SUBJECTVERB AGREEMENT EVERY VERB MUST AGREE WITH ITS
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
EVERY VERB MUST AGREE WITH ITS SUBJECT Plural Subject Singular Verb Plural Verb
The Stupidity of English Grammar n To make a noun plural, we add –s n n n Singular: girl Plural: girls To make a verb plural, we take away the –s. n n Singular: he talks Plural: they talk
Watch the Verb Endings! Singular n n n I walk You walk He/She/It walk s n n Joe walk s The girl walk s Plural n n n We walk You walk They walk n n Joe and Maria walk The girls walk
n n n I and You always take plural verbs. You sit in that seat. You find your seats.
Remember the 3 irregular verbs: n DO Singular n n They do HAVE n n He does Plural She has They have BE n n He is She was They are They were
Tip for Subject/verb Agreement Generally, if the subject doesn’t end in –S, the verb will. If the subject does end in –S, the verb won’t.
No –S on subject -S on verb The girl dances.
-S on subject The girls dance. No –S on verb Try 336
Prepositional phrases The subject can never be part of a prepositional phrase. Example The students in my class study / studies X hard. Try 337
Possible Pitfalls Sometimes, the subject will come after the verb, in questions or when sentence begins with there. Examples n n n Does Rose go to camp? Behind the door was a prize. Why are they falling asleep? There is no excuse for such behavior. There are no excuses for such behavior.
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. l The student, though she had lots of problems in other schools, finds her new class easy. l The student finds her new class easy. Try 338 l
Compound subjects joined by “and” n If there are two or more subjects joined by and, the subject must be plural, so the verb will not get an “s”. Example n The boy and the girl dance. (= They dance. ) No –S on verb
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: n n n The professor or the students walk the halls. The students or the professor walks the halls. Try 339
Watch out for “Everybody” • Everybody loves grammar! • Everybody understands subject/verb agreement.
Singular indefinite pronouns Everyone Someone Anyone No one everybody somebody anybody nobody everything something anything nothing Each either neither Each of the pets is fed
Plural indefinite pronouns Several Few Both Many Several of the players eat spaghetti.
Indefinite pronouns s or p 340 Some Any All Most None Can it be counted? Some of the trees are infested. Some of the butter is used.
Collective nouns 342 n n n When they act as a group singular. Watch out for a their which indicates plural Army, audience, band, bunch, class, club, class, collection, family, crowd, fleet, mob
n n The committee meets in the conference room every Friday morning. The committee disagree on the budget plans. The band practices in Leon’s basement. The band practice their individual instruments.
Clause n n n Clauses that begin with who, which, that depend on the antecedent. The student who sells the most fruit wins a trip to Disney World. The boxes which contain our dishes were packed last night.
How do I get this right? n n n First, identify whether or not you have problems with subject/verb agreement. If you don’t have any problems with this, don’t worry about it! If you do have problems n n n 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!
- Slides: 23