Subject-Verb Agreement Rules and Examples

Study Notes

Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement is essential in ensuring a sentence's grammatical correctness. It refers to the relationship between verbs and their respective subjects, where both must agree in number, singular or plural. Let's delve into how this works with various types of subjects and situations.

Singular Subjects

When the subject is singular, the verb must also be in its singular form. For example, "The cat chases the mouse." Here, "cat" is singular and "chases" is the appropriate singular verb. Similarly, when using possessive pronouns like "mine," "ours," etc., you would still use the base form of the verb like "we have," not "we has".

Plural Subjects

In contrast, if the subject is plural, the verb should be in its plural form. Consider the sentence "The dogs bark at night." In this case, "dogs" is plural and "bark" is also plural. This rule applies even when the subject is indirectly expressed. For instance, "There is no place like home." Here, "there is" agrees with "place," which is considered a collective noun.

Concord

Concord, often referred to as verb agreement, is achieved by making sure the tense, voice, mood, aspect, person, and number match between the subject and the verb. This means that the subject and the verb must agree in terms of tense, such as past, present, future, conditional, imperative, perfect, progressive, passive, active, indicative, subjunctive, etc. The following examples illustrate the concept:

Past Simple

Singular subject: "John walked a mile." Plural subject: "The children played football."

Present Continuous

Singular subject: "I am drinking coffee." Plural subject: "The students are studying hard."

Tricky Cases

Sometimes, determining agreement can be challenging. Examples include:

Collective Nouns: These represent groups; while they can be singular or plural, it's best to treat them as if they were singular to avoid confusion. Example: "The team (singular) is strong."
Compound Subjects: If all parts of a compound subject act as a single unit, they take a singular verb. Otherwise, each part acts separately, requiring its own verb. Example: "My mother and father work together."
Sentences that begin with coordinating conjunctions: They do not affect verb choice. Example: "Although I study, my grades are poor."
Verbs used in the infinitive form: These are always singular. Example: "To be or not to be."

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words that connect words or phrases together, such as "and," "or," "but," "so," etc. They do not affect the agreement between the subject and verb. For example, in the sentence "I go to the store, and I buy groceries," the verb "go" agrees with the singular subject "I," and "buy" agrees with the singular subject "I" as well.

In summary, subject-verb agreement is crucial for maintaining the integrity of a sentence. By ensuring that the subject and verb agree in number, tense, and other factors, you can avoid grammatical errors and improve the clarity of your writing.

Description

Explore the rules of subject-verb agreement in English grammar, covering singular and plural subjects, concord, tricky cases like collective nouns and compound subjects, as well as handling conjunctions. Enhance your understanding of verb agreement with various examples and scenarios.

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules and Examples

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Questions and Answers

Which of the following demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement with a singular subject?

In the sentence 'There ____ no time to waste,' which verb correctly agrees with the subject?

Which sentence demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement with a plural subject?

Choose the sentence that exemplifies correct concord between subject and verb.

Identify the sentence where tricky subject-verb agreement is correctly implemented:

In the sentence 'My mother and father work together,' why is 'work' singular?

Why is it best to treat collective nouns as singular when determining subject-verb agreement?

Which example demonstrates a correct subject-verb agreement with a collective noun?

Why do coordinating conjunctions not affect verb choice in subject-verb agreement?

What effect do conjunctions have on subject-verb agreement in the sentence structure?

Study Notes