Subject Verb Agreement Happily Ever Grammar

Subjects must always agree with their verbs! Singular subjects require the singular form of verbs. Dafine seems jumpy. He rides his bike to school The Diva has a bad case of the blues. Note – each subject represents one and takes a singular verb.

To keep harmony in a sentence the subject and verb must agree! Plural subjects require plural forms of verbs. The boys work at the supermarket after school. They ride their bikes to school. The Divas have a bad case of the blues. Note – plural subjects and plural verbs.

A note to remember… ‘I’ and ‘You’ take the plural form of verbs in the present tense. I work at the supermarket after school. You ride your bike to school.

Compound Subject/Verb Agreement A compound subject is formed when two words or groups of words are connected to form one subject. How these words are connected in the subject will determine if they take a singular or plural verb.

Joined by and requires plural verb Victor and Hugo look like brothers. The puppy and kitten play together constantly. An ogre and a troll are sitting under a tree.

Joined by or or nor requires a singular verb! The werewolf or his wife wreaked havoc in the pantry. Either Ali or Bert collects tickets at the front door. Neither Reg nor Maria has the directions to the party.

Oh yeah…don’t forget about collective nouns! What is a collective noun? Words that imply more than one person but are considered singular. The team did well. The committee decides how to handle all correspondence.