In English, subject-verb agreement means that when making a sentence, the subject and verb must “agree” (be the same).
You can read more about it here:
Here is a short story + exercises to demonstrate this important principle:
A singular subject requires a singular verb.
Examples:
- He grills the steaks for dinner.
- The cat drinks the milk.
- It makes a sound.
- The girl tastes the soup.
- She is funny.
Remember, these words and phrases are also singular and require a singular verb: each, each one, either, neither, anybody, anyone, everybody, nobody, someone, somebody, no one.
Examples:
- Each person needs to bring a check for $35.
- Nobody deserves the prize.
- Neither Mom nor Dad knows the answer to my question.
Collective nouns also take a singular verb. Some examples include family, group, and team, herd, and flock.
Examples:
- Our family likes traveling to new places.
- The flock of birds rests in the trees across from my house.
- Did your group decide on a name?
A plural subject requires a plural verb.
Examples:
- They grill the steaks for dinner.
- The cats drink the milk
- They make a sound.
- The girls taste the soup.
- They are funny.
Practice:
Part A: Identify the subject/verb pair as singular or plural.
Part B: Write the correct form of the verb in parentheses
Part C: Read this story. Identify and correct the subject-verb agreement errors.
