Subject Verb Agreement rules and concepts for general education students.

1. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

2. EVERY VERB MUST AGREE WITH ITS SUBJECT Plural Subject Singular Subject Singular Verb Plural Verb

3. The Stupidity of English Grammar To make a noun plural, we add –s Singular: girl Plural: girls To make a verb plural, we take away the –s. Singular: he talks Plural: they talk

4. Tip for Subject/verb Agreement Generally, if the subject doesn’tend in –S, the verb will. If the subject does end in –S, the verb won’t.

5. No –S on subject -S on verb The girl dances.

6. -S on subject The girls dance. No –S on verb

7. Compound subjects joined by “and” If there are two or more subjects joined by and,the subject must be plural, so the verb will not get an “s”. Example Theboy and the girl dance. (= They dance.) No –S on verb

8. Compound subjects joined by “or” If there are two or more subjects joined by or, the verb agreement is singular. Examples: The students or the professor walksthe halls. Here comes the exception The professor or the students walk the halls. *rule of proximity

10. Everybodyunderstands subject/verb agreement.

12. The student, though she had lots of problems in other schools, finds her new class easy.

14. Possible Pitfalls Sometimes, the subject will come after the verb, in questions or when sentence begins with here or there. Examples There isno excuse for such behavior. There areno excuses for such behavior.

15. Possible Pitfalls Relative Pronouns (who/which/that) can be either singular or plural, depending on the word they refer to. The student who works hard will succeed. The students who work hard will succeed.

16. A side note on Who and Whom Who and whoever are for subjects. Example, Whoever has the most volunteer hours will receive a $100 gift card. Whom and whomever are for objects. The $100 gift card is for whomever has the most volunteer hours.

17. How do I get this right? First, identify whether or not you have problems with subject/verb agreement. If you don’t have any problems with this, don’t worry about it! If you do have problems Identify the verb. Ask who or what is doing it. This will identify the subject. Say them together and make sure that they match in terms of number.

18. The subject and verb are the skeleton of every sentence. Make sure you fit those two important parts together correctly!

19. In the end, S/V Agreement is all about love…