1. Subject-verb-agreement
Interactive grammar course

2. Subject-Verb-Agreement
Unlike Swedish where all the verbforms in the present tense are the same (e.g. jag går, han går) we have to choose different verbforms for different persons (e.g. I go, he goes) in English.

3. I go
you go
he/she/it goes
we go
they go
As you can see, it is only in the third person singular that an –s is added.

4. Third Person Singular He, she, it
Any word or phrase that can be replaced by he, she, it. E.g. Bob (=he), my grandmother (=she),my neighbour’s furry hat (=it)
other words that are considered singular in English (even though it sometimes might seem very odd) e.g. everybody, everyone

5. Was and Were Another subject-verb problem is was and were.
Was is the only verb that has more than one form in the past tense. Normally all the forms in the past tense are the same. E.g. I went, you went, he went, we went etc.
But was has different forms for different persons.

6. I was you were he/she/it was we were they were
Once upon a time the second person singular had another pronoun (thou), but to be polite people started to use a plural pronoun (you) when talking to eachother. Therefore you has the plural form were.
As you can see, the rules here are not the same as in the present tense.
The first and third person singular forms are the same, while the second person singular shares the plural form.
I was
you were
he/she/it was
we were
they were

7. To be
The word to be (the infinitive of was/were) is also a bit problematic in the present tense:
I am
you are
he/she/it is
we are
they are

8. Modal auxiliaries
This is a group of verbs that does not get a third person –s It includes the verbs can, may, must, shall, will. I can – he can I may – he may etc

9. SUMMARY
The verb to be has two different forms in the past tense: was and were. In the first and third persons singular we use was, all other forms take were.
To be is the only verb to have three different forms in the present tense. I am, you are, he is, we are, you are, they are.
Apart from may, must, shall, will, can all other verbs get an –s in the third person singular, present tense. He talks etc.

10. Exercises Start with this easy exercise Easy exercise
If you made mistakes, have another look at the explanation;
otherwise go on to the next page.
Back to
explanation
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11. Exercise 3 is a bit more difficult. Do it if you fancy a challenge
Now, try these exercises
Exercise 2
Exercise 3
Exercise 3 is a bit more difficult. Do it if you fancy a challenge