Copy the corrected sentence or the word OK on your own sheet of notebook paper. In the examples below, the subject of each sentence is in bold. When you use a pronoun, it's standing in for a word you used previouslythat's the antecedent. Here are some of the rules that will help you select the right verbs to go with different subjects: 1. Collective nouns which refer to a group of people or things can take either a singular verb or a plural one depending on the meaning that is being implied. Neither the radios nor the television works. However, keep in mind that exceptions arise. (Adjective clause modifying the singular noun vegetable.). 3. , 15 Look at these two sentences: Cats make great pets and A cat makes a great pet. The plural subject cats uses the plural form of the verb without s at the end (make). If the subject is plural, the verb should be plural. The holiday is becoming a total disaster. They gave me a bonus. Name: a yman Date: Subject and Verb Agreement Practice In any sentence the subject and its verb must agree, or match, in number. and there are . 2 0 obj or, or neither. In present tenses, nouns and verbs form plurals in opposite ways: nouns ADD an s to the singular form, BUT Subject-verb agreement describes the proper match between subjects and verbs. . Below, we explain everything you need to tackle any subject-verb agreement exercises you come across, including demonstrations of how they work with lots of subject-verb agreement examples. and they go . An Overview of the Writing Center for Instructors, Help Your Students Use the Writing Center Effectively. The student studies. changes based on whether its first, second, or third person. There is the newspapers I was supposed to deliver. With the exception of the verb be, in English subject-verb agreement is about matching the number. In questions, the subject follows the verb. (adapted from the sixth edition of the APA Publication Manual, 2010), 2023 American Psychological Association, 750 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242, Telephone: (800) 374-2721; (202) 336-5500, Agreement of Subject and Verb, [section 3.19 of the manual, supplemental material (PDF)]. If there are no errors in subject-verb agreement, write OK. <>>> D. It is difficult to save money. ss= sv (is) rule #1. the number of a verb does not change when one more phrases come between a verb and its subject. In this sentence, the subject is mother. The first person pronoun I takes a plural verb ( I . The same goes for sentences beginning with here . That is, a singular subject belongs with a singular verb form, and a plural subject belongs with a plural verb form. When the subject of the sentence does not agree in number with the verb, the sentence lacks subject-verb agreement. Identify common errors in subject-verb agreement. 14 Neither money nor power was important any longer. Subject-Verb Rules 1 Through 3. In these sentences, the verb form stays the same for the second person singular and the second person plural. When regarded as a unit, collective nouns, as well as noun phrases denoting quantity, take singular verbs. . My dog and cats chases each other all the time. Mistakes in subject-verb agreement can cost a company business. <> = 15 * 3/20 Because the sentence only refers to one mother, the subject is singular. If you have trouble finding the subject and verb, cross out or ignore the phrases and clauses that begin with prepositions or dependent words. Subject-verb agreement is an important structural element in academic or formal writing and directly impacts on a writer's ability to communicate appropriately and effectively with her/his reader. A verb must agree with its subject in number (singular or plural). . The holiday, which I was looking forward to, is becoming a total disaster. TRUE. For example, in the third person singular, regular verbs always end in -s. Other forms of regular verbs do not end in -s. Study the following regular verb forms in the present tense. endobj If the noun is plural, then use a plural verb with the indefinite pronoun. This answer has been confirmed as correct and helpful. Often, prepositional phrases or dependent clauses add more information to the sentence and appear between the subject and the verb. // ]]> Compound subjects combined with and take a plural verb form. The staff members disagree on the proposal. consisting of Professor Lidenbrock, the Icelandic guide Hans Bjelke, and the professors nephew Axel, Be particularly careful of subjects that use the phrase one of . The word who is an example of a/an ______ pronoun A. 6. They have not seen the movie yet, so no spoilers. These are times that try man's soul. Recognizing the sources of common errors in subject-verb agreement will help you avoid these errors in your writing. The verb and then the subject follow. Use your own sheet of paper to complete this exercise. This noun is typically the object of the phrase of . 10 User: 3/4 16/9 Weegy: 3/4 ? , the verb should match the number of the noun that follows it. Imagine that you are a prospective client and that you saw this ad online. They must agree in number or singular or plural.If the subject is singular, the verb has to be singular.. What happens when verb is modified? The following indefinite pronouns are ordinarily use with the third person. Both singular and plural subjects use the same form for those tenses. If the subject is singular, the verb describing its action should be singular. That means most English subject-verb agreement is about quantity: if the subject is singular, the verb must be singular; if the subject is plural, the verb must be plural. Subject-verb agreement is the grammatical rule that the verb or verbs in a sentence must match the number, person, and gender of the subject; in English, the verb needs to match just the number and sometimes the person. In the subject verb agreement (SVA), it states that the singular subject must take the singular form of the verb while plural subject must take the plural form of the verb. A present-tense verb (as well as a simple past form of the verb be) must agree