Transcript Slide 1

Subject/Verb Agreement
The keys points from Chapter 8 in
Grassroots
Subjects and verbs must agree
This means that you
must use a different
form of the verb
depending upon
whether your subject
is singular or plural
For example:
My friend goes to
school.
My friends go to school.
Please NOTE
When your subject ends
in S (or is plural), your
verb does not have
an S. and when your
subject does not end
in S, the verb usually
has an S.
My friends
dance.
Maria
dances.
Don’t Worry!
You already know how
to do this. You
naturally use the right
verbs when you
speak. There are
only a few tricky
situations that you
need to be aware of
when you write.
Sometimes it is not obvious what
the subject is.
Sentences that
begin with THERE,
WHERE, HERE
can be tricky. The
subject in these
sentences follow
the verb.
There are two people sitting
on the bench.
PEOPLE=subject
ARE=verb
Prepositional phrases can be
confusing.
Remember that a subject will
NEVER be in a prepositional
phrase.
The paints stains on the
carpet are my fault.
The subject is stains (not
carpet).
The team of experts is working
on the problem.
The subject is TEAM (not
experts)
Some words ALWAYS need verbs
with an S.
When using EITHER,
NEITHER, EACH, or
EVERYONE as
subjects, the present
tense verb always
needs an S.
Either of them has the
necessary skills.
Neither Bob nor Jose is
able to pick me up.
Everyone in the room
needs a ticket.
Each of the visitors
reports to the front office.