What is “subject/verb agreement”?: Difference between revisions
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The verb in every independent or dependent clause must agree with its subject in: | |||
* person | |||
* number | |||
For the subject and verb to agree in number singular or plural subjects must have a singular or plural verb.The | The three persons are: | ||
subject takes the base form of the verb in all but the third person singular to make the subject and verb agree | *First person- the speaker | ||
in person. In third person singular you need to add an | *Second person- the person spoken to | ||
and verb agree. The most common way to check and make sure that the subject and verb agree is to identify the subject of each sentence. Verbs are sometimes seperated by words that describe the subject.This can make it difficult to make sure that the subject and verb agree. The key is to make sure that the verb agrees with the subject and not with the word in the modifying phrase. | *Third person- the person or thing spoken about | ||
The two numbers are: | |||
*singular- indicating one person or thing | |||
*plural- indicating more than one person or thing | |||
For the subject and verb to agree in number singular or plural subjects must have a singular or plural verb. The subject takes the base form of the verb in all but the third person singular to make the subject and verb agree in person. In third person singular you need to add an ''s'' or ''es'' to the base form of the verb to make both subject and verb agree. | |||
The most common way to check and make sure that the subject and verb agree is to identify the subject and verb of each sentence. Verbs are sometimes seperated by words that describe the subject.This can make it difficult to make sure that the subject and verb agree. The key is to make sure that the verb agrees with the subject and not with the word in the modifying phrase. | |||
Revision as of 21:56, 12 July 2006
The verb in every independent or dependent clause must agree with its subject in:
- person
- number
The three persons are:
- First person- the speaker
- Second person- the person spoken to
- Third person- the person or thing spoken about
The two numbers are:
- singular- indicating one person or thing
- plural- indicating more than one person or thing
For the subject and verb to agree in number singular or plural subjects must have a singular or plural verb. The subject takes the base form of the verb in all but the third person singular to make the subject and verb agree in person. In third person singular you need to add an s or es to the base form of the verb to make both subject and verb agree.
The most common way to check and make sure that the subject and verb agree is to identify the subject and verb of each sentence. Verbs are sometimes seperated by words that describe the subject.This can make it difficult to make sure that the subject and verb agree. The key is to make sure that the verb agrees with the subject and not with the word in the modifying phrase.