diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2422070..9e18beb 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ There are sometimes changes that have been pushed (and reviewed) downstream
 first and then put upstream for submission when ready. These should be
 integrated with the history, but they shouldn't derail other upstream changes.
 
-When applying a change to downstream, several things needs to be taken care of:
+When applying a change to downstream, several things need to be taken care of:
 
 - Since it's possible that changes have been taken out of downstream's patch
   train, gerritcp can't simply adopt the toplevel `tree` object of the