SUBJECT VERB

AGREEMENT
Dini Haiti Zulfany, M.Pd

Which one is the correct sentence?

1. One of my sisters are going
on a trip to United States.
2. One of my sisters is going
on a trip to United States.

What is Subject?
Subject is the person/people/thing(s)
that do the activity.
I, you, they, we, she, he, it, my dad
and my mom, Linda, Sussi, Linda and
Sussi, the bank, the flight schedule,
etc.

What is VERB?
Verb is a word used to describe an
action, state, or occurrence, and
forming the main part of the predicate
of a sentence.

Kinds of VERB
ACTION VERBS
LINKING VERBS
HELPING VERBS

ACTION VERB
Also known as MAIN VERB.
Action verbs are words that express
action (give, eat, walk, etc.) or
possession (have, own, etc.).
Action verbs can be either transitive
(with object) or intransitive (without
object).
Example:
1. Laurissa raises her hand. (kkt)
2. Abdus gave Becky the pencil. (kkt)
3. Laurissa rises slowly from her seat. (kki)
4. He was pontificating about art and history. (kki)

LINKING VERBS
A linking verb connects the
subject of a sentence to a noun or
adjective that renames or
describes the subject.
To Be: is, am, are,
was, were
Example:
Lisa is in love with Jason.
We were there!
I am happy

Verb:
seem,
appear,
become, grow, remain,
get, prove, turn, look,
sound, smell, taste, feel.
Example:
She looks pale.
I feel happy
That sounds great!
Your cook smells good.

HELPING VERBS
Helping verbs are used before
action or linking verbs to
convey additional information
regarding aspects of possibility
(can, could, etc.) or time (was,
did, has, etc.)

MODALS always
function as Helping
Verbs.
MODALS: can, could,
may, might, shall, will,
ought to, should, would.

Examples:
1. Tejo is (helping verb) going (main verb) to
Florida.
2. The trip might (helping verb) be (main verb)
dangerous.
3. Tanya could learn to fly helicopters. (Could
helps the main verb, learn.)
4. Janine will drive to Idaho tomorrow. (Will helps

MAIN RULE OF
Subject Verb Agreement

Only the
subject
affects the
verb!

RULE 1
Subjects and verbs must agree in
number. This is the cornerstone
rule that forms the background of
the concept.
Examples:
The dog growls when it is angry.
The dogs growl when they are
angry.

RULE 2
Dont get confused by the words
that come between the subject
and verb; they
do not affect agreement.
Examples:
The dog, who is chewing on my jeans, is
usually very good.

RULE 3
Prepositional phrases between the
subject and verb usually do not
affect
agreement.
Examples:
The colors of the rainbow are beautiful.

RULE 4
When sentences start with there
or here, the subject will always
be placed
after the verb, so care needs to be
taken to identify it correctly.

Examples:
There is a problem with the balance
sheet. Here are the papers you
requested.

RULE 5
If two subjects are joined by and,
they typically require a plural verb
form.
Examples:
The cow and the pig are jumping
over the moon.

RULE 6
The verb is singular if the two
subjects separated by and refer to
the same
person or thing.
Examples:
Red beans and rice is my mom's
favorite dish.

RULE 7
If one of the words each, every, or
no comes before the subject, the
verb is
singular.
Examples:
No smoking or drinking is allowed.
Every man and woman is required
to check in.

RULE 8
If the subjects are both singular
and are connected by the words
or, nor,
neither/nor, either/or, and not
only/but also the verb is singular.
Examples:
Jessica or Christian is to blame for
the accident.

RULE 9
The only time when the object of the
preposition decides plural or singular verb
forms is when noun and pronoun subjects like
some, half, none, more, all, etc. are
followed by a prepositional phrase. In these
sentences, the object of the preposition
determines the form of the verb.

Examples:
All of the chicken is gone.
All of the chickens are gone.

RULE 10
The singular verb form is usually
used for units of measurement or
time.
Examples:
Four quarts of oil was required to get
the car running.

RULE 11
If the subjects are both plural and
are connected by the words or, nor,
neither/nor, either/or, and not
only/but also, the verb is plural.
Examples:
Dogs and cats are both available at
the pound.

RULE 12
If one subject is singular and one plural
and the words are connected by the
words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and
not only/but also, you use the verb form
of the subject that is nearest the verb.
Examples:
1. Either the bears or
from the zoo.
2. Neither the lion
escaped from the

the lion has escaped

nor the bears have
zoo.

RULE 13
Indefinite pronouns (everything,
anything, everyone, someone,
somebody, nothing, etc) typically
take singular verbs.
Examples:
Everybody wants to be loved.
Everything is gonna be alright.

RULE 14
Except for the pronouns (few,
many, several, both, all, some)
that always take the plural form.
Examples:
Few were left alive after the flood.
Several students understand the
material.

RULE 15
If two infinitives are separated by
and they take the plural form of
the verb.
Examples:
To walk and to chew gum require
great skill.

RULE 16
When gerunds are used as the
subject of a sentence, they take
the singular verb
form of the verb; but, when they
are linked by and, they take the
plural form. Examples:

1. Standing in the water was a bad

idea.
2. Swimming in the ocean and
playing drums are my hobbies.

RULE 17
Collective nouns like family,
committee, herd, senate, class,
crowd, etc. usually take a singular
verb form.
Examples:
1. The herd is stampeding.
2. Cooper family always attends
the annual party.

RULE 18
Titles of books, movies, novels,
etc. are treated as singular and
take a singular
verb.

Examples:
1. The Burbs is a movie starring
Tom Hanks.
2. Harry Potter has reached Top 3
Best Seller books.