Subject-Verb Agreement
Subject-Verb Agreement
Singular Agreement
•
A singular verb must accompany a singular
subject. For example:
•
A classic 1950s
Chevrolet
in pristine condition
sells
for top dollar.
Plural Agreement
•
A plural verb must accompany a plural
subject. For example:
•
Classic
cars
provide
drivers with immense
pleasure.
Review
•
Most singular verbs in
the third person are
formed by adding “s” to
the root verb (or “es”in
some instances)
Eats
Hears
Speaks
Does
•
Most plural verbs are
formed with no letter
added at their ends.
Eat
Hear
Speak
Do
Compound Subjects
•
If the parts of a compound subject are
connected by
and
, the sentence needs a plural
verb. For example:
•
The pastry chef
and
her assistant bake cakes
beginning at 4:00 A.M.
Compound Subjects
•
When the parts of a compound subject are
connected by
or
, the verb agrees with the part
of the subject that is closer to it. For example:
•
The bakers
or
the assistant bakes only German
chocolate cakes every Thursday.
The Verbs
Be
,
Have
, and
Do
•
These verbs are irregular in the present tense.
Therefore, you need to memorize their forms
to avoid problems with them.
The Verb
Be
•
Here are some examples of the verb
be
.
•
I
am
the owner of two cats.
•
He
is
the owner of a dog.
•
They
are
the owners of cats and dogs.
The Verb
Have
•
Here are some examples of the verb
have
.
•
We
have
no children.
•
She
has
only one daughter.
•
They
have
two sons and three daughters.
The Verb
Do
•
Here are some examples of the verb
do
.
•
He
does
the multiplication problems.
•
They
do
the division problems.
•
I
do
the addition and subtraction problems.
Words between Subject and Verb
•
Overlook any words (a prepositional phrase,
for example) between a subject and a verb.
Instead, focus only on the subject to
determine the verb form. For example:
•
The
cathedrals
in Germany
are
impressive, but
the
ones
in France
are
even more impressive.
Frequently Used Collective Nouns
army
family
band
gang
class
government
club
group
committee
jury
company
team
congregation
union
Collective Nouns (Singular)
•
If all members of the collective noun are
acting as one unit, then it is singular and
needs a singular verb. For example:
•
The
jury reaches
its verdict unanimously.
•
In this instance, all twelve members of the
jury act as one unit to reach the same verdict.
Collective Nouns (Plural)
•
If all members of the collective noun are acting
individually, then it is plural and needs a plural verb. For
example:
•
The
congregation leave
church at different times: some
after communion, some at the end of the service, and
some at least an hour after the service so that they can
socialize.
•
In this instance, members of the congregation act
individually. Some leave at one time, but others leave at
other times.
Common Indefinite Pronouns
•
These indefinite pronouns are singular and
therefore require singular verbs:
anybody
anyone
everybody
everyone
somebody
someone
Indefinite Pronouns in Action
•
If
anybody submits
entry forms at least two
weeks before the deadline, he or she is
eligible for the grand prize—a Caribbean
cruise.
Everyone
•
Everyone enjoys
a home-cooked Thanksgiving
dinner.
Somebody
•
According to the librarian,
somebody needs
the books about the Eiffel Tower before the
end of the day.
Verbs before Subjects
•
A verb always agrees with its subject—even if
the verb comes
before
the subject, as in a
question. For example:
•
Where
is
the nearest grocery
store
?
•
“Mrs. Miller,
are you
shopping for groceries
today or tomorrow?” asks the neighbor.
Inverted Order
•
When normal word order is inverted and the
When normal word order is inverted and the
subject follows the verb, the subject and verb
subject follows the verb, the subject and verb
must agree.
must agree.
–
Standing at the door with grins on their faces
Standing at the door with grins on their faces
were the cheerleaders.
were the cheerleaders.
There Is
and
There Are
•
The word
there
does not function as a subject.
If a sentence begins with this word, search for
the subject after the form of the verb
be.
Make certain that the subject and verb agree.
For example:
•
At the party, there is one guest from Brazil.
•
There are several guests from Japan.
Practice Exercises
•
Each one
of you
is going
to
read the sentence on each practice
slide and select
CORRECT
or
INCORRECT
depending on the
Subject-Verb agreement.
