Summary

This document explains the rules of subject-verb agreement in English grammar. It covers singular and plural verbs, and how tense affects the verb. Examples and exercises are likely to follow in the complete document.

Full Transcript

SUBJECT AND VERB In general, the simple present expresses events or situations that exist always, usually, habitually; they exist now, they GENERAL RULE :...

SUBJECT AND VERB In general, the simple present expresses events or situations that exist always, usually, habitually; they exist now, they GENERAL RULE : have existed in the past, and will probably exist in the future.  If the subject is SINGULAR, the verb is in the Simple Past Tense SINGULAR form.  If the subject is PLURAL, the verb is in the PLURAL form. 1. It snowed yesterday. 2. I watched television last night. A. Verbs in SINGULAR FORM- IS, WAS, AM, HAS, VERBS 3. I visited my cousin last year. in S form (loves, lives) At one particular time in the past, the action happened. It B. Verbs in PLURAL FORM- ARE, WERE, HAVE, VERBS in began and ended in the past. base form (love, live) Simple Future Tense SPECIAL RULES: 1. It will snow tomorrow. 1. Indefinite pronouns each, everyone, someone, no one, 2. I will watch television tonight. nobody, somebody, another, 3. I will visit my cousin later. something, either,one, neither takes SINGULAR verb. Many, all, some take PLURAL verb. At one particular time in the future, the action will happen. 2. Nouns ending in S but singular in meaning such as news, politics, physics, economics, BASIC SENTENCE PATTERNS etc. take SINGULAR verbs. 1. S – V (Subject – Verb) 3. The expression “A NUMBER” takes PLURAL verb. Ex. Diana sleeps. (Diana-SUBJECT, sleeps-VERB) The expression “THE NUMBER” takes SINGULAR verb. Extended S-V pattern: 4. An amount of money, space of time or unit of measurement Diana sleeps soundly. (with adverb-soundly) takes a SINGULAR verb. Diana sleeps on the sofa. (with prepositional phrase-on the sofa) 5. Fractions can be SINGULAR or PLURAL depending on the object of the “of phrase” 2. S – V – O (Subject – Verb – Object ) Note: OBJECT – receiver of the action in the sentence 6. Intervening phrase between the subject and verb DO NOT Ex. Filipinos eat rice. (Filipinos-SUBJECT, eat-VERB, rice- AFFECT THE VERB. OBJECT) 7. Uncountable nouns take SINGULAR verb. Extended S-V-O pattern: Filipinos eat black rice. (with adjective-black) 8. Compound subjects connected by AND take a plural verb, Filipinos eat rice everyday. (with adverb-everyday) unless they mean the same thing or person. Filipinos eat rice during meals. (with prepositional phrase- during meals) 9. In sentences with compound subjects connected by EITHER-OR and NEITHER-NOR, the verb agrees with the 3. S –L V – Adj (Subject – Linking Verb – Adjective) NEAREST SUBJECT. Note : LINKING VERBS – is, was, am, are, were, become, seem, remain, etc. 10. ADJECTIVES used as NOUNS are considered PLURAL. COMPLEMENT – adjectives Ex. Jasmine is happy. (Jasmine-SUBJECT, is-LINKING 11. When the subject of the sentence is a TITLE OF A BOOK VERB, happy-ADJECTIVE) OR ARTICLE, NAME OF A BOOK, A CLAUSE, A QUOTATION, TITLE OF A SONG, POEM OR ANY Extended S-LV-Adj pattern: LITERARY COMPOSITIONS, the verb is SINGULAR. Jasmine is happy and contented. (with additional adjective- contented) Jasmine is always happy. (with adverb-always) TENSES OF THE VERB Jasmine is happy with the result. (with the prepositional phrase- with the result) Tense of a verb - indicates the time at which an action or state of being happens. The verbs change form to show the 4. S – LV – N (Subject – Linking Verb – Noun) various tenses. Some verbs are regular in their changes, Ex. My bestfriend is an engineer. (bestfriend-SUBJECT, is- some are irregular. Linking Verb, engineer- noun) 1) SIMPLE TENSES Extended S-LV-N pattern Simple Present Tense My bestfriend is a successful engineer. (with adjective- successful) 1. It snows in Alaska. My bestfriend is the engineer of our company. (with 2. I watch television everyday. prepositional phrase- of our 3. I visit my cousin all the time. company)

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