Subject Verb Agreement

Assalammualaikum wr wb.

Hi Guys, How are you today? I wish you are fine. In my chance, i will tell you about what i get from my learning today. So, this is a resume about subject verb agreement.

·      What is Subject?

Subject is the person/people/thing(s) that do the activity

Example : I, you, they, we, she, he, it

·      What is Verb?

Verb is a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence, and forming the main part of the predicate of a sentence.

There are 3 kinds of verb :

1.     Action Verbs

·      Also known as MAIN VERB. Action verbs are words that express action (give, eat, walk, etc.) or possession (have, own, etc.). Action verbs can be either transitive (with object) or intransitive (without object)

Example:

-         Rohman eat meat

-         Lisa walking on the sidewalk

-         Adit gave rossi the pencil

2.     Linking Verb

·      A linking verb connects the subject of a sentence to a noun or adjective that renames or describes the subject.

·      To Be: is, am, are, was, were

Example:

-         Mukta is a smart kid

-         You are there!

·      Verb: seem, appear, become, grow, remain, get, prove, turn, look, sound, smell, taste, feel

Example:

-         She looks sick

-         I feel falling in love

-         Your voice is good

-         We see a good view

3.     Helping Verbs

·      Helping verbs are used before action or linking verbs to convey additional information regarding aspects of possibility (can, could, etc.) or time (was, did, has, etc.).

1.     MODALS always function as Helping Verbs.

2.     MODALS: can, could, may, might, shall, will, ought to, should, would

          Example :

-         I will learn to drive a car

-         Trip can be reached by car

-         I should be working properly

·      MAIN RULE OF “Subject Verb Agreement”

Here I will explain some of the rules of subject verb agreement:

1.        Subjects and verbs must agree in number. This is the cornerstone rule that forms the background of the concept

-         Cat will be angry when stepped on his tail

2.     Don’t get confused by the words that come between the subject and verb, they do not affect agreement

-         The cat, which clawed my pants, is usually evil

3.     Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb usually do not affect agreement

-         The colors of the houses are beautiful

4.     When sentences start with “there” or “here,” the subject will always be placed after the verb, so care needs to be taken to identify it correctly

-         There is a problem with the electrical substation. Here are the guidebook you requested

5.     If two subjects are joined by and, they typically require a plural verb form

-         The donkey and the camel are jumping over the pluto

6.     The verb is singular if the two subjects separated by and refer to the same person or thing

-         Chicken and fish is my favorite dish

7.     If one of the words each, every, or no comes before the subject, the verb is singular

-         No stepping on the grass or allowed to walk

-         Every little child shall follow the event

8.     If the subjects are both singular and are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also the verb is singular

-         Not only ardi but arman also have good grades

9.     The only time when the object of the preposition decides plural or singular verb forms is when noun and pronoun subjects like some, half, none, more, all, etc. are followed by a prepositional phrase. In these sentences, the object of the preposition determines the form of the verb

-         Some dairy cows was dead

10.   The singular verb form is usually used for units of measurement or time

-         Five hours of time needed to get to Singkawang

11.   If the subjects are both plural and are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also, the verb is plural

-         Cat and mouse both live on land

12.   If one subject is singular and one plural and the words are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also, you use the verb form of the subject that is nearest the verb

-        Either budi or andi who won the race

13.   Indefinite pronouns (everything, anything, everyone, someone, somebody, nothing, etc) typically take singular verbs

-         Everybody wants to be loved

-         Everything is gonna be alright

14.   Except for the pronouns (few, many, several, both, all, some) that always take the plural form

-         Several students get the highest score

15.   If two infinitives are separated by and they take the plural form of the verb

-         To diving and swimming requires skill

16.   When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence, they take the singular verb form of the verb but, when they are linked by and, they take the plural form

-         Standing in the water was a bad idea.

-         Swimming in the ocean and playing drums are my hobbies.

17.   Collective nouns like family, committee, herd, senate, class, crowd, etc. usually take a singular verb form

-         The herd is stampeding

-         Cooper family always attends the annual party

18.   Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as singular and take a singular verb

-         The Expandables 3 is a movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger

-         Tere liye has reached Top 3 Best Seller books