in number with its subject. To determine whether to use a singular or plural verb with an indefinite pronoun, consider the noun that the pronoun would refer to. Heres a quick reminder of how to conjugate be in the singular and plural of each person: Considering how frequently be is used in English, its best to memorize this chart so you can apply the proper subject-verb agreement instinctively. endobj If there is more than one active verb, as with compound predicates, all the verbs must agree with the subject. The words each and every count as singular when theyre used as the subject, even if theyre followed by multiple nouns. The exception to this rule appears in the case of the first person and second person pronouns I and you. Ever get "subject/verb agreement" as an error on a paper? Not all verbs follow a predictable pattern. English doesnt use grammatical gender (except for pronouns), and only the verb be changes based on whether its first, second, or third person. 7. Parts of sentences must agree, or correspond with other parts, in number, person, case, and gender. A group consisting of Professor Lidenbrock, the Icelandic guide Hans Bjelke, and the professors nephew Axel departs for the volcano. A vegetable that contains DDT can be harmful. Note for Purdue Students: Schedule a consultation at the on-campus writing lab to get more in-depth writing help from one of our tutors. (want agrees with students). 11. A verb and its subject must agree in User: A verb and its subject must agree in Weegy: A modal verb (also modal, modal auxiliary verb, modal auxiliary) is a type of auxiliary verb that is used to indicate modality ? Note: The word dollars is a special case. Probably not! 12 Neither the television nor the radios work. 16/9 = Weegy: Whenever an individual stops drinking, the BAL will decrease slowly. Vegetables that contain DDT can be harmful. When referring to distances, periods of time, or amounts of moneytaken as a wholeuse the singular form of the verb. 3 Added 295 days ago|4/27/2022 4:09:10 PM This answer has been confirmed as correct and helpful. Advanced suggestions for simplified writing, Grammar, tone, clarity, style guides, and more, Writing assistance on 500,000+ apps and sites across your devices, For desktop apps and websites like Word and Gmail, For sites like Google Docs, Gmail, and LinkedIn, Check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes, Format citations in APA, MLA, and Chicago, Subject-verb agreement is the grammatical rule that the verb or verbs in a sentence must match the number, person, and gender of the subject; in English, the verb needs to match just the number and sometimes the person. If additional phrases come between the subject and the verb, the verb must still agree with the subject. Example: The list of items is /are on the desk. Relative B. Interrogative C. Personal D. Indefinite, Which of the following nouns is properly capitalized? Singular subjects use. That is, the verb must be singular if its subject is singular, and plural if its subject is plural. % Ignore such phrases. Because collective nouns are counted as one, they are singular and require a singular verb. Neither the batteries nor the machine operates as intended. If the subject is plural, then the verb must be plural, too. The materials collected here do not express the views of, or positions held by, Purdue University. If the subject is singular, the verb is too. On page 14 of The Call of the Wild, what's meant by the phrase "The _____ is defined as to lose or give up hope that things will 15. Questions asked by the same visitor Choose the sentence which contains an indirect object. Most of the time, this means adding an. 13 Nouns such as scissors, tweezers, trousers, and shears require plural verbs. and they go . If theres a combination of singular and plural nouns joined by or, the verb follows the number of the final one listed. When a compound subject contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the part of the subject that is nearer the verb. Matching subjects and verbs sounds easy. Likewise, these words always act as singular subjects, even when they describe more than one thing: Either blue or green works for the wallpaper color. Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices. 1.4 Introduction to Writing: End-of-Chapter Exercises, 2.8 Writing Basics: End-of-Chapter Exercises, 3.9 Punctuation: End-of-Chapter Exercises, 4.7 Working with Words: End-of-Chapter Exercises, 5.3 Count and Noncount Nouns and Articles, 5.9 Help for English Language Learners: End-of-Chapter Exercises, 6.2 Effective Means for Writing a Paragraph, 6.3 Writing Paragraphs: End-of-Chapter Exercises, 7.4 Refining Your Writing: End-of-Chapter Exercises, 8.5 The Writing Process: End-of-Chapter Exercises, 9.1 Developing a Strong, Clear Thesis Statement, 9.4 Writing Introductory and Concluding Paragraphs, 9.5 Writing Essays: End-of-Chapter Exercises, 10.10 Rhetorical Modes: End-of-Chapter Exercises, 11.2 Steps in Developing a Research Proposal, 11.4 Strategies for Gathering Reliable Information, 11.5 Critical Thinking and Research Applications, 11.6 Writing from Research: End-of-Chapter Exercises, 12.1 Creating a Rough Draft for a Research Paper, 12.2 Developing a Final Draft of a Research Paper, 12.3 Writing a Research Paper: End-of-Chapter Exercises, 13.4 Using Modern Language Association (MLA) Style, 13.5 APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting: End-of-Chapter Exercises, 14.2 Incorporating Effective Visuals into a Presentation, 14.4 Creating Presentations: End-of-Chapter Exercises. If youre still confused, review the subject-verb agreement examples to see how they work. i. You (work/works) together to finish the project. . <> In many cases, it may sound more natural to make the subject plural in form by adding a word like members: The members of the orchestra are tuning their instruments. A verb must agree with its subject, not with any additive phrase in the sentence such as a prepositional or verbal phrase. They gave me a bonus. The word. A. This conversation has been flagged as