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Subject and Verb Agreement

Subject and Verb Agreement. RULE #1: Agreement in Number. A verb must agree with its subject in number. Number is always about Singular & Plural A singular subject goes with a singular verb.

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Subject and Verb Agreement

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  1. Subject and Verb Agreement

  2. RULE #1: Agreement in Number A verb must agree with its subject in number. Number is always about Singular & Plural • A singular subject goes with a singular verb. Singular subjects will not end in –s but their verbs will. Remember the phrase “-s on the verb makes it singular”. Example #1. My dogwalks outside every day. • A plural subject goes with a plural verb. Plural subjects will end in –s but their verbs will not. Example #2. Their dogswalk outside every day.

  3. RULE #2: Compound Subjects A compound subject means a sentence that has two or more subjects. • A compound subject whose parts are joined by and usually takes a plural verb. • Example #3: George and Louise paint the deck. • A compound subject whose parts are joined by or ornor, the verb should agree with the word closest to the verb. • Example #4: Either ticket stubs or a photocompletes your collage.   Either a photo or ticket stubscomplete your collage.

  4. REMEMBER!!!! • ALWAYS cross out prepositional phrases in the sentences. • You don’t want to get the subject and the object of the preposition confused. • Example: • The members of the board vote on Tuesday. • The shells on the sidewalk shine brightly.

  5. RULE #3: Problem Subjects Subjects can often be placed in unusual positions: • in the form of a question • after a sentence beginning with here or there • after a sentence that begins with an adjective, adverb, or phrase. To determine whether you should use singular or plural, reorder the sentence. - Example: There (was, were) a tiny rabbit. Reorder: A tiny rabbit (was, were) there. • Example: Here (is, are) the papers. Reorder: The papers (is, are) here. • Example: Behind the house (is, are) my garden. Reorder: My garden (is, are) behind the house.

  6. Problem Subjects, continued • Some nouns end in –s or –ics look plural but actually refer to singular concepts. • Examples include measles, politics, mechanics, mumps, news, mathematics, and economics. • When these words are used as subjects, use a singular verb. • Example: Politicsis a hot issue right now.

  7. RULE #4: Indefinite Pronouns

  8. Indefinite Pronouns, continued • Singular indefinite pronouns take singular verbs. • Example: Neither of the shirts fits. • Plural indefinite pronouns take plural verbs. • Example: Both of the apples are bruised. • Singular or Plural: look at the noun closest to the verb (the object of the preposition). • Example: Most of the puddingis gone. All of the mobilesmove in the breeze.

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