Grammar Class

SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT!

TODAY’S DISCUSSION WILL COVER…

1. Mind Map
• Basic Subject Verb Agreement

2. Types of Subjects

3. Issues to Consider
• Example in each Issue
1. MIND MAP
 BASIC SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT (BASED ON
TENSES)
Present
• She/He/It + is
• I + am
• You / They / We + are
Past
• You, They, We, + were
• I / She / He / It + was
Perfect
• I / You/ They / We + have
• She / He / It + has
• All subjects / Pronoun + had
 2. TYPES OF SUBJECT
(WITH S/ES OR WITHOUT S/ES)

A. SINGULAR SUBJECT B. PLURAL SUBJECT

• Child, Man, Woman, Tooth, • Children, Men, Women, Teeth

• Everyone, Everybody,
Everything, Anyone, • Most, People, Few, The rest
Anything, Anybody, (Indefinite Subject)
(Indefinite Subject)
• They, We (I, you)
• She, He, It
• The number
• each, either, neither, no one,
nothing, what, whatever,
whoever
C. THE FOLLOWING LIST SHOWS THE COLLECTIVE SUBJECTS/NOUNS
THAT AGREE WITH SINGULAR VERBS

audience, band, chorus, class, committee, faculty,

family, group, majority, orchestra, police, public,
series, staff, team, variety, … dollars, … miles
3. ISSUES TO CONSIDER (9 ISSUES)
- STRATEGIES (9++ STRATEGIES)
A. MAKE THE VERB AGREE WITH THE SUBJECT
In this section, there will be a lot of prepositional phrases,
accompaniment phrases, and appositive phrases. The function is to
distract the defined subject. Pay attention to the example below:

In the first sentence, the subject is the door (singular), while at

the buildings is the modifier. Then the verb must follow the subject,
not the modifier. That is why, the verb in first sentence is (singular),
not are.
Moreover, in the second sentence, the word the students (plural)
is the subject, while at the school considered to be a modifier of the
subject. So the verb must be followed the subject which is are.
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B. MAKE THE VERB-SUBJECT ORDER
In this section, the noun is placed after the verb. Usually, the
sentence will start with there, here, or different sentence/clause.
Pay attention to the example below:

Pay attention to the example. In the first sentence, the verb is

plural (are), because the subject is plural (the results). Then the
second sentence, the verb is singular (is), because the subject is
singular (the result).
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Example IV – Make the Verb Subject – Order
She thought that ………….. In the corner of the street.
(a) there a hospital
(b) there were a hospital
(c) a hospital there was
(d) there was a hospital

Discussion: In the discussion above, the answer (a) is incorrect because there is no be-verb
after the word there. Answer (b) is also incorrect because the be-verb (were) is plural. Answer
(c) is incorrect because the subject (a hospital) is not located after the be-verb (was).
Therefore, the best answer is (d). At its full length, She thought that there was a hospital in the
corner of the street.
C. MAKE AN INDEFINITE SUBJECT AGREE WITH THE VERB

Indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing, or

amount. It is vague, and “not definite” (englishclub.com). The example
are: every, anybody, etc (see the 5th slide). Pay attention to the
example below:

The subject is everyone. As you can see in the 5th slide,

everyone includes as a singular subject. That is why in the first
sentence, the sentence is incorrect. Because the first sentence using
a plural verb (use).
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D. MAKE A COLLECTIVE SUBJECT/NOUN AGREE WITH THE VERB
A collective subject/noun is words that identify more than one
person, place, or thing. In a sentence with collective noun, avoid
using plural verbs with singular subject and singular verbs with
plural subjects. Pay attention to the example below:

The subject is the staff. As you can see in the 6th slide, the staff
includes as a singular subject. That is why in the first sentence, the
sentence is incorrect. Because the first sentence using a plural verb
(were doing).
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E. MAKE THE VERB AGREE AFTER THE EXPRESSION OF
FRACTION OR PORTION
If there is a noun that is preceded by an expression of fraction or
portion, such as half of, part of, all of, etc, it may be considered
either singular or plural. The use of singular or plural form of the
verb depends on the noun following of. Pay attention to the example
below:

In the first sentence, one third is followed by the plural nouns

(the bananas), that is why the verb is using are. In the second
sentence, half of is followed by the singular nouns (the apple), that
is why the verb is using is.
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F. NOUN AND PRONOUN AGREEMENT
In a writing section, the pronoun must followed the main noun /
subject. If the subject is singular, the pronoun must be singular as
well. If the subject is plural, the pronoun must be plural as well. Pay
attention to the example below:

In the example above, the sentence shows that the noun (Mr.
President) is in the singular form and the pronoun (he) is the
singular subjective pronoun.
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LET’S CONTINUE TO THE
STRATEGIES~