Download Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-Verb
Agreement
Subjects
• Subject = who or what the sentence
is about
• Subjects come in two kinds
– Singular = one person/thing
– Plural = more than one
Verbs
• Verbs are action words; they show what
the subject is doing, or make a statement
about the subject
• Just like subjects, there are two types of
verbs
– Singular Verbs – In the present tense, end in
“s”: throws, finds, jumps.
– Plural verbs – In the present tense, do not end
in “s”: throw, find, jump.
Agreement
• Singular subjects need singular verbs
– My mom likes to go shopping.
• Plural subjects need plural verbs
– My parents like my new shirt.
Disagreement is bad!
There are a few tricky situations to
watch out for:
•
•
•
•
Separation of subject and verb
Coordinating Conjunctions
Collective nouns
Pronouns
Separation of subject
and verb
• Watch out for unnecessary words between the
subject and the verb
– Incorrect: The reports, which covered the colonization
of Africa, leaves out too much information.
– Correct: My plumber, as well as my grandparents, loves
to sing karaoke.
• To correct these errors, identify the subject and
verb and make sure that they are both singular or
plural.
Coordinating
Conjunctions
• And – The word and takes subjects and combines
them.
– Steve and Laura fail grammar tests.
• Or – The word or keeps subjects separate
– Either Steve or Laura fails grammar tests.
• Nor – The word nor keeps subjects separate
– Neither Steve nor Laura fails grammar tests.
Special Special Tricks
Or and nor keep subjects SEPARATE, not
necessarily SINGULAR!
– Either the monkeys or the zebras eat donuts
on Saturdays.
If the two nouns are different (one is
singular, one is plural) go with the noun
that is closer to the verb.
– Either the monkeys or that one zebra eats
donuts on Saturdays.
Collective Nouns
• A collective noun is a singular noun which
represents a group of people or things. If
you are referring to the group as one unit,
it is singular.
– i.e. the class, the Bahamas
• The Philippines is a great travel destination.
Pronouns
• Many pronouns which sound plural are singular.
Singular Pronouns – everyone, everybody, nobody,
anybody, each.
– Each of the plays holds the audience’s attention.
– Everyone dances the electric slide.
Plural Pronouns – both, few, many, several
– Few people dance as well as Mr. Horwitz.