Subject-Verb Agreement

What You Will Learn

Singular Subject

In this tutorial, you will learn the basic principles of subject/verb agreement.

Plural Subject

Subjects

Singular subjects need singular verbs.

| |

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The beach ball is round.

The beach balls are round.

Plural subjects need plural verbs.

How Do You Know?The easiest way to figure out whether a verb should be singular or plural is to identify the subject.

The subject of a sentence is who or what the sentence is about.

Singular Subject

The lighthouse is open for tours.

Who or what is the sentence about?

Is there one lighthouse, or more

|than one?|

Only one. So this is a singular subject.

The lighthouse.

Singular Subject

This one is a bit trickier:

This pile of rocks is not natural.

Is the subject singular or plural?

Don't be fooled...the subject here is "this pile" not "rocks."

CORRECT!

Progress Report

Singular Subject

Plural Subject

Plural Subject

| | Volleyball courts There is more than one court.

If the subject is plural, we need a plural verb.

The subject is plural.

Plural Subject

The canoes were securely moored.

Who or what is the sentence

about?

The canoes. There was more than

one canoe, so the subject of the

sentence is plural.

The canoe was moored.The canoes were

moored.

Progress Report

Singular Subject

Plural Subject

Enough Talk--Let's Quiz!

My brother is an avid surfer.

Do the subject and verb agree?

CORRECT

Who or what is the subject of the sentence?

Brother.

Brother is singular, so you use the singular verb--"is."

My brother an avid surfer.is

Quiz!

A group of people was walking towards the beach.

Is this correct?

What's the subject of the sentence?

A group of people was walking towards the beach.

It's " a group."

So while it wouldn't make sense to say "people was walking"

CORRECT

it does make sense to say "a group was walking.

Remember...

The subject is not always located directly next to the verb. Make sure you read the sentence and figure out who or what it is about before deciding whether to use a singular or plural verb.

To talk more about subject/verb agreement in your essay, make an appointment with a tutor in the Online Writing Community.

It's easy--just click on the "Writing Help" button in your Brandman course shell, click on "Students" and select "Tutortrac" to make an appointment.

For Additional Help

Sources

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