is" or "there are," the real subject comes after the verb. "There is many factors" should be "there are many factors."

General grammar checkers flag obvious errors, but they often miss these nuanced cases. A purpose-built subject verb agreement checker that understands these specific rules catches what generic tools overlook.

How to Identify a Subject-Verb Agreement Error

The key is finding the true subject of each clause. Ignore prepositional phrases ("of developers," "of the reports") that sit between the subject and verb -- they do not affect agreement. Then check whether the subject is singular or plural and whether the verb matches.

This mental process works but is slow, especially when editing long documents. Automating it with a custom AI prompt means every sentence gets checked consistently, without fatigue.

Build a Subject Verb Agreement Checker with WunderType

WunderType is a macOS menu bar app that runs AI text actions system-wide. You create a Custom Prompt with specific instructions, assign it a keyboard shortcut, and use it in any app -- Mail, Pages, Google Docs, Slack, or wherever you write.

Here is the Subject Verb Agreement Checker custom prompt in action with the shortcut ⇧⌥V:

Before:

"The team of developers are working on the new feature. Each of the reports need to be reviewed before Friday. Neither the manager nor the employees was informed about the policy change. The data shows that there is many factors contributing to the delay."

After:

"The team of developers is working on the new feature. Each of the reports needs to be reviewed before Friday. Neither the manager nor the employees were informed about the policy change. The data shows that there are many factors contributing to the delay."

Four corrections, each targeting a different subject-verb agreement rule. The prompt does not rewrite your sentences or change your meaning -- it only fixes the agreement errors.

Why Not Just Use a General Grammar Checker?

General grammar tools try to catch everything at once: spelling, punctuation, style, tone, and grammar. That breadth comes at a cost. They frequently miss subject-verb agreement errors involving collective nouns, indefinite pronouns, and inverted sentence structures.

A focused custom prompt outperforms general tools for SVA because:

1. Single-task accuracy: The AI instruction targets only agreement errors, so it does not get distracted by stylistic suggestions or unrelated corrections.
2. Rule-specific awareness: You can instruct the prompt to pay attention to collective nouns, "each/every/neither" constructions, and expletive sentences -- the exact patterns that trip up generic checkers.
3. Preservation of voice: Because the prompt only changes verbs that disagree with their subjects, your original wording, tone, and style remain intact.

Works Everywhere You Write

Unlike browser-based subject verb agreement tools, WunderType operates at the system level on macOS. Select your text in any application, press ⇧⌥V, and the corrected text replaces the original in place. No copying to a web tab. No pasting back. No switching windows.

This is especially valuable for professional writing -- legal documents, academic papers, business reports -- where subject-verb agreement errors undermine credibility and you need corrections without disrupting your workflow.

Get Started

Download WunderType, create a Subject Verb Agreement Checker custom prompt with your preferred shortcut, and start catching the agreement errors that other tools miss.

Download WunderType on the Mac App Store