Subject-verb agreement is one of the fundamental rules of the English language, and it can be a particularly tricky area for many writers. Essentially, subject-verb agreement refers to the need for the subject and the verb in a sentence to agree in terms of number. In other words, if the subject is singular, the verb must be singular as well, and if the subject is plural, the verb must be plural too.
For example, consider the following sentence: “The dog chases the ball.” In this sentence, the subject is “dog,” which is singular, and the verb is “chases,” which is also singular. If we changed the subject to “dogs,” the sentence would become “The dogs chase the ball,” with the verb changing to “chase” to match the plural subject.
This may seem like a simple concept, but there are several common pitfalls that writers can fall into when it comes to subject-verb agreement. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
1. Don`t be fooled by prepositional phrases. Sometimes, a prepositional phrase (e.g. “of the cats”) can come between the subject and the verb in a sentence, causing writers to mistakenly match the verb to the preposition rather than the subject. For example, consider the sentence “The group of cats is playing.” The subject is “group,” which is singular, so the verb should be “is” rather than “are.”
2. Watch out for collective nouns. Collective nouns, such as “team” or “family,” refer to a group of individuals but are treated as a singular unit. This means that the verb must also be singular. For example, you would say “The family is going on vacation,” not “The family are going on vacation.”
3. Singular subjects connected by “or” or “nor” take a singular verb. When two singular subjects are connected by “or” or “nor,” the verb should agree with the subject closest to it. For example, you would say “Neither the cat nor the dog likes vegetables,” not “like vegetables.”
4. Plural subjects connected by “or” or “nor” take a plural verb. When two or more plural subjects are connected by “or” or “nor,” the verb should be plural as well. For example, you would say “Either the cats or the dogs are hiding something,” not “is hiding something.”
By keeping these rules in mind, writers can ensure that their sentences are grammatically correct and easy to understand. Remember, subject-verb agreement is a key component of clear and effective communication, both in writing and in speech.