##  [verb agreement with “couple”](/writing-tips-plus/verb-agreement-with-couple)

##  Avertissement

Ce contenu est offert en anglais seulement.

With most singular collective nouns—nouns like *group, staff* or *herd* that represent a unit with many members—we use a singular verb when the members of the group are acting in unison:

- The cast *is* having a party.

And we use a plural verb when the members are acting individually:

- The cast *are* practising their lines.

However, the word *couple* is a collective noun that can pose special problems for subject-verb agreement.

## *A couple / the couple*

With the word couple, it is sometimes necessary to use a plural verb even when the two persons forming the couple are acting in unison.

In the sentence below, for example, the focus is on the joining of two individuals, so *couple* has a distinct plural sense even though the two individuals are doing the same thing together:

- A couple *are* being married today in a joint Catholic-Jewish ceremony.

Also, it is difficult to use the neuter pronoun *it* or *its* in reference to a couple—so when *couple* is the antecedent for a pronoun, we choose the pronoun *they* or *their*, and use a plural verb for consistency.

- The young couple next door *have* just bought *their* first car, and *they are* very excited.

## *A couple of*

A similar issue arises with the phrase *a couple of* (as in *a couple of boats*). Although it is singular in form, it has come to be considered equal to *two* and is therefore almost always plural in meaning:

- *A couple of boats were* driven ashore by the storm. \[= *Two boats were* driven ashore\]

However, when using this expression before a quantity of days, kilometres or dollars, you will need a singular verb, since measurements of time, distance or money represent sum totals that are singular in meaning:

- *A couple of kilometres is* not far to walk. \[= *Two kilometres is* not far to walk.\]

**Usage note:** The use of *a couple* (without *of*) before a plural noun (*a couple trees, a couple days*, etc.) is a colloquial American usage. To Canadian ears, this expression may sound odd or uneducated. The *Canadian Oxford Dictionary* calls it “highly informal” and recommends that it be avoided in writing:

- **Informal:** *A couple trees* have blown down.
- **Preferred:** *A couple **of** trees* have blown down.

However, it is correct to omit *of* when you use *a couple* before the word *more*:

- **Correct:** *A couple **more** trees* have blown down.

For information on the use of the preposition *of* after *a couple*, see [couple of, couple more](couple-of-couple-more).

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