•
Hint:
Find the subject and the verb and see if they agree
(Use a singular
verb form for a singular subject & a plural verb form for a plural subject)
23
Movies in today’s
Movies in today’s
market makes a
market makes a
great deal of
great deal of
money.
money.
Incorrect
Incorrect
24
Movies in today’s
Movies in today’s
market
market
make
make
a
a
great deal of
great deal of
money.
money.
Revised
Revised
25
The American
The American
audiences pays
audiences pays
for tickets at
for tickets at
the theater
the theater
and for cable at
and for cable at
home.
home.
Incorrect
Incorrect
26
The American
The American
audiences
audiences
pay
pay
for
for
tickets at the
tickets at the
theater and for
theater and for
cable at home.
cable at home.
Revised
Revised
27
The international
The international
market, which
market, which
includes dozens
includes dozens
of countries,
of countries,
produces even
produces even
more profit.
more profit.
Correct
Correct
28
Films are very
Films are very
expensive to
expensive to
manufacture, so
manufacture, so
American studios
American studios
creates far more
creates far more
films than other
films than other
countries.
countries.
Incorrect
Incorrect
29
Films are very
Films are very
expensive to
expensive to
manufacture, so
manufacture, so
American studios
American studios
create
create
far more
far more
films than other
films than other
countries.
countries.
Revised
Revised
30
There is many
There is many
advantages to
advantages to
seeing a movie
seeing a movie
in the theater rather than
in the theater rather than
watching
watching
a video at home.
a video at home.
Incorrect
Incorrect
31
There
There
are
are
many
many
advantages to
advantages to
seeing a movie
seeing a movie
in the theater
in the theater
rather than
rather than
watching a video
watching a video
at home.
at home.
Revised
Revised
32
The dark theater
The dark theater
and the enormous
and the enormous
screen take the
screen take the
movie viewer to
movie viewer to
another world.
another world.
Correct
Correct
33
The background
The background
music in movies
music in movies
play an important
play an important
role.
role.
Incorrect
Incorrect
34
The background
The background
music in movies
music in movies
plays
plays
an important
an important
role.
role.
Revised
Revised
35
The music creates
The music creates
a mood and gives a
a mood and gives a
signal of something
signal of something
to come.
to come.
Correct
Correct
36
Not everyone in
Not everyone in
the entertainment
the entertainment
fields agree about
fields agree about
the quality of
the quality of
movies.
movies.
Incorrect
Incorrect
37
Not everyone in the
Not everyone in the
entertainment field
entertainment field
agrees
agrees
about the
about the
quality of movies.
quality of movies.
Revised
Revised
38
Neither the use of
Neither the use of
subtitles nor black
subtitles nor black
and white
and white
photography
photography
demonstrate the
demonstrate the
preferences of most
preferences of most
Americans.
Americans.
Incorrect
Incorrect
39
Neither the use of
Neither the use of
subtitles nor black
subtitles nor black
and white
and white
photography
photography
demonstrates
demonstrates
the
the
preferences of most
preferences of most
Americans.
Americans.
Revised
Revised
40
Any
Any
Questions?
Questions?
Master the rules of subject-verb agreement for singular and plural subjects, irregular verbs like be, have, and do, and compound subjects. Learn how to match singular subjects with singular verbs and plural subjects with plural verbs, and understand verb forms for different scenarios. Explore examples and tips to enhance your language skills effortlessly.
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Presentation Transcript
Singular Agreement A singular verb must accompany a singular subject. For example: A classic 1950s Chevrolet in pristine condition sells for top dollar.
Plural Agreement A plural verb must accompany a plural subject. For example: Classic cars provide drivers with immense pleasure.
Review Most singular verbs in the third person are formed by adding s to the root verb (or es in some instances) Eats Hears Speaks Does Most plural verbs are formed with no letter added at their ends. Eat Hear Speak Do
Compound Subjects If the parts of a compound subject are connected by and, the sentence needs a plural verb. For example: The pastry chef and her assistant bake cakes beginning at 4:00 A.M.
Compound Subjects When the parts of a compound subject are connected by or, the verb agrees with the part of the subject that is closer to it. For example: The bakers or the assistant bakes only German chocolate cakes every Thursday.
