When subjects agree with
verbs…
sentences are friendlier
TCTC Writing Center
Prepared by Jennifer Higgins-Spiers
July 2007
Why should subjects agree with
verbs?
Think about words in a sentence as FRIENDS.
They all need to agree with each other in order
to be friendly. The subject and verb are the two
parts of a sentence that are MOST IMPRTANT
when it comes to agreement. If the subject and
the verb don’t agree, the sentence will not be
friendly.
How do subjects and verbs agree?
Plural subjects need plural verbs in order to
agree.
Singular subjects need singular verbs in order to
agree.
If you place a singular subject with a plural verb,
you have committed an English Sin.
We goes to the store. X
We is plural. Goes is singular
We go to the store.
We is plural. Go is plural.
To make it simple…
Plural subjects end in ‘s’
Plural verbs do NOT
Singular verbs end in ‘s’
Singular subjects to
NOT
Plural subject: cats
Plural verb: run
Singular subject: cat
Singular verb: runs
Subjects
One subject per sentence = a simple
subject (singular)
More than one subject per sentence = a
compound subject (plural)
A sentence can have more than one subject,
but a sentence with more than one subject
isn’t always a compound sentence.
Simple subjects
The cat jumped on the bed, and the dog barked.
This sentence has TWO independent clauses, and each independent
clause has its own subject. Therefore, the subjects are SIMPLE.
They are also SINGULAR.
The toddler picks his nose.
The boogieman scares the children.
Angie kicked her little brother because he was annoying.
He fell into the pool.
I want to go to sleep.
Science is an amazing subject, but I would rather study government.
Note: some past tense verbs can be both singular and
plural.
Compound Subjects
Tina and Esmeralda are here to help the new
employees.
Tina is here to help the new employees.
Esmeralda is here to help with the new employees.
Brownies and key lime pies are Johnny’s favorite
desserts
Strawberries and bananas taste great blended together.
Bread, bagels, butter, bacon and cheese are on the top
of my grocery list.
Note how the word ‘and’ is NOT included in the subject.
The subjects can be separated into its own individual
sentence. Additionally, the subjects go with one singular
verb. That is why they are compound subjects.
Singular subjects that LOOK like
compound subjects
In our beautiful English
language, we have
‘subjects’ that LOOK
compound, but they act
as ONE thing, so they are
singular/simple subjects.
These subjects cannot be
separated. The word
‘and’ IS included in the
subject.
Peanut butter and jelly is
Connor’s favorite type of
sandwich.
Macaroni and cheese is a
delicious side dish.
My spaghetti and
meatballs consists of
homemade sauce, green
peppers, squash and
cheese.
Collective Nouns
Collective nouns are
nouns that SEEM to be
singular, but depending
on the context of the
sentence, the noun is
Actually PLURAL.
team
committee
jury
flock
family
group
herd
Examples of sentences with
collective nouns
The team are conditioning in the locker room.
While this sentence might sound funny, this sentence is referring to the
individual members of the team, that is why team is PLURAL.
The team is going to play their greatest rival tonight.
This sentence refers to the members of the team as a whole, that is
why the team is SINGULAR.
The family next door likes peace and quiet.
This sentence refers to the family as a whole; family is SINGULAR.
The family were chatting, watching TV, and playing card games
when they noticed their house was on fire.
This sentence refers to the individual family members; family is
PLURAL.
Indefinite pronouns as subjects
There are
more
indefinite
pronouns that
are singular,
so be careful
when you
make your
subjects and
verbs agree!
.
Singular
Everything tastes wonderful!
Either Mike or Sally is coming today.
Neither of the children knows how to
read. (children is not the subject;
neither is)
Plural
Many of my friends like to sing.
Several are not going to make it today.
Either singular or plural
All of the children are happy.
All of the newspaper is torn.
When problems occur
Problems occur mainly when the writer does not
know if subjects are plural or singular. Make
sure you remember how to differentiate between
the indefinite pronouns and collective nouns.
Problems also occur with verb errors. Make sure
you remember that plural nouns end in ‘s’, but
plural verbs DON’T.
Lastly, problems occur when the past participle
is used incorrectly.
How NOT to use past participles.
I seen the movie last night.
He gone out to see his friend.
They been arguing all day.
Mary sung a lullaby to her
baby.
Another error includes the verb
‘bring’
Tanner brung his favorite teddy
bear.
‘brung’ is not a word.
Why are these sentences
incorrect?
The past participle NEEDS
the helping verb have/has/had
with the verb in order to be
correct. To avoid this error, just
use the simple past tense:
I saw the movie last night.
He went ot to see his friend.
They argued day.
Mary sang a lullaby to her baby.
Compound verbs
Just as sentences can have more than one subject, they
can also have more than one verb as well.
Mylo ran a mile and lifted weights
Natalia found a purse and gave it to the police.
Today I will watch a movie and visit my friend
Remember: The compound verb goes with ONE subject,
just as a compound subject goes with ONE verb. A
sentence with two verbs/subjects doesn’t always
mean it’s compound.
End of Lesson!
Make sure you always pay attention to
your subjects and verbs! The grammar
check on MS word doesn’t catch
everything!
Take it upon YOURSELF to keep track
with singular and plural words. Don’t be
lazy! Lazy people get D’s!