SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
A.
Subject
Subject
is the person/people/thing(s) that do the activity.
I, you, they, we, she, he, it.
B.
Verb
Verb is a word used to describe an
action, state, or occurrence, and forming the main part of the predicate of a
sentence.
Kind
of verbs:
1. Action
Verb
•
Also known as “Main Verb”.
•
Action verbs are words
that express action (give, eat, walk, etc.) or possession (have, own, etc.).
•
Action verbs can be
either transitive (with object) or intransitive (without object).
Example:
-
Laurissa
raises her hand. (kkt)
-
Laurissa rises slowly
from her seat. (kki)
2.
Linking Verbs
A linking verb connects the
subject of a sentence to a noun or adjective that renames or describes the
subject.
To Be: is, am, are, was, were
Example: Lisa is in love with Jason.
Verb: seem, appear, become, grow,
remain, get, prove, turn, look, sound, smell, taste, feel.
Example:She looks pale.
3.
Helping Verbs
Helping verbs are used before
action or linking verbs to convey additional information regarding aspects of
possibility (can, could, etc.) or time (was, did, has, etc.)
MODALS always function as Helping Verbs.
MODALS: can, could, may, might, shall, will, ought to,
should, would.
Example :Tejois
(helping verb) going
(main verb) to Florida.
Main Rule of Subject Verb Agreement
1.
Subjects and verbs
must agree in number. This is the cornerstone rule that forms the background of
the concept.
Example :
-
The dog growls when it
is angry.
-
The dogs growl
when they are angry
2.
Don’t get confused by
the words that come between the subject and verb; theydo not affect agreement.
Examples:The dog, who is
chewing on my jeans, is usually very good.
3.
Prepositional phrases
between the subject and verb usually do not affectagreement.
Examples:The colors of the
rainbow are beautiful.
4.
When sentences start
with “there” or “here,” the subject will always be placedafter the verb, so
care needs to be taken to identify it correctly.
Example :Thereis
a problem with the balance sheet. Here are the papers you requested.
5.
If two subjects are
joined by and, they typically require a plural verb form.
Example :The cow and the pig
are jumping over the moon.
6.
The verb is singular
if the two subjects separated by and refer to the sameperson or thing.
Example:Red
beans and rice is my mom's favorite dish.
7.
If one of the words each,
every, or no comes before the subject, the verb issingular.
Example:No smoking or
drinking is allowed.
8.
If the subjects are
both singular and are connected by the words or, nor,neither/nor,
either/or, and not only/but alsothe verb is singular.
Example:Jessica or Christian is to blame for the accident.
9.
The only time when the
object of the preposition decides plural or singular verb forms is when noun
and pronoun subjects like some, half, none, more, all, etc. are
followed by a prepositional phrase. In these sentences, the object of the
preposition determines the form of the verb.
Example:
-
All of the chicken
is gone.
-
All of the
chickens are gone.
10. The singular verb form is usually used for units of
measurement or time.
Example: Four quartsof
oil was required to get the car running.
11.
If the subjects
are both plural and are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor,
either/or, and not only/but also, the verb is plural.
Example:Dogs and cats are both available at the
pound.
12. If one subject is singular and one plural and the words are
connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but
also, you use the verb form of the subject that is nearest the verb.
Example:
-
Either the bears or
thelion has escaped from the zoo.
-
Neither the
lion nor the bears have
escaped from the zoo.
13. Indefinite pronouns (everything, anything, everyone, someone,
somebody, nothing, etc) typically take singular verbs.
Example:
-
Everybody wants to be
loved.
-
Everything is
gonna be alright.
14. Except for the pronouns (few, many, several, both, all,
some) that always take the plural
form.
Example: Few were left alive after the flood.
15. If two infinitives are separated by and they take the
plural form of the verb.
Example:To walk and to chew
gum require great skill.
16. When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence, they
take the singular verbform of the verb; but, when they are linked by and,
they take the plural form.
Example: Standing in the
water was a bad idea.
17. Collective nouns like family, committee, herd, senate,
class, crowd, etc. usually take a singular verb form.
Example:The herd is stampeding.
18. Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as
singular and take a singularverb.
Example: The Burbs is a movie
starring Tom Hanks.
