Chuyên đề Subject-verb agreement

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SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

RULES FOR SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

RULE 1 – A verb agrees with its subject in number.

Singular subjects take singular verbs:

The car stays in the garage. The flower smells good.

There is an old saying: “Opposites attract.” The rule for singular and plural verbs is just the opposite of the rule for singular and plural nouns. Remember this when you match subjects and verbs. You might guess that stays and smells are plural verbs because they end in s. They aren’t. Both stays and smells are singular verbs.

RULE 2 – The number of the subject (singular or plural) is not changed by words that come between the subject and the verb.

One of the eggs is broken. Of the eggs is a prepositional phrase. The subject one and the verb is are both singular. Mentally omit the prepositional phrase to make the subject verb-agreement easier to make.

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT EXERCISE 1

Direction: Circle the correct verb in each of the sentences below. Check your answers on the following page.

1. Your friend (talk-talks) too much.

2. The man with the roses (look-looks) like your brother.

3. The women in the pool (swim-swims) well.

4. Bill (drive-drives) a cab.

5. The football players (run-runs) five miles every day.

6. That red-haired lady in the fur hat (live-lives) across the street.

7. He (cook-cooks) dinner for his family.

8. The boys (walk-walks) to school every day.

9. The weather on the coast (appear-appears) to be good this weekend.

10. The center on the basketball team (bounce-bounces) the ball too high.

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ANSWERS TO SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT EXERCISE I

1. talks

2. looks

3. swim

4. drives

5. run

6. lives

7. cooks

8. walk

9. appears

10. bounces

IT’S YOUR TURN

Directions: Write four sentences of your own illustrating the first two subject-verb agreement rules.

RULE 1

RULE 2

RULES FOR SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

RULE 3 – Some subjects always take a singular verb even though the meaning may seem plural.

These subjects always take singular verbs:

each someone either anyone neither nobody one somebody no one anybody everyone everybody

Someone in the game was (not were) hurt. Neither of the men is (not are) working.

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RULE 4 – The following words may be singular or plural, depending upon their use in a sentence, some, any, all, most.

Most of the news is good. (singular) Most of the flowers were yellow. (plural) All of the pizza was gone. (singular) All of the children were late. (plural)

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT EXERCISE II

Directions: Circle the correct verb in the sentences below. Check your answers on the bottom of this page.

1. Each of the girls (look-looks) good on skis.

2. Everybody (was-were) asked to remain quiet.

3. Neither of the men (is-are) here yet.

4. (Is-Are) each of the girls ready to leave?

5. Several of the sheep (is-are) sick.

6. Some members of the faculty (is-are) present.

7. Nobody in the class (has-have) the answer.

8. Each of the girls (observe-observes) all the regulations.

9. All of the milk (is-are) gone.

10. Most of the seats (was-were) taken.

ANSWERS TO SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT EXERCISE II

1. looks

2. was

3. is

4. is

5. are

6. are

7. has

8. observes

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