1. Grammar for Grade 9 Episode VI Subject-Verb Agreement

2. Verb Conjugation Not just for French and Spanish! The form of a verb changes, depending on its subject: – I go to the store. – He go to the store. (There’s something wrong here!) Matching the subject and the verb is making them agree.

3. Agreement in Person and Number Person and numberSubject Pronoun (s)Sample verbs [to be/to eat/to walk] First person singularIam / eat / walk Second person singularthouart / eatest / walkst Third person singularhe, she, itis / eats / walks First person pluralweare / eat / walk Second person pluralyouare / eat / walk Third person pluraltheyare / eat / walk We rarely use the second person singular these days, but it was common a long time ago. We actually stopped because referring to one person with the plural form (you) was polite...like saying “sir,” or “ma’am.” Using the second person singular (thou) was only used between friends or family, or to people who were socially lower than the speaker. You don’t need to memorize the “thou” forms, but you should recognize them when you see them.

4. Agreement With Linking Verbs Sometimes a predicate nominative is different in number from the subject. In this situation, the linking verb always agrees in number with the subject, not the predicate noun. – The topic of the lecture was whales. The verb, was, has to agree with the subject, topic. – Fireworks are his idea of entertainment. The verb, are, agrees with the subject, fireworks.

5. Agreement With Special Subjects When a collective noun refers to a group as a whole, the verb is singular. When it refers to each member of the group separately, the verb is plural. The same is true for nouns of amount. – The team is playing well. [a group] – The team are arriving in separate cars. [each one] – Eight glasses of water is the recommended amount. [all together] – Eight glasses of water are on the table. [individually]

6. Special Subjects (con’t) Some nouns are singular, even though they end with “s”. – The news was disturbing last night. – Mumps is a common childhood illness. Each and every before a compound subject make the subject singular. – Each dog and cat is losing its license. – Every man and woman was saved. When compound subjects are joined by or or nor, the verb agrees with the subject that is closer to the verb. – Neither Mary nor her sisters are going. – Neither her sisters nor Mary is going.

7. Subject vs. Preposition Object The subject of a sentence is never part of a prepositional phrase. When checking for verb agreement, be sure you have the actual subject. – The topic of the lectures are whales. – The topic of the lectures is whales. Which of these is right? The second one. Why? When there is a prepositional phrase between the subject and verb, ignore it for agreement!

8. Common Errors Check to be sure that you are agreeing the subject and the verb of every sentence. Check for special subjects and prepositional phrases that get between subject and verb. These types of problems are often labeled “SVA” when I return your paper. This stands for subject-verb agreement. Fix it!