Subject-Verb Agreement

Front

What is Subject-Verb Agreement?

Back

Subject-Verb Agreement is the grammatical rule that the subject of a sentence must agree in number (singular or plural) with its verb.

Front

When should you use a singular verb?

Back

Use a singular verb when the subject is singular (e.g., 'The dog barks').

Front

When should you use a plural verb?

Back

Use a plural verb when the subject is plural (e.g., 'The dogs bark').

Front

What is the rule for subjects joined by 'and'?

Back

When subjects are joined by 'and', they typically take a plural verb (e.g., 'Tom and Jerry are friends').

Front

What is the rule for subjects joined by 'or' or 'nor'?

Back

When subjects are joined by 'or' or 'nor', the verb should agree with the subject closest to it (e.g., 'Neither the cat nor the dogs are outside').

Front

How does the presence of phrases affect subject-verb agreement?

Back

Phrases that come between the subject and verb do not affect the agreement (e.g., 'The bouquet of flowers smells sweet').

Front

What is a collective noun?

Back

A collective noun refers to a group of individuals or things (e.g., 'team', 'flock'). It can take either singular or plural verbs depending on context.

Front

How do you treat collective nouns when they act as a single unit?

Back

When a collective noun acts as a single unit, use a singular verb (e.g., 'The team wins the game').

Front

How do you treat collective nouns when the individuals are acting separately?

Back

When individuals in a collective noun act separately, use a plural verb (e.g., 'The team are arguing among themselves').

Front

What is an example of a subject that requires a singular verb despite being plural in form?

Back

An example is 'news', which requires a singular verb (e.g., 'The news is surprising').