Subject-Verb Concord

English is a very important subject when it comes to not only the curriculum but also as a basic skill. It is essential for people to understand and realize that in order to become a good communicator, fluency is a very important factor. Not only fluency but also the kinds of words that one uses, the way in which one conducts their tone are some of the most important things that contribute to making someone a very good speaker of English. Another key factor that is observed and is used to judge someone's speaking skills is their grammar. If someone has the correct idea of how to use the correct grammar in their sentences, then their speaking will have a much better impact than someone who does not have this. Therefore basic grammatical skills and basic knowledge of grammar is something that is needed among every single person trying to speak well. Vedantu proudly presents this article on Subject-Verb Concord. A well-written and very detailed article that not only breaks down every single thing that the topic deals with but also adds on more subject knowledge that is to be studied.

What Does Subject-Verb Agreement Means?

Subject-Verb Agreement means that subjects and verbs must always agree with each other. The verb changes its form to indicate the tense but it also changes its form to indicate the number of subjects in a sentence.

For example, let’s take the verb “eat.” In the present tense, the verb “eat” changes form to show that its subject is singular when its subject is anything but “I” or “you.”

Subject: Singular and Plural

• Did you identify the third person singular verb, ‘s’ is added to the verb form? All the present tense verbs have an ‘s’ added after the verb when they are used in the third person singular forms. For more read Present tense by Vedantu.

• Think for a moment about the verbs, run, eat, walk, cry, study, and work. Now, provide these verbs with the subject “I.” I think; I run; I eat; the pronoun “I” is the only word that can be a first-person subject; likewise, the word “you” is the only word that can be a subject for the second form of the verb. The present tense verb for ‘you’ is the same as for “I.” You think; you run; you eat.

• When we change the subject to ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘the boy’ we must add an “s.” to each verb. The boy walks; he runs; the cat eats; etc. 

Rules for Subject-Verb Concord

1. Two or more subjects that are joined by “and” are considered plural and require a verb form without an “s.”

• Kriti, Bobby, and Bob walk to the shopping mall. 

•  Kriti and her brothers walk to the shopping mall.

2. If a subject is changed by the words “each” or “every” that very subject is singular and will take a verb form that ends in “s.”

• Each boy and girl walks to the shopping mall.

3. When the plural subjects are joined by “or”, “nor,” or “but”, the verb must agree to the subject closest to it.

• Either She or her friends will attend the event.

• Neither Ram nor his brother walk to the shopping mall.

• Not Ram but his brother walks to the shopping mall.

4. Indefinite pronouns* are generally singular and use a verb form that ends in “s.” 

• Everyone sings with the singer.

• Every tree dances with the wind.

5. The subject of a verb should never be in a prepositional or verbal phrase. Therefore care must be taken in isolating the phrase and then finding the proper subject.

• The mother cow(along with her five calves) walks on the road.

6. Few indefinite pronouns and nouns will be singular or plural but it depends on the object of the prepositional phrase. These words are all about the number or some amount such as all, half, some, none, most, part, etc.

• Some of the families are coming.

• Some of the food is over.

7. When a collective noun, such as family, group, committee, or class, is used as the subject, the verb will end in ‘s’.

• My family walks after dinner. 

• The committee decides to take a stand.

8. A few nouns, such as Maths, measles, or news end in “s” but are considered singular. We can see that these words which although ends with ‘s’ are singular because if we take the “s” away, we don’t have a noun. 

• Math is her favourite subject in class.

• They watch the news. 

9. When a subject is a unit of measurement of time, distance, money, weight, etc, the unit is considered as singular, and the verb will end in “s.”

• India imports hundreds of kilos of plastic or plastic articles. 

• Thirteen feet of rope bears the weight easily.

10. The question or in a sentence that begins with there or here, the verb will often come before the subject.

• Where is my uniform?

• These are my uniforms.

Exercise- 

1. Your love over the years and your support (has/have) given us confidence.

2. The bowling alley on the north campus, (offers/offers) a wide variety of entertainment services.

3. The main source of income for Iran (is/are) oil and pitch. 

4. The chances of your being hired (is/are) excellent. 

5. There (was/were) a dead cockroach stuck to the refrigerator. 

6. Neither the professor nor his assistants (was/were) able to solve the puzzle I have.

7. Spending many hours at the driving range (has/have) led to the design of golf balls with GPS trackers in them. 

8. Every year, due to the festival, the smoke of the village bonfires (fills/fills) the sky. 

9. The story performers (was/were) surrounded by children and adults eager to see magical tales.

Conclusion

This article has been written with a lot of detail and a lot of attention to all the minute things that are essential in understanding the topic of Subject-Verb Concord. Vedantu hopes that the article is very useful and helps in making this topic easier for you. By referring to this article, you will be able to solve multiple questions based on the topic in your exams. Subject- Verb Concord, as mentioned before, is a very important topic that teaches you to frame some really basic sentences. If the basics are not clear then there is a strong possibility of you facing doubts in your sentence formation skills and communication skills in general. To avoid problems like these, solve as many sample questions from the topic to diversify your knowledge. 

We hope that this detailed explanation on the topic of Subject-Verb Concord helps you in getting clarity and that it makes you a better learner!