Subject-Verb Agreement in English Sentences.pptx

How verbs agree with subjects in number and person.

1. Subject-Verb Agreement

2. Subject-Verb Agreement The subject and verb must match in number . Singular subject → Singular verb Plural subject → Plural verb She plays football. They play football.

3. Basic Rules 1. Singular subjects take singular verbs. The cat runs fast. 2. Plural subjects take plural verbs. The cats run fast. 3. Watch “to be” verbs: She is happy. / They are happy.

4. Subjects with AND/OR ‘And’ = plural Ali and Sara are friends. ‘Or/Nor’ = closest subject decides Either Ali or his friends are coming. Either his friends or Ali is coming.

5. Indefinite Pronouns Always singular : everyone, someone, anyone, each, every Everyone is ready. Always plural : few, many, several, both Many are waiting. Can be singular OR plural (depending on noun): all, some, none, any Some of the water is gone. Some of the people are here.

6. Special Cases Collective nouns (team, family, group): The team is winning. (as one unit) The team are wearing different shirts. (individuals) Titles (books, movies, countries) are singular: The United States is large. Harry Potter is famous.

7. Preposition Phrases in Subjects The subject, not the preposition phrases None of the students is absent. The group of boys is naughty. The students in the class are intelligent.

8. Tricky Situations Fractions & amounts: One-third of the cake is gone. One-third of the students are absent. Time, distance, money → singular Ten dollars is enough. Five hours is a long time.