* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Subject/Verb Agreement
Germanic strong verb wikipedia , lookup
Ukrainian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Malay grammar wikipedia , lookup
Macedonian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Zulu grammar wikipedia , lookup
Old Norse morphology wikipedia , lookup
English clause syntax wikipedia , lookup
Arabic grammar wikipedia , lookup
Modern Greek grammar wikipedia , lookup
Esperanto grammar wikipedia , lookup
Lithuanian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Chinese grammar wikipedia , lookup
Lexical semantics wikipedia , lookup
Ojibwe grammar wikipedia , lookup
Navajo grammar wikipedia , lookup
Modern Hebrew grammar wikipedia , lookup
Portuguese grammar wikipedia , lookup
Swedish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Georgian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Kannada grammar wikipedia , lookup
Italian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Old Irish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Hungarian verbs wikipedia , lookup
Old English grammar wikipedia , lookup
Udmurt grammar wikipedia , lookup
Latin syntax wikipedia , lookup
Scottish Gaelic grammar wikipedia , lookup
Ancient Greek grammar wikipedia , lookup
Polish grammar wikipedia , lookup
French grammar wikipedia , lookup
Yiddish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Spanish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Subject/Verb Agreement Subjects Subjects are mostly found at the beginning of the sentence. Subjects are nouns or pronouns that are “doing” an action. Example: My dog, Jesse, jumps over the log. Who jumps over the log? Jesse does. Verbs Verbs are actions or state of being. Verbs show the reader what action the subject is doing. Example: My dog, Jesse, jumps over the log. What did Jesse do? Jesse jumps. What it’s all about! My dog, Jesse, jumps over the log. 1. 2. 3. 4. My dog is a noun and the subject of the sentence. Jesse is renaming the noun and called an appositive. Jumps is the action or verb of the sentence. Over the log is a phrase called a prepositional phrase because “over” is a preposition. Agreement If a subject is singular, its verb must be singular. Example: My dog, Jesse, jumps over the log. (only one dog jumps over the log in the sentence.) Notice that the verb jumps has an “s” on it. Remember a verb is NOT a noun. Don’t treat it like one. A verb with an “s” is singular. Agreement Cont’d If a subject is plural, its verb must be plural. Example: My dog, Jesse, and Ralph’s dog, Fido, jump over the fence. (2 dogs are jumping over the fence, now) Notice that the verb jump does NOT have a “s”. This is because a verb is plural when it does NOT have an “s”. Remember: A verb is NOT a noun! Practice 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The cook (slices/slice) the meat thinly. Vegetables (makes/make) a good lunch. He (is/are) working for the city. They (was/were) going to the game. Our football team (is/are) the best. Answers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The cook (slices/slice) the meat thinly. Vegetables (makes/make) a good lunch. He (is/are) working for the city. They (was/were) going to the game. Our football team (is/are) the best. Explanation 1. The cook (slices/slice) the meat thinly. How many cooks? 1 Therefore, the verb must be singular. Singular verbs HAVE an “s.” Explanation 2. Vegetables (makes/make) a good lunch. How many vegetables? More than 1. Therefore, the verb must be plural. Plural verbs DO NOT have an “s” Explanation 3. He (is/are) working for the city. Is “he” singular or plural? Singular. Therefore, the verb must be singular. Singular verbs HAVE an “s” Explanation 4. They (was/were) going to the game. How many went to the game? More than 1. Therefore, the verb is plural. A plural verb DOES NOT have an “s.” Explanation 5. Our football team (is/are) the best. Is team singular or plural? Singular. Team is called a “collective noun” and groups many into one, therefore is singular. The verb must be singular and have a “s.”