Subject Verb Agreement

AREN 105
Introduction to Academic Writing
Kittinata R.
Faculty of Liberal Arts
Subject- Verb agreement
In English, it is obligatory that subject
and verb have to agree with each
other in number.

If the subject is one person or thing,

then the verb is also singular.

If the subject is more than one person

or thing, the verb is plural
Subject- Verb agreement
In order to make your sentence
accurate, your subject must agree
with its verb.
Rules of subject-verb
agreement
Verbs after the Introductory
Adverbs Here and There agree with
the subjects following them.

Two or more singular subjects

connected by and take a plural
verb
Rules of subject-verb
agreement
The phrasal or clausal modifiers
do not affect the number of the
head noun.
Ex The boy, who is carrying the
books, is very intelligent.
The boy, together with his
friends, is very intelligent.
Rules of subject-verb
agreement
Including a PP within an NP, the
verb has to agree with the head
noun.

Ex The colour of her eyes changes

when she is angry.
Rules of subject-verb
agreement
For collective nouns, it can be both
singular and plural.
Ex family, group, class, government
crew, etc.
Subject- Verb agreement
Indefinite pronoun is singular.
- everyone, no one, each, anything, etc.
The word People is always plural.
The words both, many, several are
plural.
Measurement unit or amount of
money are always singular.
An infinitive or gerund is always
singular.
Rules of subject-verb
agreement
The title of a book or a song or
likewise is singular.
What to remember
Singular subject must have a
singular verb.
Plural subject must have a plural
verb.
Examine each sentence visually to
identify the subject and verb and
make sure they are both singular or
both plural.
EXERCISE
Young Golf Stars

Golf is no longer the sport of rich,

middle-aged, white men. Young
people around the world are taking
up the game, and some of them
are taking it over.
 One of the young stars is Sergio
Garcia, a fascinating young golfer
from Spain. Sergio was born in
1980 and started playing golf at the
age of three
 He became a professional golfer in
1999 at the age of nineteen. Sergio
became famous by hitting a golf
shot at a target from behind a tree
with his eyes closed.
 Two other young golf stars are Tiger
Woods and Michelle Wie. Both Tiger
and Michelle started playing golf at
very young ages, and both have
ethnic backgrounds.
 Tiger, born in Hawaii in 1975, is Thai-
African-American- Native American.
Michelle, born in Hawaii in 1989, is
Korean-American. Each of these two
young Americans has shocked the
world of golf in different ways.
 Tiger shocked everyone by
becoming the best golfer in the
world while still in his early
twenties. Michelle shocked
everyone by competing against
men and beating many of them
at the age of fourteen. It is clear
that all three of these young golfers
have great futures ahead of them.