10 Questions
Which rule states that if 'there' is the first word in a sentence, the subject follows the verb?
Rule 10
According to which rule, when two subjects are joined by 'or,' 'nor,' 'either,' or 'neither,' the verb must agree with the nearer subject?
Rule 8
Which rule states that collective nouns must take a singular verb?
Rule 9
Rule 13 explains that when a phrase comes between the subject and the verb, what should the verb still agree with?
The nearest subject
Under which rule, subjects indicating an amount of money, time measurement, title of a book, story, organization, or country must take a singular verb or the S form of the verb?
Rule 15
Which rule states that a singular subject noun takes the S form of the verb?
Rule 1
What is the correct verb form for the plural subject 'the cats'?
cats walk
What verb form should be used for the singular indefinite pronoun 'nobody'?
nobody wants
Which pronoun must take the base form of the verb according to the rules of subject-verb agreement?
they
When subjects are joined by 'and', what form should the verb take according to subject-verb agreement?
the base form
Study Notes
- Subject-verb agreement refers to the agreement between a sentence's subject and its verb in number and person.
- A singular subject requires a singular verb, while a plural subject requires a plural verb.
- Rule 1: A singular subject noun takes an S form of the verb, e.g., "the lady walks to the grocery store" (Lady is a singular subject, and "walks" is its singular verb form).
- Rule 2: A plural subject noun must take the base form of the verb, e.g., "the victims run to the police station" (Victims is a plural subject, so "run" is the base form of the verb).
- Rule 3: Subject pronouns like he, she, and it must take the S form of the verb, e.g., "she eats a lot during breakfast."
- Rule 4: Subject pronouns like I, you, we, and they must take the base form of the verb, e.g., "they eat my favorite food" (Incorrect: "They it's my favorite food").
- Rule 5: Singular indefinite pronouns must take an S form of the verb when they are the sentence's subject, e.g., "everybody wants to attend the birthday party."
- Rule 6: Plural indefinite pronouns must take the base form of the verb when they are the sentence's subject, e.g., "only a few keep Lions as pets."
- Rule 7: Subjects joined by "and" must take the base form of the verb, e.g., "the president and its members write notes to the public."
- Rule 8: When two subjects are joined by "or," "nor," "either," or "neither," the verb must agree with the nearer subject, e.g., "neither the students nor the teacher is ready for today's oral defense" (Incorrect: "Neither the teacher nor the students are ready for today's oral defense").
- Rule 9: Collective nouns, words that imply more than one person but are considered singular, must take a singular verb, e.g., "the team meets every week for their activity."
- Rule 10: If "there" is the first word in a sentence, the subject follows the verb, e.g., "there are students who failed to submit their reports."
- Rule 11: Some countable nouns, such as "earnings," "Goods," "odds," "surroundings," "proceeds," and "valuables," have only a plural form, so a plural verb is required, e.g., "the surroundings of the cafeteria exceed my expectations."
- Rule 12: Non-count nouns, also called mass nouns, must take a singular verb, e.g., "heart attack is the leading cause of death in the country."
- Rule 13: When a phrase comes between the subject and the verb, the verb still agrees with the subject, e.g., "the family together with the relatives is planning to have a vacation" (Correct: "The family and the relatives are planning to have a vacation").
- Rule 14: When there is one subject and more than one verb, all verbs throughout the sentence must agree with the subject, e.g., "interviews are one way to collect data and allow researchers to gain an in-depth understanding of participants."
- Rule 15: Subjects that indicate an amount of money, time measurement, title of a book, story, organization, or country, even when in plural form, must take a singular verb or the S form of the verb.
Test your knowledge of subject-verb agreement with this quiz covering 15 rules, including singular and plural subjects, subject pronouns, collective nouns, indefinite pronouns, and special cases. Practice applying the correct verb forms based on different sentence structures and types of subjects.
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