Subject-Verb Agreement with practice slides.pptx

Slides on SVA

1. FUNTIONAL ENGLISH Muhammad Wasif Khan

2. Subject verb agreement Subject-verb agreement (SVA) means that a subject and its verb must be both singular or both plural. A singular subject takes a singular verb. A plural subject takes a plural verb . For example: I are happy . (= the subject and verb do not agree) I am happy. (= the subject and the verb agree)

3. Singular or plural A  singular  noun is just   one  thing. It is a single thing. Here are singular nouns in the third person: A dog ( is  ...) A candle ( burns  ...) The boy  ( has ...) The world  ( turns ...) A  plural  noun is more than one thing. These plural subjects are the same as "They". Dogs ( are ...) Two candles ( burn ...) The boys ( have ...) People ( live ...)

4. Cont. Uncountable  nouns also use the same verbs as singular nouns. For example: Love ( is ...) Juice ( tastes ...) The water in the lake ( feels ...)

5. Cont.

6. Advanced Rules with Subject Verb Agreement 1. The closest word to the verb is  not  always the subject. The leader of the students  has  long hair. The bird in the trees  was  beautiful . 2. An inverted sentence. It is when the subject comes after the verb. There is a problem . (verb = is , singular subject = a problem) Here are your glasses . (verb = are, plural subject = your glasses )

7. Cont. 3. Everyone/Someone/Anyone/No one/etc. are singular subjects. Everyone is hungry. Somebody lives here . 4. Phrases in parentheses () or between commas are not part of the subject. The man, in addition to his daughter, lives here.  (subject = the man) The man (in addition to his daughter) lives here . (subject = the man)

8. The house, which has several windows, is in the countryside.

9. Practice My teachers ______ (BE) funny. He ______ (LIKE) to tell jokes. I think his jokes ______ (BE) funny, and my friends ______ (AGREE).  Most of the students in my class ______ (BE) boys. There ______ (BE) not many girls in my school who ______ (BE) my age. It ______ (BE) weird. My friend ______ (HAVE) a girlfriend. My parents always ______ (ASK) me if I have a girlfriend, by my answer ______ (BE) always “No .”

10. Thank you !