By

Sherry Davis
Instructor Dullaghan
 Subject-verb agreement is a grammatical
rule that states that the verb must agree in
number with its subject. In English,
present tense verbs change to show
agreement in the third person singular
form (subjects represented by the
pronouns HE, SHE, IT) by adding an S or
ES.
 Grammar. (in English and many other languages) a
syntactic unit that functions as one of the two main
constituents of a simple sentence, the other being the
predicate, and that consists of a noun, noun phrase, or
noun substitute which often refers to the one
performing the action or noun substitute which often
refers to the one performing the action or being in the
state expressed by the predicate, as He in He gave
notice.
 Any member of a class of words that are
formally distinguished in many languages, as
in English by taking the past ending in -ed,
that function as the main elements of
predicates, that typically express action, state,
or a relation between two things, and that
(when inflected) may be inflected for tense,
aspect, voice, mood, and to show agreement
with their subject or object.
 Grammar. correspondence in number,
case, gender, person, or some other
formal category between syntactically
connected words, esp. between one or
more subordinate words and the word or
words upon which they depend; selection
by one word of the matching formal
subclass, or category, in another word
syntactically construed with the first.

 When an expletive construction (there is, there are,
here is, etc.) begins a sentence, the subject (which
determines the number of the verb) comes after the
verb.
 There are several explanations for the Civil War.
 We were looking down the street when —all of a
sudden — here come Joe and his two brothers. If
the management team takes this attitude, there is very
little latitude for negotiation.
 The conjunction or does not conjoin (as and does):
when nor or or is used he subject closer to the verb
determines the number of the verb. Whether the
subject comes before or after the verb doesn't matter;
the proximity determines the number. ·
 Either my father or my brothers are going to sell the
house.
 Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell
the house.
 Are either my brothers or my father responsible?
 Is either my father or my brothers responsible?
 Singular Plural  Present-tense forms of do
First Person I Love We Love 

Second Person You Love You Love ◦ Singular Plural

 First person I do/don’t We Are/were
Third Person he/she/it Loves They Love
 Second Person You do/don’t You Are/were
First Person I Try We Try
 Third Person he/she/it does/doesn’t They Are/were
Second Person You Try You Try
Third Person he/she/it Tries They Try  Present-tense forms of be
Present-tense forms of have
First Person I Have We have  First Person I am/was We are/were
Second Person You Have You have
 Second Person You am/was You are/were
Third Person he/she/it Have They have
 Third Person he/she/it is/was They are/were
1. When the subject of a sentence is composed
of two or more nouns or pronouns connected
by and, use a plural verb.
She and her friends are at the fair.

2. When two or more singular nouns or

pronouns are connected by or or nor, use a
singular verb. The book or the pen is in the
drawer
 Do not use the s form of a verb that follows a helping verb such as can,
must, or should.
 Make the verb agree with its subject, not with a word that comes
between. Example The samples on the tray in the lab need testing.

 Phrases beginning with the prepositions as well as, in addition to,

accompanied by, together with, and along with do not make a singular
subject plural.

 Treat most subjects joined with and as plural

 Example Leon and Jan often jog together.

 words such as athletics, economics, mathematics and physics are

usually singular, despite their plural form.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XWv-
4KYRM8
 Hacker, Diana. The Bedford Handbook. Boston
Ma. 2006.

 http://www.dictionary.reference.com/

 http://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=navclie
nt&ie=UTF-8

 http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/esls
ubverb.html