One of the most common English grammar errors involves subject-verb agreement. Subject-verb agreement errors can sometimes be difficult to find, especially in written and spoken sentences that sound correct. Sub verb agreement needs to happen in every correct English sentence, otherwise, the sentence is incorrect. So, how do you know if the subject-verb agreements are correct? The following subject-verb agreement examples will help you better understand how the verb agrees with the subject.<\/p>\n
The first rule to remember is that a singular subject goes with a singular verb and plural subjects go with plural verbs. This is important so that the singular or plural verb agrees with a singular or plural subject. A verb with s<\/strong> is usually plural as in runs, swims, carries<\/strong>, etc. While this sentence may sound right, the subject verb agreement is incorrect. It should read: The girls, who are aged from sixteen to twenty, will join the tournament next week.<\/em><\/p>\n My new cat, who I just found last week, is already gaining weight. <\/em><\/p>\n Use is<\/strong> in sentences with a singular subject and use are<\/strong> in a sentence with a plural subject.<\/p>\n Not all subject-verb agreement errors are so difficult to find. If the subject is singular, then the verb that follows must also be singular. Verbs with s<\/strong> are usually plural verbs and collective nouns also take a plural s. <\/strong>For instance: The committee meets on Tuesdays. <\/em><\/p>\n Sometimes the verbs and subjects are easy to spot. In the following sentences, notice how the verbs and subjects agree.<\/p>\n The most important rule to impart to students when teaching subject-verb or verb subject agreement is that singular subjects require singular verbs and plural subjects require plural verbs. To improve your English ability in this area, you can take a subject verb agreement quiz or do a subject verb agreement worksheet. If or<\/strong> or nor<\/strong> is used in a compound subject where there is both a singular and plural subject, the verb pairs with the subject nearest to the verb. Below is a list of compound subjects using or, neither-nor, or either-or include:<\/p>\n It’s also important to know subject-verb agreement sentences with singular indefinite pronouns. Below is a list of some examples.<\/p>\n Subject verb agreement with plural indefinite pronouns are also important to understand. Below are a few examples of these types of sentences.<\/p>\n Remember, when the subject is singular, use a singular verb and when the subject is plural, use a plural verb. If you remember this simple rule, it will be easy for you to both spot and avoid subject verb agreement errors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Do you have difficulty with the subject-verb agreement? Let the English Forward team help you sort it out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1315,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_generate-full-width-content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[292],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1313"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishforward.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nTo better understand how the subject follows the verb or how more than one subject follows the verb let’s look at a few examples.
\nSarah, as well as her sisters, are going to the summer school.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
\nSarah, as well as her sisters, is going to the summer school<\/em>.
\nIn this sentence the singular subject is Sarah, <\/strong>so the verb should be the singular verb is<\/strong>. The confusion comes from the interrupting phrase, as well as her sisters<\/strong>, which makes the subject sound like a plural subject. The best method to spot this mistake is to simply remove the phrase between the commas. Remember, do not use a plural verb in a sentence with a singular subject and always use a singular verb with a singular subject.
\nThat leaves Sarah is going to the summer school<\/strong>. This sounds a lot better than Sarah are going to the summer school<\/strong>. Here are a few more examples of singular or plural verbs and subjects with interrupting phrases.
\nTomi, who is my friend, is going to the movies next week.<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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Is\/Are Grammar Rules<\/h3>\n
Is this singular or plural?<\/h2>\n
\nA herd of deer and a flock of birds crowded the road. <\/em><\/p>\n\n
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\nCompound subjects, or two subjects in the same sentence, will often have a plural verb, but sometimes is singular treated as singular in commonly spoken English if the compound subjects refer to the same person or thing. The following sentences show compound subjects with correct subject verb agreement:<\/p>\n\n
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Singular Indefinite Pronouns<\/h3>\n
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Plural Indefinite Pronouns<\/h3>\n
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