Hello, language explorers! Today, we delve into an essential aspect of English grammar that will help unlock your fluency – subject-verb agreement. This crucial grammar rule is the bridge that connects your subjects and verbs in harmony. Let’s get started!
The Magic of Subject-Verb Agreement
Subject-verb agreement refers to the grammatical rule that the verb in a sentence must agree with the subject in number. Simply put, if the subject is singular, the verb must be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.
Understanding and applying this rule is vital for clear and correct English communication. It helps avoid confusion and makes your sentences sound natural to native English speakers.
Common Errors and How to Correct Them
Let’s look at some common subject-verb agreement mistakes and how we can fix them:
Incorrect: “The team of researchers are presenting their findings.” Correct: “The team of researchers is presenting their findings.”
In the correct sentence, we use “is” because the subject “team” is singular, even though it refers to a group of people.
Incorrect: “Each of the students have a textbook.” Correct: “Each of the students has a textbook.”
In this case, “each” is a singular subject, so we use “has” instead of “have.”
Navigating Compound Subjects and Collective Nouns
Subject-verb agreement can get a bit tricky when we deal with compound subjects (two or more subjects joined by ‘and’) and collective nouns (nouns that refer to a group, such as “team,” “group,” “family”).
For compound subjects, we usually use a plural verb:
“John and Maria are going to the concert.”
However, when the parts of the compound subject refer to the same person or thing, we use a singular verb:
“Peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich.”
With collective nouns, we generally use a singular verb if we think of the group as a single unit, and a plural verb if we think of the members individually:
“The committee decides the date of the meeting.” (The committee as a unit decides) “The team are wearing their new uniforms.” (The individuals in the team are each wearing a uniform)
Keep practicing these rules in your daily English conversations, and before long, you’ll master the art of subject-verb agreement. Happy learning, language explorers!
Check out the quiz below to confirm your understanding!
