English Grammar: Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-Verb Agreement in English Grammar

Subject-verb agreement is one of the fundamental principles in English grammar that ensures sentences make sense by matching verbs with their corresponding subjects properly. To understand this concept better, let's dive into its specifics and examples.

What Is Subject-Verb Agreement?

In simple terms, subject-verb agreement relates to how a verb must conform grammatically to its subject. For instance, if your sentence has a singular noun serving as the subject, the verb associated with it needs to also be in the singular form. On the other hand, when you have a plural noun acting as the main element in the sentence, the connected verb should take the appropriate plural form.

Examples of Subject-Verb Agreement with Singular Nouns

• I speak Spanish fluently. (I is the singular subject, so speak takes the base form.)
• He sings beautifully every day. (He, being singular, requires sing to appear in its base form.)
• My dog loves to play fetch outside. (My dog is singular, hence loves keeps its basic form.)

Examples of Subject-Verb Agreement with Plural Nouns

• Sheep graze peacefully throughout the meadow. (Sheep is plural, so the verb graze appears in its third person plural form - graze-s.)
• Teachers usually arrive early in the morning. (Teachers is plural, thus arrive changes to its third person plural form - arrive-s)
• Cats like to bask in warm sunlight. (Cats is plural, causing the verb like to modify accordingly, becoming like-s.)

Irregular Verbs

Not all irregular verbs follow a set pattern while changing forms according to number and person. Some common exceptions are:

• Goes > goes (third person singular present tense)
• Went > went (simple past of first/second/third person singular)
• Drank > drank (past participle of drink)

It's essential to commit these irregular forms to memory because they do not obey the typical rules of adding suffixes (-s, -ed, etc.).

Exceptions and Challenging Sentence Structures

There are some instances where seemingly tricky sentence structures pose challenges regarding subject-verb agreement. Here are two notable ones:

Pronouns Before Adjectives

Within a complex phrase containing both a pronoun (such as someone) followed by an adjective (+noun), the verb typically agrees with the nearest antecedent. If the structure reads “Someone important will help,” the verb is conjugated in the singular form to match "someone.” However, if you rearrange the sentence to “Important someone will help,” the verb becomes plural.

Sentences Beginning With There + Be + Verb Ending In -ing

When constructing sentences starting with there + be + verb ending in -ing, the verb follows the principle of the closest noun instead of insisting solely on subject-verb agreement based on the initial noun phrase. This peculiarity often confuses learners.

By understanding these guidelines and practicing identifying proper subject-verb agreements within various sentence constructions, you can elevate your command over English grammar and become more proficient in writing coherent, polished texts.