Depending on the object, you can “agree with”, “agree on”, “agree about” or “agree to” something.
All of these prepositions can be connected to a noun, so it’s the nature of the object that decides the appropriate preposition, as each connects the subject and object in a slightly different way.
Here’s how to decide which preposition to use:
Agree with someone or something
You agree with someone or something when you share or accept an opinion.
- Paul said climate change is a real threat. I agreed with Paul.
You can also agree with the way something is done, particularly when that method is a matter of opinion or style. This means agree with can be followed by a method/style of doing something, or by an idea or overall concept that represents something opinion-based.
- I don’t agree with the way they run this office.
- She agreed with the idea to rehome the dogs.
- We agreed with the government’s new measures.
Agree on a topic or subject
You agree on a topic or subject that you share a mutual view on. This has some crossover with agreeing with someone: you would agree with someone on something. You can also use agree about in this way.
- Jim and Hilda agreed on where to eat.
- The truck drivers agreed on the best route to Belgium.
- Kyle agreed with Mandie on the terms of their contract.
- We agree about everything.
So while two subjects agreeing in general agree with each other, they agree on the matter being considered. However, as we’ve seen you can also agree with ideas to show approval, so what’s the difference?
We agree with something that is agreeable to us, but we agree on something that is decided to be mutually agreeable (i.e. when two or more people express the same opinion).
- I agreed with the proposals for a new school. (I liked the idea.)
- The committee agreed on the proposals for a new school. (All the members accepted the idea together.)
Agree to an action or conclusion
You agree to do something, so to often connects agree to verbs in noun form. You can also agree to an arrangement of some sort (most commonly rates, amounts, terms and quantities).
- I agree to cutting my hair.
- They agreed to cook the dinner early.
- The public did not agree to higher taxes.
- She agreed to a pay cut.
Agree without a preposition
Agree can be used on its own as a general positive response. It can also be used with that when you agree about an idea represented by a clause, instead of simply a noun. Sometimes, that can be optional, so agree can be used without a preposition. This form is usually for opinions or points.
- I agree that the cows in that field are getting fat.
- He agreed it is too late to eat more pizza.
Learn More with ELB Books!
For more English-learning material, check out the ELB store, where we've got a range of bestselling books to improve your grammar and skills.
I would like to agree to the statement.
Is this sentence right?
Hi Annie,
Apologies for the slow reply – grammatically it is correct but it would a specific meaning with a statement. When you “agree to” a statement it would generally mean you agree to the terms of it (i.e. you will accept what is being proposed) whereas the more common would be that you “agree with” a statement to mean you share the same view that the statement expresses.
Phil
There is a way to say ‘in agreement with’ . For ex. This proposal is in agreement with the earlier proposal. Am I right.
Hi, yes that’s correct – as you indicate it can be used as an adjective phrase (Something is “in agreement with [something else]”) or adverbially, where we could use the phrase as additional information, e.g. “In agreement with the plans, we decided to go ahead.”
I was doing some exercise on vocabulary.com and came upon a sentence that really confused me. The question goes like this: “Which of these would most likely be considered servile?” And then lists options to choose from. The correct answer is “A person who always agrees his boss”. That last bit seems totally wrong to me but I assume I just don’t know enouth nuance regarding the English language. Can you please tell me if the above-mentioned sentence is correct, and if yes, when is it appropriate to use this construction?
Hi Ksenia,
Your instinct is correct – that phrase does not work, it should be “a person who always agrees with his boss”; we need a preposition to connect “agree” with another noun to demonstrate they are in agreement. I suspect the writer accidentally left out the “with”, or had originally formed another construction (e.g. “a person who always seeks to please his boss”) and didn’t add the preposition when they changed it.
Phil
Is it acceptable to say them:
1. I agree with it.
2. I agree on it.
3. I agree to it.
4. I agree with this opinion.
5. I agree on this opinion.
6. I agree to this opionion.
7. I agree this opinion.
You response will be so much helpful. Thanks!
Hi Lea, most of these could considered acceptable informally, I expect, but to be accurate I’d say you can’t really use singular with “agree on”, as it usually takes more than one person to agree on something, so 2 and 5 I would avoid. 7 also does not work; agree needs a preposition to connect it to another noun.
What do you mean by in general here “So while two subjects agreeing in general agree with each other, they agree on the matter being considered.”
Hi Ash, I mean that we’re discussing the general act of agreeing, without the topic mentioned – when we name the topic, it becomes specific.
So, general agreement would be: “The girls agreed with each other.” but more specific would be “The girls agreed on which cafe to go to.” I hope that clarifies it?
Agree is messy!
I am guessing that the contents of this article applies to all English (both US and UK)?
There may be some flexibility depending on regional use, but generally this should be a good broad starting point.
In documents revisions (digital documents, for example), if I agree with some idea or comment, could I use just “Agree” as a response or should I use “I agree”? Could I use “ok” instead of “agree” in this context?
With document comments, yes it’s generally okay to use very short note form in that way, ‘agree’ or ‘okay’ should both be fine.
Hello! I have encountered this usage of the verb agree without a preposition in one of the books for ESL learners:
“to agree a new contract”
Is that acceptable?
Hi Andrew,
Yes, it is used this way sometimes, probably a form that would be worth including in the article: “agree + noun” is typically used with contracts, agreements or anything that can be negotiated really, essentially meaning to agree on a particular version of the noun.
Phil