Subject-Complement Agreement

When it comes to subject-complement agreement, most can agree on one thing: without a rewrite, no matter what you choose (singular or plural), it will sound off to some.

This isn’t like subject-verb agreement, which is fairly clear-cut. Instead, subject-complement agreement exists in a gray area.

A complement is the adjective, noun, or pronoun that completes the meaning of the sentence.

Examples with the complements in bold.

She is a teacher.

I am weak.

She won employee of the month.

She ate a sandwich.

Subject-complement agreement means that both the subject and the complement agree in number (both singular or both plural).

In all those examples, both the subject and the complement agree, as they are both singular.

These are all standard sentences that don’t have any tricky agreement issues. They are just as clear-cut as subject-verb agreement.

It can get a bit complicated when the subject is plural. The obvious answer is to make the complement plural, but that can sometimes read oddly.

The writers complained their necks were sore.

They shook their heads.

Or

The writers complained their neck was sore.

They shook their head.

“Writers” is plural, so shouldn’t it be necks? But then wait a minute, each person only has one neck, so “necks” will read oddly to some readers.

“They” is plural, but no one has two heads.

So then which answer is right? Remember what I said at the beginning: no matter which one you chose (singular or plural), someone is going to think it’s wrong.

In these tricky cases, you have two options:

The best bet is to rewrite the sentence, but when you can’t do that, you just have to pick one and know that no matter which one you pick, someone will think it is “wrong” and sounds “off.”

Once you pick one, remain consistent throughout your work.

If you decide to opt for singular in one instance, then use singular throughout.

Don’t write “We need to listen to our heart and mind,” but then later write, “We need to control our minds and not think that way.”

If you are going to opt for singular in one instance of a subject-complement issue, then stick with singular throughout that piece.

This can cause some anxiety for a writer and an editor. Without a clear right answer, what do I do? Someone, somewhere is going to think I messed up no matter what I choose.

Let it go.

This isn’t worth your worry or time. Pick one and move on.