English Grammar: Subject-Verb Agreement Quiz

English Grammar: Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement is a fundamental concept in English grammar that determines the correct match between a subject and its corresponding verb. This harmony is essential for clear and concise communication, and it's a key element that English learners often struggle with. Let's dive deeper into the specifics of subject-verb agreement to help demystify this crucial grammar rule.

Singular Subjects

When a sentence has a singular subject, the verb must also be singular. For example:

• She is studying for her exams.
• The book is on her desk.

Both "she" and "the book" are singular subjects, so the verbs "is studying" and "is on" are correct because they also have a singular form.

Plural Subjects

When a sentence has a plural subject, the verb must also be plural. For example:

• The dogs run in the park.
• My friends talk about their hobbies.

In these cases, the subjects "dogs" and "friends" are plural, so the verbs "run" and "talk" are correct because they also have a plural form.

Subject-Verb Agreement Exception: Irregular Verbs

Some verbs have irregular forms that do not follow the standard pattern of adding "-s" or "-es" to the base form to create the third-person singular form. Here are some examples:

• I walk -> we walk
• He/She eats -> they eat
• I drink -> we drink
• He/She went -> they went

In these cases, the third-person singular form and the third-person plural form are different.

Subject-Verb Agreement with Pronouns

Subject-verb agreement is also important when dealing with pronouns. Some pronouns have different forms depending on the context.

• I, you, we, they are used as both singular and plural subjects.
• He, she, it, they are used as singular subjects.

For example:

• We are learning English.
• He is going to the store.
• They are playing basketball.

Subject-Verb Agreement with Compound Subjects

When a sentence has a compound subject (two or more subjects joined by a coordinating conjunction such as "and," "or," or "but"), you should use a verb that agrees with the subject closest to it. For example:

• The cake and ice cream are delicious.
• The cake and I are enjoying the ice cream.

In the first example, "cake and ice cream" is a compound subject, so the verb "are" agrees with the subject closest to it, which is "cake." In the second example, "I" is the subject closest to the verb "enjoying," so the verb agrees with it.

Practice and Review

To improve your subject-verb agreement skills, it's essential to practice and review regularly. Try the following exercises to help you become more familiar with subject-verb agreement:

1. Identify and correct any subject-verb agreement errors in a paragraph or sentence.
2. Write a series of sentences using correct subject-verb agreement for each subject type (singular and plural subjects, singular and plural pronouns, and compound subjects).
3. Check subject-verb agreement in sentences you encounter during daily reading.

By practicing and reviewing, you will become more confident in your ability to use subject-verb agreement correctly and create grammatically sound sentences.