Subject & Verb Agreement

MEETING 9

SUBJECT - VERB AGREEMENT

​The boys walk to school.

​The boy walks to school.

​Read these sentences and Analyze the different.

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what is subject and verb agreement?

Subject/verb agreement is simple. if the subject of the sentence is singular, then a verb must be singular. if the subject in the sentence is plural, the verb must be in plural.

SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT

an "s" on a verb usually indicates that a verb is singular, while an "s" on a noun usually indicates that the noun is plural.

​The boys walk to school.

​The boy walks to school.

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what can we infer from the sentences below?

a. The boys walk to school.

b. The boy walks to school.

Make verb agreement after prepositional phrase

Make verbs agree after PP

sometimes, PP can come between the subject and a verb. if the object of prepositional is singular and the subject is plural, or if the object of prepositional is plural and the subject is singular. there can be confusion in making the subject and verb agreement.

a. The key to the doors are in the drawer.
b. The keys to the door is in the drawer.



What is your opinion about the sentences above?

The example below has one or more prepositional phrases between the subject and the verb. Analyze the sentences then indicate if the sentences are correct or incorrect.

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1. 1. The climbers on the sheer face of the mountain need to be rescued.

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2. 2. The book on the bathroom floor belongs to her.

Make verb agree after Expression of quantity

Make verb agree after Expression of quantity

a particular agreement problem occurs when the subject is an expression of quantity, such as most, all, or some, followed by the preposition of. in this situation, the subject (all, most, or some) can be singular or plural, depending on what follows the preposition.

let's see the example below!!

a. All of the book was interesting.
b. All of the books were Interesting.
c. All of the information was interesting.

The example below has a quantity expression as the subject. Analyze the sentences then indicate if the sentences are correct or incorrect.

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3. 3. some of the animals from the zoo was released into the animal preserve.

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4. 4. we believe that some of the time of the employees is going to the devoted to quality control.

Make verb agree after certain words

certain words in English are always grammatically singular, even though they might have plural meanings.

​Everybody are going to the theater

Everybody are going to the theater

we understand from this example that means " a lot of people are going to the theater". everybody is singular and requires a singular verb. the plural verb "are going" should be changed to the singular verb "is going".

subject/verb agreement after certain words

these words or expressions are grammatically singular, so they take singular verbs:

S (Somebody, someone, something)

A (Anybody, anyone, anything)

N (nobody, no one, nothing)

E ( Everybody, Everyone, Everything)

The example below contains one of the words that are grammatically singular but have plural meanings. Analyze the sentences then indicate if the sentences are correct or incorrect.

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5. 5. It is impossible to believe that somebody actually admire that man.

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6. 6. The president felt that no one were better suited for the position of chief staff advisor