The Verbs Be, Have, and Do These verbs are irregular in the present tense. Therefore, you need to memorize their forms to avoid problems with them.
The Verb Be Here are some examples of the verb be. I am the owner of two cats. He is the owner of a dog. They are the owners of cats and dogs.
The Verb Have Here are some examples of the verb have. We have no children. She has only one daughter. They have two sons and three daughters.
The Verb Do Here are some examples of the verb do. He does the multiplication problems. They do the division problems. I do the addition and subtraction problems.
Words between Subject and Verb Overlook any words (a prepositional phrase, for example) between a subject and a verb. Instead, focus only on the subject to determine the verb form. For example: The cathedrals in Germany are impressive, but the ones in France are even more impressive.
Frequently Used Collective Nouns army band class club committee company congregation family gang government group jury team union
Collective Nouns (Singular) If all members of the collective noun are acting as one unit, then it is singular and needs a singular verb. For example: The jury reaches its verdict unanimously. In this instance, all twelve members of the jury act as one unit to reach the same verdict.
Collective Nouns (Plural) If all members of the collective noun are acting individually, then it is plural and needs a plural verb. For example: The congregation leave church at different times: some after communion, some at the end of the service, and some at least an hour after the service so that they can socialize. In this instance, members of the congregation act individually. Some leave at one time, but others leave at other times.
Common Indefinite Pronouns These indefinite pronouns are singular and therefore require singular verbs: anybody anyone everybody everyone somebody someone
Indefinite Pronouns in Action If anybody submits entry forms at least two weeks before the deadline, he or she is eligible for the grand prize a Caribbean cruise.
Everyone Everyone enjoys a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner.
Somebody According to the librarian, somebody needs the books about the Eiffel Tower before the end of the day.
Verbs before Subjects A verb always agrees with its subject even if the verb comes before the subject, as in a question. For example: Where is the nearest grocery store? Mrs. Miller, are you shopping for groceries today or tomorrow? asks the neighbor.
Inverted Order When normal word order is inverted and the subject follows the verb, the subject and verb must agree. Standing at the door with grins on their faces were the cheerleaders.
There Is and There Are The word there does not function as a subject. If a sentence begins with this word, search for the subject after the form of the verb be. Make certain that the subject and verb agree. For example: At the party, there is one guest from Brazil. There are several guests from Japan.
Practice Exercises Each one of you is going to read the sentence on each practice slide and select CORRECT or INCORRECT depending on the Subject-Verb agreement. Hint: Find the subject and the verb and see if they agree (Use a singular verb form for a singular subject & a plural verb form for a plural subject)
Practice Exercises Incorrect Movies in today s market makes a great deal of money. 23
Practice Exercises Revised Movies in today s market make a great deal of money. 24
Practice Exercises Incorrect The American audiences pays for tickets at the theater and for cable at home. 25
Practice Exercises Revised The American audiences pay for tickets at the theater and for cable at home. 26
Practice Exercises Correct The international market, which includes dozens of countries, produces even more profit. 27
Practice Exercises Incorrect Films are very expensive to manufacture, so American studios creates far more films than other countries. 28
Practice Exercises Revised Films are very expensive to manufacture, so American studios create far more films than other countries. 29
Practice Exercises Incorrect There is many advantages to seeing a movie in the theater rather than watching a video at home. 30
Practice Exercises Revised There are many advantages to seeing a movie in the theater rather than watching a video at home. 31
Practice Exercises Correct The dark theater and the enormous screen take the movie viewer to another world. 32
Practice Exercises Incorrect The background music in movies play an important role. 33
Practice Exercises Revised The background music in movies plays an important role. 34
Practice Exercises Correct The music creates a mood and gives a signal of something to come. 35
Practice Exercises Incorrect Not everyone in the entertainment fields agree about the quality of movies. 36
Practice Exercises Revised Not everyone in the entertainment field agrees about the quality of movies. 37
Practice Exercises Incorrect Neither the use of subtitles nor black and white photography demonstrate the preferences of most Americans. 38
Practice Exercises Revised Neither the use of subtitles nor black and white photography demonstrates the preferences of most Americans. 39
Any Questions? 40
