Subject-Verb Agreement
RULES FOR SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
RULE 1 – A verb agrees with its subject in number.
Singular subjects take singular verbs:
· The car stays in the garage.
· The flower smells good.
There is an old saying: “opposites attract.” The rule for singular and plural verbs is just the opposite of
the rule for singular and plural nouns. Remember this when you match subjects and verbs. You might
guess that stays and smells are plural verbs because they end in s. They aren’t. Both stays and smells are
singular verbs.
RULE 2 – The number of the subject (singular or plural) is not changed by words that come between the
subject and the verb.
· One of the eggs is broken.
Of the eggs is a prepositional phrase. The subject one and the verb is are both singular. Mentally omit the prepositional phrase to make the subject verb-agreement easier to make.
RULE 3 – Some subjects always take a singular verb even though the meaning may seem plural.
These subjects always take singular verbs:
each someone
either anyone
neither nobody
one somebody
no one anybody
everyone everybody
· Someone in the game was (not were) hurt.
· Neither of the men is (not are) working.
RULE 4 – The following words may be singular or plural, depending upon their use in a sentence, some,
any, all, most.
· Most of the news is good. (singular)
· Most of the flowers were yellow. (plural)
· All of the pizza was gone. (singular)
· All of the children were late. (plural)
RULE 5 – Subjects joined by and are plural. Subjects joined by or or nor take a verb that agrees with
the last subject.
· Bob and George are leaving.
· Neither Bob nor George is leaving.
· Neither Bob nor his friends are leaving.
RULE 6 – There and here are never subjects. In sentences that begin with these words, the subject is
usually found later on in the sentence.
· There were five books on the shelf. (were, agrees with the subject book)
· Here is the report you wanted. (Is agrees with subject report)
RULE 7 – Collective nouns may be singular or plural, depending on their use in the sentence.
A collective noun is a noun used to name a whole group. Following are some common examples:
army crowd orchestra
audience flock public
class group swarm
club herd team
committee jury troop
United States
· The orchestra is playing a hit song. (Orchestra is considered as one unit—singular.)
· The orchestra were asked to give their musical backgrounds. (Orchestra is considered as separate
individuals—plural)
RULE 8 – Expressions of time, money, measurement, and weight are usually singular when the amount
is considered one unit.
· Five dollars is (not are) too much to ask.
· Ten days is (not are) not nearly enough time.
On occasion, however these terms are used in the plural sense:
· There were thirty minutes to countdown.
RULE 9 – Some nouns, while plural in form, are actually singular in meaning.
· Mathematics is (not are) an easy subject for some people.
· Physics is (not are) taught by Prof, Baldwin.
mumps home economics social studies economics
measles calisthenics statistics civics
physics gymnastics phonics news
acrobatics aesthetics thesis mathematics
RULE 10 – Don’t and Doesn’t must agree with the subject. Use doesn’t after he, she, it.
· Doesn’t he (not don’t) know how to sail?
· They don’t (not doesn’t) make movies like that anymore.
Verb Tense
You must always use a verb in every sentence you write. Verbs are parts of speech that indicate actions or states of being. The most basic sentence structure is a subject followed by a verb.
Simple Verb Tenses
Verb tenses tell the reader when the action takes place. The action could be in the past, present, or future.
Past ← Present → Future
Yesterday I jumped. Today I jump. Tomorrow I will jump.
Simple present verbs are used in the following situations:
When the action takes place now
I drink the water greedily.
When the action is something that happens regularly
I always cross my fingers for good luck.
When describing things that are generally true
College tuition is very costly.
When it is he, she, or it doing the present tense action, remember to add –s, or –es to the end of the verb or to change the y to –ies.
Simple past verbs are used when the action has already taken place and is now finished:
I washed my uniform last night.
I asked for more pie.
I coughed loudly last night.
When he, she, or it is doing the action in the past tense, remember to add –d or –ed to the end of regular verbs.
Simple future verbs are used when the action has not yet taken place:
I will work late tomorrow.
