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
