Grammar Tips Subjectâ€Verb Agreement - Proofread My Paper

Grammar Tips Subject–Verb Agreement - Proofread My Paper Grammar Tips: Subject–Verb Agreement An important part of writing a grammatical sentence is making sure that the subject and verb in a sentence agree. In the following, well take a look at some of the basics. The Basics of Subject–Verb Agreement In the present tense, subject–verb agreement requires using singular verbs with singular subjects and plural verbs with plural subjects. In this context, the â€Å"subject† is the person or thing in the sentence performing the action, while the verb is the action being performed: Singular Subject Present Tense Singular Verb The bird†¦ †¦sings. Plural Subject Present Tense Plural Verb The birds†¦ †¦sing. In the simple past tense, though, there’s usually no difference between singular and plural verbs: Singular Subject Past Tense Verb The bird†¦ †¦sang. Plural Subject Past Tense Verb The birds†¦ †¦sang. Songbirds themselves care little for grammar.(Photo: Georg_Wietschorke) Compound Subjects Subject–verb agreement becomes more complicated when using a compound subject. When two subjects are joined with the coordinating conjunction â€Å"and,† we always use a plural verb: Bob and Cheryl are going to the game. However, when using â€Å"either/or† or â€Å"neither/nor† in a compound subject, whether to use a singular or plural verb depends on the term nearest to the verb: Singular: Either the girls or the boy is going to the game. Plural: Neither the boy nor the girls are going to the game. In the above, we use the singular â€Å"is† when the singular noun â€Å"boy† comes after â€Å"or,† but the plural verb â€Å"are† when the plural noun â€Å"girls† comes after the conjunction. Parenthetical Statements One common mistake with subject–verb agreement occurs when a parenthetical statement appears between the subject and the verb: The man, in the company of his dog, goes for a walk. Here, we use the singular verb â€Å"goes† because the bit of the dog is mentioned within a parenthetical clause (i.e., within commas), not as part of the subject of the sentence. If we rephrased this so that the dog was part of a compound subject, we would use the plural verb â€Å"go† instead: The man and his dog go for a walk. But when an additional person or thing is mentioned in parentheses or within commas, the verb should always agree with the subject that appears outside of the parenthetical clause. A man trying to explain parenthetical statements to his dog.(Photo: ToNic-Pics) Collective and Mass Nouns Another potential confusion relates to the use of collective nouns. In American English, these require using a singular verb despite referring to a group of things: The team is playing to win! Here, we use â€Å"is† because â€Å"team† is singular. Mass (or â€Å"non-count†) nouns are similar, since they take singular verbs despite referring to a mass substance (e.g., â€Å"milk† or â€Å"sand†): The milk is going sour. Here, it doesn’t matter how much milk we’re discussing: we’d always use the singular â€Å"is.† Some Exceptions As usual in English, there are exceptions to the rules above. The first-person â€Å"I† and the singular second-person â€Å"you,† for example, reverse the usual rules in the present tense (e.g., we say â€Å"I sing† not â€Å"I sings,† even though â€Å"I† is singular and â€Å"sing† is usually a plural verb). Auxiliary (or â€Å"helper†) verbs (e.g., â€Å"is†/â€Å"are† or â€Å"has†/â€Å"have†) also cause trouble, since they often change depending on whether the subject is singular or plural when using a past participle (e.g., â€Å"The boy has finished his homework† vs. â€Å"The boys have finished their homework†). And since the rules do vary depending on how a sentence is constructed, it pays to be careful with subject–verb agreement! Having your work proofread is a good idea if you’re not confident about this aspect of grammar.