SUBJECT & VERB AGREEMENT
In our lesson
today, we are going to tell explain SUBJECT AND VERB AGREEMENT. We always focus
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Our
focus will be to answer all these queries and much more in this lesson.
1. First of all know what is SUBJECT?
Answer: See
the image above, A subject is something or somebody about which or whome,
something is told in a sentence.
For example: if we say the cow gives five liters
milk every day, here we are talking
about THE COW and it is the subject of this sentence. If we say Neha is a
lovely girl, Neha is the subject. If we say Tiger is an endangered animal.
TIGER is the subject. I guess the concept of subject is now clear to all of
you.
2. What is a verb?
Answer: See the image above, the verb is the chief word in the
sentence, there may be a sentence without noun or pronoun or adjective or
adverb or preposition or conjunction or interjection, but there can’t be any
sentence without at least one VERB. Verb is the nucleus of any sentence. Such
as a cell cannot be alive without a nucleus, a group of words is not a sentence
without a verb. Every sentence deals with at least one action and the verb is
the display of that action. For better understanding see the above image once
again.
3. What is SUBJECT & VERB AGREEMENT?
Image subject & verb agreement
Answer: A verb must agree to its subject in number and person. A verb
and a subject are something that must function in harmony as per the rules of
SUBJECT AND VERB AGREEMENT.
Subject and verb agreement is a set of rules that the
grammar of English language orders us to follow.
SUBJECT AND VERB AGREEMENT
Rule
1.
Often by what is called the ERROR OF
PROXIMITY, the verb is made to agree in number with a noun near it instead of its
actual subject. This must be avoided.
The quality of these apples is not good.
The debut of Amir Khan and Juhi Chawla was a
great hit.
The knowledge of English grammar rule is
most needful for your career.
The result of evil deeds is always evil.
Rule 2.
Two
or more singular nouns or pronouns joined by AND take a plural verb.
 |
| Rita and Sita are best friends. |
Copper
and iron are being used from primitive age.
Fire
and water do not agree.
Are
your brother and sister in the room?
He
and I are playing.
But
if the nouns suggest one idea to the mind, or refer to the same person or thing,
the verb is singular; as
 |
| The horse and the chariot is at door. |
Time and tide waits for none.
The horse and the chariot is at the door.
Bread and butter is his only food.
Dal and roti is the food of common people of
India.
Honour and glory is the reward of valiance.
The rise and fall of the tide is due to
lunar influence.
My friend and benefactor has come.
To borrow money and not returning it is
unfair.
The novelist and orator is dead.
Rule 3:
Words
joined to a singular subject by WITH, AS WELL AS etc. are parenthetical. The
verb should agree to the singular subject;
 |
| Mrs. Ragini along with her children is going to the park |
The
house with its contents was kept in auction.
The
mayor, with the councilors is present in the meeting.
The
prime minister along with his cabinet minister visits Rajghat every second
October.
The
ship, with its crew, was lost.
English
as well as Hindi is taught here.
Justice,
as well as mercy allows it.
Mrs.
Ragini, along with her children is coming today.
Rule 4:
Two
or more singular subjects connected by OR or NOR require a singular verb.
 |
| Neither stick nor stone was effective to cease the frog from singing. |
No nook or corner was left unexplored.
Our happiness or our sorrow is chiefly due
to our own actions.
Either Tom or Jerry has eaten the cake.
Neither food nor water was available there.
Neither stick nor stone was effective to
cease the frog from singing.
But when at least one subject joined by OR
or NOR is plural, then the verb becomes plural.
Neither the President nor the office bearers
were present on that day.
Neither the moon nor the stars are being
seen, due to clouds.
Rule 5:
When
the subjects joined by OR or NOR are of different persons, the verb agrees with
the nearer.
Either I or Rahul is to attend the party.
Either Rahul or I am to attend the party.
Rule 6:
EITHER,
NEITHER, EACH, EVERYONE, MANY A, must be followed by a singular verb
He asked me whether either of the plans was
good.
Neither of these two boys is capable to
answer it.
Each of these flowers is in this garden.
Every one of the boys loves bike riding.
Many a man has done so.
Rule 7:
Two
nouns qualified by EACH or EVERY, even though connected by AND, require a
singular verb.
Every man and every woman was informed about
it.
Each bird and each squirrel living in the
tree was homeless after the storm uprooted it.
Rule 8:
Some
nouns which are plural in form, but singular in meaning, take a singular verb.
The news is not true.
Mathematics is a game played according to
certain simple rules.
Rule 9:
A collective noun takes a singular verb when
the collection is thought as one whole; plural verb when the individuals of
which are thought as separate from each other.
The committee
are discussing every point of the whole matter.
The committee is going to submit their
report today.
Rule 10:
When
a plural noun is a proper name for some single or some collective unit, it must
be followed by a singular verb.
 |
| Three Idiots is a funny movie. |
The Arabian Nights is still a great favourite.
Three Idiots is a funny movie.
Rule 11:
When
a plural noun denotes some specific quantity or amount considered as a whole,
the verb is generally singular.
Twenty minutes enough for this work.
Eight kilometers is a long distance.
Eighty rupees is too much for this pen.
Rule 12:
When
there is a fraction of a whole as the subject of a sentence, it takes a
singular verb.
Half of the work was done.
One third of the construction is complete.
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