Mastering Subject-Verb Agreement in English Grammar

Subject-Verb Agreement: A Pillar of Clear Communication

Subject-verb agreement is one of grammar's fundamental building blocks, ensuring our sentences convey meaning with precision. Like puzzle pieces fitting together seamlessly, subjects and verbs must align in number—singular or plural—to create grammatically correct expressions.

At its core, subject-verb agreement lies within a sentence's subject and verb, both essential components conveying information about who or what performs a specific action or state. Let's break down this concept using simple yet common examples:

John goes to school. In this sentence, John is singular, so his verb (goes) needs to reflect that single entity too. If we changed it to "Johns go to school," this would make incorrect use of the third person singular verb form. Now let's consider another example:

The cats sleep. Here, "the cats," which represents multiple entities, requires a plural verb form ("sleep") to maintain consistency. But if someone said "the cat sleeps," they'd have a mismatch since "cat" is singular.

To avoid such mistakes, several tips can help you ensure proper subject-verb agreement:

1. Ensure each noun has a matching verb form compatible with its number. Singular subjects need singular verbs; plurals require plurals.

2. Be cautious when using certain determiners like "some." For instance, "Some cats are eating fish" uses a singular verb because "some" refers only to a single representative item from a group—in this case, a singular cat. Contrastingly, "Some apples are red" would employ a plural verb because "apples" already indicates more than one fruit.

3. When two or more nouns appear close together within a compound subject, verify their collective number:

   • A man and a woman walk home. (Plural) Since there are two individuals involved, a plural verb form ("walk") is necessary.
   • My brother and I attend college. (Singular) Here, the subject consists of two people, though "my brother" remains the central element performing the action, thus requiring a singular verb form ("attend").

Violating subject-verb agreement rules may result in unclear writing. So, by cultivating awareness and following these guidelines, anyone can strengthen their command over this crucial aspect of English grammar.