Is or are?
One rule covers nine cases out of ten: is for one, are for more than one. The tenth case is why this page exists.
The short answer
Use is with he, she, it and any single person or thing. Use are with you, we, they and anything plural. Am goes with I and nothing else.
Which one do you need?
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | am | I am ready. |
| he, she, it, one thing | is | The shop is closed. |
| you, we, they, several things | are | The shops are closed. |
Practice the choice
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Getting your first question ready.
Side by side
Three sentences for each form, taken from the 3,677 sentences this drill uses. The answer is highlighted.
am
- What am I thinking about right now?
- How am I supposed to carry all this?
- I am the new neighbor from the top floor.
is
- Who is he talking to on the phone?
- How is he going to get to the airport?
- This restaurant is famous for its food.
are
- Why are they sleeping during the day?
- When are they going to finish their work?
- Are they going to win the championship this season?
The rule, and then the exceptions
Is for one, are for more than one, am for I. If the subject is a plain noun you can count, that settles it: the box is, the boxes are.
What follows is the list of subjects where counting does not settle it. These are the cases that send people to a search engine.
Nouns that end in -s but are one thing
The news is on at six. Physics is her best subject. Politics is complicated.
The -s is part of the word, not a plural ending. Also in this group: mathematics, economics, athletics, measles, billiards.
Nouns with no singular
The opposite case. Trousers, jeans, scissors, glasses, pyjamas, binoculars name one object with two halves, and English treats them as plural:
My glasses are on the table. — never is.
To make them singular you need a pair of, and then the verb follows pair: a pair of scissors is enough.
There is, there are
Here the verb agrees with the thing that comes after it:
- There is a message for you.
- There are three messages for you.
With a list, formal English agrees with the first item — There is a pen and two pencils on the desk — but there are is normal in speech, and nobody will blink.
Everybody, somebody, each, either
All singular, even when they clearly cover a crowd:
Everybody is here. Each of the rooms has a window. Neither answer is right.
The pull toward are is strong because the meaning is plural. Resist it.
A lot of, a number of, some of
These agree with the noun they measure, not with themselves:
- A lot of water is wasted. — water is uncountable
- A lot of people are waiting. — people is plural
- A number of students are late. — but the number of students is rising
The number is a single figure. A number means “several”. One word apart, opposite verbs.
Teams, families, the government
British and American English part ways here. In British English a group can take either form, depending on whether you mean the body or its members:
- The team is top of the league. — the club as one thing
- The team are arguing among themselves. — the players
American English uses is in both. Our sentences follow the American pattern, so if you are drilling for an exam, check which variety it tests.
Money, distance and time as one amount
Twenty pounds is too much. Ten miles is a long walk. Two hours is enough.
The subject looks plural but names one quantity.
Mistakes to avoid
Wrong: The news are bad. correct: The news is bad.
News looks plural because of the -s, but it is one uncountable thing. The same goes for mathematics, physics, politics and economics.
Wrong: There is three reasons. correct: There are three reasons.
In there is / there are the verb agrees with what comes after it, not with there.
Wrong: Everybody are waiting. correct: Everybody is waiting.
Everybody, somebody, nobody and each are grammatically singular, however many people they cover.
Wrong: My trousers is new. correct: My trousers are new.
Trousers, scissors, glasses and jeans have no singular form, so they always take are.