verbnumber

Verb-number is a grammatical category on the verb that encodes information about the numerical status of the subject or other participants in the clause. When present, verb-number appears as inflection on the verb and is typically part of subject agreement, though it can also involve other argument concord. The category commonly contrasts singular and plural, and in some languages includes dual (two) or paucal (a few) numbers.

In typology, languages differ in how verb-number is realized. Some rely on productive affixes attached to the verb stem, others use stem changes or suppletion, and still others employ a combination of prefixes, suffixes, or infixes. In languages with rich agreement systems, the form of the verb is determined by the subject’s person and number, and may also reflect the number of other arguments or a broader discourse context. In languages with periphrastic verb-number, auxiliary words or separate clausal elements mark number rather than the verb’s morphology alone.

Cross-linguistically, verb-number often interacts with tense, aspect, and mood. It is particularly salient in languages with dual or paucal numbers, where a distinct verb form marks, for example, “two speakers” or “a few participants.” Some languages have robust, obligatory verb-number marking, while others show limited or optional agreement, or use postposed pronouns to indicate number.

Examples include languages with clear subject-verb concord, such as English in its third-person singular form (he walks vs they walk), and highly agglutinating languages such as several Bantu languages, where verbs carry subject concord prefixes encoding person and number. In languages with extensive noun-number systems, verb-number often works in concert with noun-number to maintain agreement throughout the sentence.

See also: subject-verb agreement, noun-number, agreement theory, Bantu languages.