I will kiss my boyfriend when I see him.
I will erase the board after class.
Table 5.6 Regular Simple Future Tense Verbs
Going to can also be added to the main verb to make it future tense:
I am going to go to work tomorrow.
Attribution
“Verb Tenses.” Writing for Success. Posted by: University of Minnesota. Located at: https://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/chapter/5-5-verb-tenses/ License: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Irregular Verbs
Unlike Regular verbs that follow a pattern when changing tense, Irregular verbs do not follow any pattern. Sometimes the form is only a little different, and other times there are entirely different words being used.
To Be:
Present Tense
Am, is, are
Past Tense
Was, were
Future Tense
Will be
Present Perfect
Has/have been
Past Perfect
Had been
To Go:
Present Tense
Go, goes
Past Tense
went
Future Tense
Will go
Present Perfect
Has/have gone
Past Perfect
Had gone
In our examples, notice that the verb “to go” is only slightly irregular, but the verb “to be” uses completely different words as it moves from tense to tense. Nevertheless, both are irregular. Of special note is the past participle: it isn’t the past tense form of the verb for most irregular verbs.
Table A: Irregular Verbs
These are eleven Irregular verbs and their standard forms:
| Present Tense |
Past Tense |
Future Tense |
Present Perfect |
Past Perfect |
| To Be |
am, is, are |
was, were |
will be |
has/have been |
had been |
| To Break |
break/breaks |
broke |
will break |
has/have broken |
had broken |
| To Come |
come/comes |
came |
will come |
has/have come |
had come |
| To Do |
Do/does |
Did |
Will do |
Has/have done |
Had done |
| T o Drive |
Drive/drives |
Drove |
Will drive |
Has/have driven |
Had driven |
| To Eat |
Eat/eats |
Ate |
Will eat |
Has/have eaten |
Had eaten |
| To Go |
Go/goes |
Went |
Will go |
Has/have gone |
Had gone |
| To have |
Have/has |
Had |
Will have |
Has/have had |
Had had |
| To see |
See/sees |
Saw |
Will see |
Has/have seen |
Had seen |
| To take |
Take/takes |
Took |
Will take |
Has/have taken |
Had taken |
| To write |
Write/writes |
Wrote |
Will write |
Has/have written |
Had written |
Attribution
“Irregular Verbs.” Writing for College: Introduction to College Writing with Grammar Skills. Written by: Cheryl McCormick, Sue Hank, and Ninna Roth. Located at: https://pb.openlcc.net/writingforcollege/chapter/irregular-verbs/ License: CC0
Verb Mood
Tense Formation
|
Past Tenses
(Before Now) |
Present Tenses
(Now) |
Future Tenses
(After Now) |
| Simple
Moods |
Simple Past Tense
- (ed)
Regular (verb + or D)
verbs
I walked.
He cared.
- Irregular Verbs
They left.
We ate. |
Simple Present Tense
(VERB)
or
(VERB+S)
He walks.
They leave. |
Simple Future Tense
Will + (VERB)
You will walk.
She will leave. |
| Progressive
Moods |
Progressive Past Tense
WAS or WERE + (VERB+ING)
She was walking.
They were leaving. |
Progressive Present Tense
AM or IS or ARE + (VERB + ING)
I am walking.
He is leaving.
You are eating. |
Progressive Future Tense
WILL + BE + (VERB+ING)
We will be walking.
You will be leaving. |
| Perfect Moods |
Past Perfect Tense
A. Regular
HAD+(VERB+ed)
We had walked.
They had cared.
B. Irregular
HAD + past participle
He had left.
You had eaten. |
Present Perfect Tense
A. HAVE + VERB+ed
You have walked.
She has cared.
B. HAVE+past participle
We have left.
He has eaten. |
Future Perfect Tense
A. Regular
WILL+HAVE+VERB+ or D) verbs
He will have walked.
I will have cared.
B. Irregular verbs
WILL+HAVE+past participle
We will have left.
You will have eaten. |