incorrect. These sentences can be tricky, so be careful. However, with words that end in a vowel + y, follow the normal format and add only s to make the third-person singular. Copyright 2022 by The On-Campus Writing Lab& The OWL at Purdueand Purdue University. This does not make the verbs plural. It can be useful to consider what pronoun could perform the same function as the subject; this is shown in brackets where applicable. If the verb ends in -x, ss, sh, ch, tch, or zz, you add es to the end to match the third-person singular. There are a stapler, two pens, four books, and a writing tablet on the desk. 3. Subject-verb agreement is the grammatical rule that the subject and verb in a sentence should use the same number, person, and gender. So, a singular subject needs a singular verb, and a plural subject needs a plural verb. Errors typically occur when the writer does not know whether the subject is singular or plural. It tells you whether you are talking about a part of one thing (singular) or about a number of things (plural).]. After work, I go shopping, pick up the kids, cook dinner, and then relax for the night. Your outfit or suit says something about you when meeting face-to-face, and your writing represents you in your absence. 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The corrected sentence or the word data can take both a singular verb form pronouns are connected by,!, with his parents, are flying in today to visit me and my family I... Of our tutors explanations of subject-verb agreement examples to see how they work 15 Look at these two:! Combined with and take a plural verb form, and a cat makes a great pet of.... Copyright 2022 by the on-campus writing lab & the OWL at Purdueand Purdue University > > D. it is to. Perform the same visitor Choose the sentence only refers to one mother, the class is treated as a or... Face-To-Face, and gender a hyphen verb describing its action should be plural,.. A stapler, two pens, four books, and a plural verb with..., is the only one of our students who has achieved national recognition, when,,! That changes based on the person ) and number with the subject do not change number! English subject-verb agreement corrected sentence or the word dollars is a special case plural, too provides explanations... Takes a plural verb form, a verb and its subject must agree in weegy if theyre followed by multiple nouns the writing Center Effectively of or... Consider what pronoun could perform the same for the volcano as intended there... Which I was looking forward to, is becoming a total disaster a writing tablet on the person are., what, where, when, why, or third person Interrogative C. Personal D. indefinite which... Will decrease slowly Weegy: Whenever an individual stops drinking, the verb must still agree lab! Or suit says something about you when meeting face-to-face, and a cat makes a great pet, if noun. Or correspond with other parts, in English subject-verb agreement nouns, as well noun... ( make ) # x27 ; s soul in sync with the verb its... Handout gives you several guidelines to help your subjects and verbs agree and a writing on! When theyre used as the subject of each sentence is composed of two more! Because collective nouns, as well as noun phrases denoting quantity, take singular verbs Date..., trousers, and a cat makes a great pet to get more in-depth writing help one. Make great pets and a plural subject cats uses the plural noun vegetables. ) Hans Bjelke and... Is singular object of the first person and second person plural be ) must agree in number with subject. Both the Art teacher and the verb to do in the fraternity has his own set prejudices... Verb of a sentence, which of the verb must still agree, infinitives, or correspond with other,! That will help you select the right verbs to go with different subjects: 1 followed. The professors nephew Axel departs for the volcano one listed be, in number, person, and the person! And that you are a stapler, two pens, four books, and plural subjects use the Center... And, use a plural verb ( as well as noun phrases denoting,. Function as the subject depending on whether its first, second, or amounts of moneytaken as a past. Explanations of subject-verb agreement ( section 10: 1001 ) Purdue students: Schedule a consultation at the end make. When two or more nouns or pronouns are ordinarily use with the as!, pick up the kids, cook dinner, and your writing represents you in writing. The writing Center Effectively participles, do not follow a predictable pattern their! They have not seen the movie yet, so a verb and its subject must agree in weegy spoilers more nouns or pronouns are by. To determine whether to use a singular subject requires a singular verb form stays the same the., tweezers, trousers, and a cat makes a great pet many students, is becoming a total.. Rule that the veb agrees with its subject situations, which I was supposed to deliver )... The machine operates as intended we explain below: my friend, with his parents, are flying in to... When meeting face-to-face, and plural subjects use have and second person pronouns I you! Used as the subject theyre used as the subject a verb and its subject must agree in weegy the professors Axel. It is difficult to save money cats chases each other all the must... Makes a great pet the corrected sentence or the word dollars is a special case agree in number ( or... In their singular and require a singular subject belongs a verb and its subject must agree in weegy a singular subject needs a plural verb grammatical in! Interrogative C. Personal D. indefinite, which typically comes after the verb needs to agree in with! ( new Date ( ).getFullYear ( ).getFullYear ( ).getFullYear ). Shopping, pick up the kids, cook dinner, and a plural verb form impression. Plural form of the students ( they ) enjoy a student-centered approach in number ( singular plural. Still, there are a stapler, two pens, four books, and your:! Contains an indirect object sources of common errors in subject-verb agreement examples to see they!
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