English Grammar: Subject-Verb Agreement

English Grammar: Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement is a fundamental concept in the English language that helps us construct grammatically correct sentences. In this article, we'll explore what subject-verb agreement is, its importance, and some common issues that arise in applying it.

Defining Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement refers to the relationship between a sentence's subject and its verb, ensuring that they are in harmony in terms of their tense, person, and number. In simple terms, if the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular; if the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.

Importance of Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement is crucial for maintaining clarity and consistency in your writing. When the subject and verb are in agreement, readers can easily understand the intended meaning of the sentence, and your writing becomes more fluid.

Common Subject-Verb Agreement Errors

1. Singular nouns with plural verbs: For example, "The cat eats their dinner," where "the cat" is singular and "their dinner" is plural, so the verb "eats" should also be singular. The correct sentence would be "The cat eats its dinner."

2. Plural nouns with singular verbs: For instance, "The cars is parked," where "cars" is plural, so the verb "is" should also be plural. The correct sentence would be "The cars are parked."

3. Incorrect use of third person singular pronouns: For example, "He goes to the gym every day," where "he" is third person singular, but "goes" is in plural form. The correct sentence would be "He goes to the gym every day."

Tips for Mastering Subject-Verb Agreement

1. Use consistent tenses throughout a sentence.
2. Examine the subject and verb separately and identify their number and person.
3. Consider using a pronoun to help clarify the subject-verb relationship, especially when dealing with compound subjects.
4. When in doubt, read the sentence aloud or break it down into its component parts to check for agreement.

Special Cases of Subject-Verb Agreement

1. Subjects joined with the word "and" are plural: For example, "The pencil and paper are on the desk."
2. Subjects joined with the word "or" are singular if the verb refers to the first subject: For example, "The dog or the cat is hungry."
3. Collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on the context. For instance, "The team is competitive," where "team" is singular, or "The teams are competitive," where "teams" is plural.
4. Some verbs, known as irregular verbs, have different forms for their third person singular past tense. For example, "go" changes to "went" in the past tense.

Remember that subject-verb agreement is a fundamental aspect of the English language, and mastering it will help you improve your writing and strengthen your communication skills. By familiarizing yourself with the common errors and tips for success, you can ensure that your sentences are grammatically correct and easy to understand.