GRM-001 Hard constraint layer: clause

Subject–verb number agreement

IF a finite clause has an expressed subject AND neither quoted dialect nor an agreement exception applies, THEN align the finite verb with the subject in number ELSE retain.

Why the rule exists

Agreement helps readers identify the intended grammatical relation.

Condition

The rule fires when this evaluates true. Paths marked below must be present in the fact base; the engine reports the rest rather than guessing them.

ALL
- clause.subject exists
- clause.verb.finite eq true
- NOT
  - context.mode eq "quoted_dialect"

Facts this rule reads

Fact paths read by GRM-001 and whether the analyser derives them
Path	Source
`clause.subject`	You supply it
`clause.verb.finite`	You supply it
`context.mode`	You supply it

Then

align — target clause.verb.number, value from clause.subject.grammatical_number

Else

retain — target current_text, No triggering condition is present.

Diagnostics

Ignore nouns inside intervening prepositional phrases when identifying the head subject.
Evaluate collective nouns and notional agreement according to dialect and house style.

Test cases

TST-001 · [object Object]

Before: The list of items are ready.
After: The list of items is ready.
Reason: The head subject is singular.

LAKA

Smallest sufficient intervention

Yes

Primary axes

Sources

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation — Jane Straus; Lester Kaufman
Accessible grammar, punctuation, examples, and exercises.
English Grammar in Use — Raymond Murphy
Self-study explanations and practice for core English grammar.
Practical English Usage — Michael Swan
Advanced grammar and usage reference for learners and teachers.
Grammar, Punctuation, and Sentence Structure — Purdue Online Writing Lab link
Practical mechanics, clause, sentence, punctuation, and style guidance.

The raw rule record

Verbatim from 07-core-grammar-rules.json. Also available at /v1/rules/GRM-001.

{
  "id": "GRM-001",
  "name": "Subject–verb number agreement",
  "domain": "grammar",
  "layer": "clause",
  "strength": "hard_constraint",
  "human_logic": "IF a finite clause has an expressed subject AND neither quoted dialect nor an agreement exception applies, THEN align the finite verb with the subject in number ELSE retain.",
  "when": {
    "all": [
      {
        "path": "clause.subject",
        "operator": "exists"
      },
      {
        "path": "clause.verb.finite",
        "operator": "eq",
        "value": true
      },
      {
        "not": {
          "path": "context.mode",
          "operator": "eq",
          "value": "quoted_dialect"
        }
      }
    ]
  },
  "then": [
    {
      "action": "align",
      "target": "clause.verb.number",
      "value_from": "clause.subject.grammatical_number"
    }
  ],
  "else": [
    {
      "action": "retain",
      "target": "current_text",
      "reason": "No triggering condition is present."
    }
  ],
  "unless": [],
  "because": "Agreement helps readers identify the intended grammatical relation.",
  "diagnostics": [
    "Ignore nouns inside intervening prepositional phrases when identifying the head subject.",
    "Evaluate collective nouns and notional agreement according to dialect and house style."
  ],
  "examples": {},
  "source_ids": [
    "BK-002",
    "BK-004",
    "BK-010",
    "WEB-011"
  ],
  "laka": {
    "smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
    "primary_axes": [
      "scope",
      "depth",
      "magnitude",
      "reversibility"
    ]
  }
}