Scribd
Upload
10 views5 pages

Subject Verb Notes

The document explains subject-verb agreement, emphasizing the need for verbs to match the number and person of their subjects. It outlines various rules with examples, such as using singular verbs with singular subjects and plural verbs with plural subjects, as well as exceptions involving compound subjects and certain pronouns. The document serves as a comprehensive guide for understanding and applying subject-verb agreement in English grammar.

Uploaded by

vedik asiwal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
10 views5 pages

Subject Verb Notes

The document explains subject-verb agreement, emphasizing the need for verbs to match the number and person of their subjects. It outlines various rules with examples, such as using singular verbs with singular subjects and plural verbs with plural subjects, as well as exceptions involving compound subjects and certain pronouns. The document serves as a comprehensive guide for understanding and applying subject-verb agreement in English grammar.

Uploaded by

vedik asiwal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

Subject-Verb Agreement

The term ‘subject-verb agreement’, just like the name suggests, refers to
the agreement between the subject and the verb. This is mainly with
reference to singular and plural nouns/pronouns that act as subjects.
According to the Collins Dictionary, “concord refers to the way that a word
has a form appropriate to the number or gender of the noun or pronoun it
relates to. For example, in ‘She hates it’, there is concord between the
singular form of the verb and the singular pronoun ‘she’.”

The general rule of subject-verb agreement according to Garner’s Modern


English Usage is “to use a plural verb with a plural subject, a singular verb
with a singular subject. This rule holds true for most cases. However,
there are exceptions to this rule. Check out the next section to learn how
verbs must be conjugated to agree with the subject.

Rules of Subject-Verb Agreement with


Examples

Rule 1
The first rule is – the use of a singular verb with a singular subject and a
plural verb with a plural subject. The subject can be a noun, a pronoun or
even a noun phrase. If it is a pronoun, the subject-verb agreement is done
with reference to the person of the pronoun.

For example:

 Rachel spends her free time listening to music. (Singular subject with singular
verb)
 Blaine and Kurt play the piano. (Plural subject with plural verb)

Rule 2
The use of ‘have’ and ‘has’ in the present perfect tense, the present
perfect continuous tense and as a main verb is also dependent on the
subject. All singular subjects use ‘has’ and all plural subjects use ‘have’.

For example:

 I have a younger brother.


 You have taken the wrong cut.
 Swetha has a pet dog.
 William Shakespeare has written around 37 plays.
 Finn has been waiting to talk to you about the test results.

Rule 4
Compound subjects combined using the conjunction ‘and’ take a plural
verb.

For example:

 Krish and Radha are on their way to the airport.


 Caren, Sheela and Akash have completed their assessments.

Rule 5
When more than one noun is joined by the conjunction ‘or’, the subject is
considered to be singular and a singular verb is used.

For example:

 Celery or spring onion works fine.


 Your mom or dad has to be here in an hour.

Rule 6
Sentences with pronouns such as anybody, anyone, no one, somebody,
someone, everybody, everyone, nothing and nobody are treated as
singular subjects and will therefore use a singular verb.

For example:

 Nobody has understood anything.


 Everyone was happy with the outcome.
 Nothing fits me well.
 No one finds the movie interesting.

Rule 7
For sentences using ‘either..or’ and ‘neither..nor’, the verb should agree
with the noun or pronoun that comes just before it.

For example:
 Neither Ricky nor Gina is here yet.
 Either the teacher or the students have to take an initiative to keep the
classroom clean.
 Neither the children nor their parents are aware of the consequences.

Rule 8
When sentences have subjects like police, news, scissors, mathematics,
etc. (nouns that are plural by default), the verb used should be plural.

For example:

 The news of demonetisation shocks the entire nation.


 The police have been looking for the culprits.

Rule 9
When a negative sentence is written, the ‘do’ verb is used and it has to
match the subject.

For example:

 The children do not like working out trigonometry problems.


 My father does not work at the bank anymore.

Rule 10
Interrogative sentences also take the help of the ‘do’ verb. As far as the
subject-verb agreement of interrogative sentences is concerned, the first
verb (‘be’ verb or ‘do’ verb) has to be aligned with the subject of the
sentence.

For example:

 Do you read thriller novels?


 Doesn’t she know you already?
 Is Tina happy with the new house?
 Were you looking for me?
 Has Sharon submitted her final project yet?

Rule 11
When you have sentences that begin with ‘here’, ‘there’, ‘this’, ‘that’,
‘those’, ‘these’, etc., always remember that the subject follows the verb
and therefore the verb has to be conjugated with reference to the subject.
For example:

 Here is your book.


 There lies your shirt.
 That was a great movie.
 There have been many changes in the timetable.

Rule 12
Abstract nouns and uncountable nouns are considered as singular
subjects, so make sure you use a singular verb along with it.

For example:

 Honesty is the best policy.


 Love makes people do crazy things.
 Good friendship keeps your mind and body healthy.

Rule 13
When the subject refers to a period of time, distance or a sum of money,
use a singular verb.

For example:

 1267 kilometres is too long for us to travel in half a day.


 10 years is not considered optimum to go on the water slide.
 Don’t you think 1000 rupees is a little too much for a portrait?

Rule 14
The next rule is based on the use of collective nouns as subjects.
Remember that when you have a collective noun as the subject of the
sentence, the verb can be singular or plural based on the sentence and
the context.

For example:

 My family is settled in Australia.


 All groups of participants have arrived.

Rule 15
In sentences that have adjectives such as ‘all’, ‘a lot of’, ‘lots of’ or ‘some’
are used along with nouns to form a phrase that acts as the subject of the
sentence, the verb is used according to the noun just before it.

For example:

 All of my dresses have become tight.


 A lot of food is left out.
 Some of the books are torn and damaged.

Rule 16
When a sentence begins with ‘each’ or ‘every’ as the subject, it is
considered singular and so the verb has to be singular too.

For example:

 Each student has been asked to provide a consent letter.


 Every teacher, parent and student is expected to work together.

Rule 17
When you are using a sentence to express a wish or a sentence
expressing a request, verbs are used a little differently from other
sentences.

For example:

 I wish I were a bird.


 If you were here, I would not be sad.
 We request that everyone make their choices now.

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy