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Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-Verb Agreement. (It seems as though it should be so obvious!). THE RULES. Every clause has a subject and verb. A verb must agree with its subject in person (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and in number. I swim. She swims. They swim. Only the subject affects the conjugation of the verb. EXAMPLES.

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Subject-Verb Agreement

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  1. Subject-Verb Agreement (It seems as though it should be so obvious!)

  2. THE RULES • Every clause has a subject and verb. • A verb must agree with its subject in person (1st, 2nd, 3rd) and in number. • I swim. • She swims. • They swim. • Only the subject affects the conjugation of the verb.

  3. EXAMPLES The intelligence of the students (amaze/amazes) each teacher. The designs for the new Roessler (seem/seems) very outrageous.

  4. Intervening Prep Phrases • When a prepositional phrase intervenes between the subject and the verb, do not mistake an object of a preposition with a subject.

  5. EXAMPLES Everyone (like/likes) strawberries with cream. None of the eggs (was/were) broken. None of his advice (make/makes) sense.

  6. Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns • Indefinite pronouns refer to nonspecific persons or things. • Some of them are always singular, some are always plural, and some can be singular or plural depending on the context. • Use logic when choosing a verb to go with an indefinite pronoun subject.

  7. EXAMPLES! • Kyla and Amanda (cause/causes) a lot of trouble in Spanish class. • Macaroni and cheese (help/helps) me study late at night. • Neither Chase nor Juan (know/knows) the perpetrator. • Either the cheerleaders or Kristina (has/have) the most spirit.

  8. Agreement with Compound Subjects • Consider compound subjects joined by “and” or by “both … and” to be plural unless they constitute one unit. • With compound subjects joined by “or” or “nor,” make the verb agree with the subject nearer the verb.

  9. EXAMPLES! • The eagle is one of the many birds that (is/are) endangered. • The eagle is the only one of the birds of prey that (is/are) recognized by most people. • Gottlieb Daimler was one of two nineteenth century inventors who (was/were) successful in producing a working automobile.

  10. Agreement in Adjective Clauses • The verb in any clause must agree with its subject. Adjective clauses often have relative pronouns as their subjects. The verb in an adjective clause must agree with the antecedent of the relative pronoun.

  11. EXAMPLES! • Holes (is/are) a favorite Middle School book. • A major voice in school decisions (is/are) the students on the Academic Council. • There (was/were) screaming fans when Teddy returned. • Completing her assignments (has/have) been a problem for Andie.

  12. Rare Problems • Consider titles of works to be singular. • Verbs agree with subjects, not always with predicate nominatives. • Verbs agree with subjects, even when the subjects come afterward. • Consider gerunds that are subjects to be singular.

  13. Only the subject affects the conjugation of the verb, not an object of the preposition or a predicate nominative. Compound subjects affect a verb differently depending on the context. Verbs in dependent clauses must agree with the antecedent of the pronoun subject. REVIEW!

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