1. Subject is the person/people/thing(s) that do the activity.
example : I, you, they, we, she, he, it, my dad and my mom, Linda, Sussi, Linda and Sussi, the bank, the flight schedule, etc.
2. Verb is a word used to describe an action, state, or occurrence, and forming the main part of the predicate of a sentence.
Kinds of Verb
a. 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)
b. Lingking Verbs 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
c. 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.)
3. MAIN RULE OF “Subject Verb Agreement”
a. Subject
and Verbs must agree in number.
b. Dont
get confused by words.
c. Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb
d. 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.
e. two subjects are joined by and, they typically require a plural verb form.
f. The verb is singular if the two subjects separated by and refer to the same person.
g. every, or no comes
before the subject, the verb is singular.
h. 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.
i. when noun and pronoun subjects like some, half,
none, more, all, etc. are followed by a prepositional phrase.
j. The singular verb form is usually used for units of
measurement or time
k. 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
l. one subject is singular and one plural and the words
are connected by the words or, nor,
m. Indefinite pronouns (everything, anything,
everyone, someone, somebody, nothing, etc) typically take singular verbs.
n. Except for the pronouns (few, many, several, both,
all, some) that always take the plural form.
o. If two infinitives are separated by and they take
the plural form of the verb
p. When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence,
they take the singular verb form of the verb.
q. Collective nouns like family, committee, herd, senate,
class, crowd, etc. usually take a singular verb form.
r. Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as
singular and take a singular Verb.
Exercise : Subject and Verb
Agreement Exercise
Choose the correct
form of the verb that agrees with the subject.
2. Either my mother or my father is coming to the meeting.
3. The dog or the cats are outside.
4. Either my shoes or your coat is always on the floor.
5. George and Tamara don't want to see that movie.
6. Benito doesn't know the answer.
7. One of my sisters is going on a trip to France.
8. The man with all the birds lives on my street.
9. The movie, including all the previews, takes about two hours to watch.
10. The players, as well as the captain, want to win.
11. Either answer is acceptable.
12. Every one of those books is fiction.
13. Nobody knows the trouble I've seen.
14. Is the news on at five or six?
15. Mathematics is John's favorite subject, while Civics is Andrea's favorite subject.
16. Eight dollars is the price of a movie these days.
17. Are the tweezers in this drawer?
18. Your pants are at the cleaner's.
19. There were fifteen candies in that bag. Now there is only one left!
20. The committee debates these questions carefully.
21. The committee lead very different lives in private.
22. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, greets the press cordially.
23. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, are in this case.
