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    20 Rules of Subject Verb Agreement

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    Arminia Moran
    This document outlines 20 rules for subject-verb agreement in English grammar. The rules address how verbs should agree with subjects in terms of number (singular or plural forms) in different syntactic contexts such as subjects joined by coordinating conjunctions like "and", subjects preceded by quantifiers, collective nouns, and more. Mastering these rules is key to consistently producing grammatically correct sentences in English.

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    20 Rules of Subject Verb Agreement

    Uploaded by

    Arminia Moran
    80 views1 page
    This document outlines 20 rules for subject-verb agreement in English grammar. The rules address how verbs should agree with subjects in terms of number (singular or plural forms) in different syntactic contexts such as subjects joined by coordinating conjunctions like "and", subjects preceded by quantifiers, collective nouns, and more. Mastering these rules is key to consistently producing grammatically correct sentences in English.

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    This document outlines 20 rules for subject-verb agreement in English grammar. The rules address how verbs should agree with subjects in terms of number (singular or plural forms) in different syntactic contexts such as subjects joined by coordinating conjunctions like "and", subjects preceded by quantifiers, collective nouns, and more. Mastering these rules is key to consistently producing grammatically correct sentences in English.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    80 views1 page

    20 Rules of Subject Verb Agreement

    Uploaded by

    Arminia Moran
    This document outlines 20 rules for subject-verb agreement in English grammar. The rules address how verbs should agree with subjects in terms of number (singular or plural forms) in different syntactic contexts such as subjects joined by coordinating conjunctions like "and", subjects preceded by quantifiers, collective nouns, and more. Mastering these rules is key to consistently producing grammatically correct sentences in English.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 1

    20 Rules of Subject Verb Agreement

    1. Subjects and verbs must agree in number. This All of the chicken is gone. All of
    is the cornerstone rule that forms the background the chickens are gone.
    of the concept.
    11. The singular verb form is usually used for
    The dog growls when he is angry. The dogs units of measurement or time.
    growl when they are angry.
    Four quarts of oil was required to get the car
    2. Dont get confused by the words that come running.
    between the subject and verb; they do not affect
    agreement. 12. If the subjects are both plural and are
    connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor,
    The dog, who is chewing on my either/or, and not only/but also, the verb is plural.
    jeans, is usually very good.
    Dogs and cats are both available at the pound.
    3. Prepositional phrases between the subject and
    verb usually do not affect agreement. 13. If one subject is singular and one plural and
    the words are connected by the words or, nor,
    The colors of the rainbow are beautiful. neither/nor, either/or, and not only/but also, you
    use the verb form of the subject that is nearest
    4. When sentences start with there or here, the verb.
    the subject will always be placed after the verb,
    so care needs to be taken to identify it correctly. Either the bears or the lion has escaped from
    the zoo. Neither the lion nor the bears
    There is a problem with the balance sheet. have escaped from the zoo.
    Here are the papers you requested.
    14. Indefinite pronouns typically take singular
    5. Subjects don't always come before verbs in verbs. *
    questions. Make sure you accurately identify the
    subject before deciding on the proper verb form Everybody wants to be loved.
    to use.
    15. * Except for the pronouns (few, many, several,
    Does Lefty usually eat grass? both, all, some) that always take the plural form.
    Where are the pieces of this puzzle.
    Few were left alive after the flood.
    6. If two subjects are joined by and, they typically
    require a plural verb form. 16. If two infinitives are separated by and they
    take the plural form of the verb.
    The cow and the pig are jumping over the
    moon. To walk and to chew gum require great skill.

    7. The verb is singular if the two subjects 17. When gerunds are used as the subject of a
    separated by and refer to the same person or sentence, they take the singular verb form of the
    thing. verb; but, when they are linked byand, they take
    the plural form.
    Red beans and rice is my mom's favorite dish.
    Standing in the water was a bad
    8. If one of the words each, every, or no comes idea. Swimming in the ocean and playing
    before the subject, the verb is singular. drums are my hobbies.
    No smoking or drinking is allowed. Every man 18. Collective nouns like herd, senate, class,
    and woman is required to check in. crowd, etc. usually take a singular verb form.
    9. If the subjects are both singular and are The herd is stampeding.
    connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor,
    either/or, and not only/but also the verb is 19. Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are
    singular. treated as singular and take a singular verb.

    Jessica or Christian is to blame for the The Burbs is a movie starring Tom Hanks.
    accident.
    20. Final Rule Remember, only the subject
    10. The only time when the object of the affects the verb!
    preposition factors into the decision of plural or
    singular verb forms is when noun and pronoun
    subjects like some, half, none, more, all, etc. are
    followed by a prepositional phrase. In these
    sentences, the object of the preposition
    determines the form of the verb.
    Resource: http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/sentences/20-Rules-of-subject-verb-agreement.html

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