SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

By: Natnicha J. Wikorn A.

EVERY VERB MUST AGREE WITH ITS SUBJECT

Plural Subject

Singular Subject

Singular Verb

Plural Verb

The Stupidity of English Grammar

To make a noun plural, we add s

Singular: girl Plural: girls

To make a verb plural, we take away the s.

Singular: he talks Plural: they talk

Watch the Verb Endings!

Singular

Plural

I walk You walk He/She/It walk s

We walk You walk They walk

Joe walk s The girl walk s

Joe and Maria walk The girls walk

Remember the 3 irregular verbs:

DO Singular
He does

Plural
They do

HAVE
She has They have

BE
He is She was They are They were

Tip for Subject/verb Agreement

Generally, if the subject doesnt end in S, the verb will. If the subject does end in S, the verb wont.

No S on subject -S on verb

The girl dances.

-S on subject

The girls dance.

No S on verb

Compound subjects joined by and

If there are two or more subjects joined by and, the subject must be plural, so the verb will not get an s.
No S on verb

Example The boy and the girl dance. (= They dance.)

Compound subjects joined by or

If there are two or more subjects joined by or, the verb agrees with the part of the subject closest to it.
Examples:

The professor or the students walk the halls. The students or the professor walks the halls.

Watch out for Everybody

Everybody loves grammar! Everybody understands subject/verb agreement.

Possible Pitfalls
Sometimes, several words come between the subject and the verb.

The student, though she had lots of problems in other schools, finds/find (?) her new class easy. The student, though she had lots of problems in other schools, finds her new class easy. The student finds her new class easy.

Prepositional phrases
The subject can never be part of a prepositional phrase.
Example The students in my class study / studies X hard.

Possible Pitfalls
Sometimes, the subject will come after the verb, in questions or when sentence begins with there. Examples
Why is he falling asleep? Why are they falling asleep? There is no excuse for such behavior. There are no excuses for such behavior.

Possible Pitfalls
Relative Pronouns (who/which/that) can be either singular or plural, depending on the word they refer to.

The student who works hard will succeed.

The students who work hard will succeed.

How do I get this right?

First, identify whether or not you have problems with subject/verb agreement. If you dont have any problems with this, dont worry about it! If you do have problems

Identify the verb. Ask who or what is doing it. This will identify the subject. Say them together and make sure that they match in terms of number.

The subject and verb are the skeleton of every sentence. Make sure you fit those two important parts together correctly!

Practice 1
A.

B.

A catalog of courses and requirements often confuses students. A catalog of courses and requirements often confuse students.

Answer: A is correct, B is incorrect because the subject is catalog (singular noun), the word must be singular so the correct verb is confuses. Remember the object of preposition (courses and requirements) is never the subject of the sentence.

Practice 2
A. B.

Here is the book and the workbook you will need for this course. Here are the book and the workbook you will need for this course.

Answer: Answer A is incorrect. The subject is the book and the workbook, which is plural, so the verb must be plural. The correct verb is are. Answer B is correct.

Practice 3
A. B.

Each of the students are studying for the test. Each of the students is studying for the test.

Answer: Answer A is incorrect. The subject is each, which is always singular, so the verb must be singular. The correct verb is is. Answer B is correct.

Practice 4
A. B.

Not only the students but also the teacher is confused by the material. Not only the students but also the teacher are confused by the material.

Answer: Answer A is correct. Answer B is incorrect. The subject is students and teacher. Teacher, which is closer to the verb, is singular, so the verb must be singular. The correct verb is is.

Practice 5
A. B.

Some of the questions seem too hard. Some of the questions seems too hard.

Answer: Answer A is correct. Answer B is incorrect. The subject is some. Some is an indefinite pronoun that can be singular or plural, depending on the noun to which it refers. Questions is plural, so the sentence requires a plural verb. The correct verb is seem.

Resources
www.google.com www.wikipedia.com www.edufind.com/english/grammar/ www.grammarbook.com/grammar/subjectVerb Agree.asp www.cuip.uchicago.edu/www4teach/97/.../sub verbagquiz.html www.k12reader.com/subject-verb-agreement/

Thanks for watching!