Jl. Sisingamangaraja, Sitoluama-Laguboti Toba Samosir, 22381 Sumatera Utara English 2-Subject-verb agreement 2
Subject-verb agreement in relation with kinds of
nouns as subjects Rule 1: a verb agrees with its subject in number e.g. The boy plays on the ground.
Rule 2: the number of the subject (singular or plural) is not
changed by words that come between the subject and the verb. e.g. One of the girls is shouting at you.
Rule 3: Some subjects always take a singular verb even though
the meaning may seem plural. e.g. Someone in the game was not hurt.
The other words to this rule are: each, either, neither, one, no one, everyone, someone, anyone, nobody, somebody, anybody, everybody. English 2-Subject-verb agreement 3
Subject-verb agreement in relation with kinds of
nouns as subjects Rule 4: Some words may be singular or plural, depending upon their use in a sentence. e.g. Most of the news is good. Most of the news are good.
The other words to this rule are: some, all, any
Rule 5: There and here are never subjects. In sentences
that begin with these words, the subject is usually found later on the sentence. e.g. Here is the book you order. There are three birds in the cage. English 2-Subject-verb agreement 4
Subject-verb agreement in relation with kinds of
nouns as subjects Rule 6: collective nouns may be singular or plural, depending on their use in the sentence. e.g. The orchestra is playing a hit song. The orchestra were asked to give their musical backgrounds.
The other words to this rule are: army, audience, class,
club, committee, crowd, flock, group, herd, jury, public, swarm, team, troop, etc. English 2-Subject-verb agreement 5
Subject-verb agreement in relation with
kinds of nouns as subjects
Rule 7: expressions of time, money, measurement, and
weight are usually singular when the amount is considered one unit. e.g. Five dollars is not too much to ask.
Rule 8: some nouns, while plural in form, are actually
singular in meaning. e.g. Mathematics is an easy subject for some people. English 2-Subject-verb agreement 6
9. Subject-verb agreement in relation with conjunctions
Subjects joined by and are plural. Subjects joined by or and nor take a verb that agrees with the last subject. e.g. Ben and Bin are brothers. Neither Ben nor Bin is here tonight.
10. Subject-verb agreement in relation with prepositional phrase
Always pay attention to the subject not the prepositional
phrase. e.g. 1. The key to the doors is in the drawer. 2. The keys to the door are in the drawer. English 2-Subject-verb agreement 7
11. Subject-verb agreement in relation with
auxiliary verbs and use of Tense
Subject Auxiliary Verb
I am, do, will, shall, was, have, can, could, may, might, have to, ought to You are, do, will, were, have, can, could, may, might, have to, ought to He is, does, will, was, has, can, could, may, might, has to, ought to She is, does, will, was, has, can, could, may, might, has to, ought to It is, does, will, was, has, can, could, may, might, has to, ought to We am, do, will, shall, were, have, can, could, may, might, have to, ought to You are, do, will, were, have, can, could, may, might, have to, ought to They are, do, will, were, have, can, could, may, might, have to, ought to English 2-Subject-verb agreement 8
11. Subject-verb agreement in relation with
auxiliary verbs and use of Tense
Present Tense using verb:
1. I usually cook rice at 6 a.m. (NOT: I am usually cook rice at 6 a.m.) 2. They do not live here anymore. (NOT: They not live here anymore.) 3. She loves to sing. (NOT: She love to sing.)
Present Tense using non-verb:
1. I am happy to be your friend. (NOT: I happy to be your friend.) 2. They are proud of you. (NOT: They proud of you.) English 2-Subject-verb agreement 9
Always be careful in your spoken or
written English so that all your verbs agree with the subjects you mentioned earlier.