What is “subject/verb agreement”?
Agreement of Subject and Verb
Making sure that the subject and verb agree in your essay is important. When they agree correctly the essay will be easier to read and understand. There are a few techniques that will need to be taken to ensure the subject and verb are in agreement.When the subject and verb agree in a sentence you are following the subject and verb agreement correctly.The subject in every independent or dependent clause must agree with its verb in person or 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. If you can locate the subject and verb in a sentence, you should not have any difficulty making the two agree.
- Example: The dog jumped into the wagon.
The subject is: dog
The verb is: jumped
Compound Subjects
"Compound subjects joined by and normally require a plural verb" (Butler, et al 144).
- Remember: "Nouns joined by and are thought of as a unit or actually refer to the same person or thing, the verb is normally singular" (Butler, et al 145).
- Example: My friend and colleague Sarah has gone on vacation.
Verb Preceding the Subject
Verbs sometimes come before the subject. This change in order can lead to error in agreement.
- Example: Where are Dan and Bobby going?
Intervening Expressions
- Verbs are sometimes separated 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.
- Example: The evidence that they submitted to the judge was convincing.
The subject is: evidence
The verb is: was
Links
==Work Cited==
- Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell., The Concise Wadsworth Handbook. Instructor's Ed. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2005.
- Faigley, Lester. The Penguin Handbook. New York: Pearson Education, Inc., 2003
- Butler, Eugenia, et al., Correct Writing. 6th Ed. Lexington: D.C. Heath and Company, 1995.