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When subjects agree with verbs…. sentences are friendlier TCTC Writing Center Prepared by Jennifer Higgins- Spiers July 2007. Why should subjects agree with verbs?.
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When subjects agree with verbs… sentences are friendlier TCTC Writing Center Prepared by Jennifer Higgins-Spiers July 2007
Why should subjects agree with verbs? Think about words in a sentence as FRIENDS. They all need to agree with each other in order to be friendly. The subject and verb are the two parts of a sentence that are MOST IMPRTANT when it comes to agreement. If the subject and the verb don’t agree, the sentence will not be friendly.
How do subjects and verbs agree? • Plural subjects need plural verbs in order to agree. • Singular subjects need singular verbs in order to agree. • If you place a singular subject with a plural verb, you have committed an English Sin. We goes to the store.X We is plural. Goes is singular We go to the store. We is plural. Go is plural.
Plural subjects end in ‘s’ Plural verbs do NOT Singular verbs end in ‘s’ Singular subjects to NOT Plural subject: cats Plural verb: run Singular subject: cat Singular verb: runs To make it simple…
Subjects • One subject per sentence = a simple subject (singular) • More than one subject per sentence = a compound subject (plural) A sentence can have more than one subject, but a sentence with more than one subject isn’t always a compound sentence.
Simple subjects • The cat jumped on the bed, and the dog barked. This sentence has TWO independent clauses, and each independent clause has its own subject. Therefore, the subjects are SIMPLE. They are also SINGULAR. • The toddler picks his nose. • The boogiemanscares the children. • Angie kicked her little brother because he was annoying. • He fell into the pool. • I want to go to sleep. • Scienceis an amazing subject, but I would rather study government. Note: some past tense verbs can be both singular and plural.
Compound Subjects • Tina and Esmeraldaare here to help the new employees.Tina is here to help the new employees.Esmeralda is here to help with the new employees. • Brownies and key lime piesare Johnny’s favorite desserts • Strawberries and bananastaste great blended together. • Bread, bagels, butter, bacon and cheese are on the top of my grocery list. Note how the word ‘and’ is NOT included in the subject. The subjects can be separated into its own individual sentence. Additionally, the subjects go with one singular verb. That is why they are compound subjects.
In our beautiful English language, we have ‘subjects’ that LOOK compound, but they act as ONE thing, so they are singular/simple subjects. These subjects cannot be separated. The word ‘and’ IS included in the subject. Peanut butter and jellyis Connor’s favorite type of sandwich. Macaroni and cheeseis a delicious side dish. My spaghetti and meatballsconsists of homemade sauce, green peppers, squash and cheese. Singular subjects that LOOK like compound subjects
Collective nouns are nouns that SEEM to be singular, but depending on the context of the sentence, the noun is Actually PLURAL. team committee jury flock family group herd Collective Nouns
Examples of sentences with collective nouns • The team areconditioning in the locker room. While this sentence might sound funny, this sentence is referring to the individual members of the team, that is why team is PLURAL. • Theteam isgoing to play their greatest rival tonight. This sentence refers to the members of the team as a whole, that is why the team is SINGULAR. • The familynext doorlikespeace and quiet. This sentence refers to the family as a whole; family is SINGULAR. • Thefamilywere chatting, watching TV, and playing card games when they noticed their house was on fire. This sentence refers to the individual family members; family is PLURAL.
There are more indefinite pronouns that are singular, so be careful when you make your subjects and verbs agree! . Singular Everythingtastes wonderful! Either Mike or Sally is coming today. Neither of the children knows how to read. (children is not the subject; neither is) Plural Many of my friends like to sing. Several are not going to make it today. Either singular or plural All of the children are happy. All of the newspaper is torn. Indefinite pronouns as subjects
When problems occur • Problems occur mainly when the writer does not know if subjects are plural or singular. Make sure you remember how to differentiate between the indefinite pronouns and collective nouns. • Problems also occur with verb errors. Make sure you remember that plural nouns end in ‘s’, but plural verbs DON’T. • Lastly, problems occur when the past participle is used incorrectly.
I seen the movie last night. He gone out to see his friend. They been arguing all day. Mary sung a lullaby to her baby. Another error includes the verb ‘bring’ Tanner brung his favorite teddy bear. ‘brung’ is not a word. Why are these sentences incorrect? The past participle NEEDS the helping verb have/has/had with the verb in order to be correct. To avoid this error, just use the simple past tense: I saw the movie last night. He went ot to see his friend. They argued day. Mary sang a lullaby to her baby. How NOT to use past participles.
Compound verbs Just as sentences can have more than one subject, they can also have more than one verb as well. • Mylo ran a mile and lifted weights • Natalia found a purse and gave it to the police. • Today I will watch a movie and visit my friend Remember: The compound verb goes with ONE subject, just as a compound subject goes with ONE verb. A sentence with two verbs/subjects doesn’t always mean it’s compound.
End of Lesson! • Make sure you always pay attention to your subjects and verbs! The grammar check on MS word doesn’t catch everything! • Take it upon YOURSELF to keep track with singular and plural words. Don’t be lazy! Lazy people get D’s!
