SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
Sentence
: subject + verb (syarat)
Example
:
·
I work
·
She works
·
The car in the garage is mine
·
The man who is standing before the door
is my father
Basic
rule / principle
:
singular subjects need singular verbs,
plural subjects need plural verbs
Example
:
my brother is a nutritionist, my sisters are mathematicians
Tips
and trick
:
the trick is in knowing whether the subject is
singular or plural. The next trick is recognizing a singular or plural verb
1.
RULE
1 : INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
The indefinite pronouns anyone, everyone, someone,
no one, nobody are always singular and therefore, require singular verbs
·
Everyone has done his or her homework
·
Somebody has left her purse
·
Nobody is in the room
Exceptions
1 :
all and some
Some indefinite
pronouns such as all, some are singular or plural depending on what they are
referring to. (is the thing referred to countable or not ?) be careful when
choosing a verb to accompany such pronouns
·
Some of the books are missing
·
Some of the water is gone
Exception
2 :none
None can be singular or
plural depending on the noun that follows.
·
None of the students are in the class
·
None of the food is fresh
Special
case : Each
Each is always
singular. Don’t be confused/distracted with the plural nouns following it.
·
Each of the students is responsible for
his/her homework
·
Each of the cars has different color
2.
RULE
2 : TOGETHER WITH, AS WELL AS, AND ALONG WITH
Phrases such as together with, as well as, and along
with are not the same as and. They don’t add or compound the subject.
·
The mayor, as well as his brothers, is
going to prison
·
The mayor and his brothers are going to
jail
·
My friends, together with rani, are at
school
Additional
explanation
Sometime the subject is
separated from the verb by words such as along with, as well as, besides, or
not. Ignore these expression when determining whether to use a singular or
plural verb
Examples
:
·
The politician, along with the newsmen,
is expected shortly
·
Excitement, as well as nervousness, is
the cause of her shaking
3.
RULE
3 : SUBJECT SEPARATED FROM THE VERB / APPOSITIVE
Sometimes modifiers will get between a subject and
its verb, but these modifiers must not confuse the agreement between the
subject and its verb.
Example
:
The mayor, who has been convicted along with his
four brothers on four counts of various crimes but who also seem, like a cat,
to have several political lives, is finally going to jail.
4.
RULE
4 : THE PRONOUNS OF ADJECTIVE CLAUSE
Sometimes the pronouns who, that, or which is the
subject of a verb in the middle of the sentence. The pronouns who, that, and
which become singular or plural according to the noun directly in front of
them. So, if that noun is singular, use a singular verb. If it is plural use a
plural verb.
·
Salma is scientist who writes the
reports.
The word in front of who is
scientist, which is singular. Therefore, use the singular verbs writes.
·
He is one of the men who does the work.
The word in front of who is men,
which is plural. Therefore, use the plural verb do.
5.
RULE
5 : EITHER + OR AND NEITHER + NOR
Or does not conjoin (as and does) : when nor or or
is used the subject closer to the verb determines the number of the verb.
Whether the subject comes before or after the verb doesn’t matter :
·
Either my father or my brothers are
going to sell the house
·
Neither my brothers nor my father is
going to sell the house
·
Are either my brothers or my father
responsible ?
·
Is either my father or my brothers
responsible ?
Pronouns
: Either and Neither
The pronouns Either and
Neither are singular and require singular verbs eventhought they seem to be
referring, in a sense, to two things.
·
Neither of the two traffic lights is
working.
Ether
of us is capable of doing the job
·
Which shirt do you want for Christmas ?
Jawab
:eiher is fine with me
BE
CAREFUL !
In informal writing, neither and either sometimes
take a plural verb when these pronouns are followed by a prepositional phrase
beginning with of. This is particularly true of interrogative constructions :
“Have either of you two clowns read the assignment
?”
“Are either of you taking this seriously ?”
6.
RULE
6 : PSEUDO SUBJECT THERE AND HERE
The words There and Here are never subjects. The
real subjects come after the verbs.
·
There are two reasons [plural subject]
for this
·
There is no reason for this
·
Here are two apples
·
Here is the key
7.
RULE
7 : THIRD PARTY SINGULAR HE, SHE, IT, PERSONAL NAME
Verbs in the present tense for third-person,
singular subjects (He, she, it and anything those words can stand for : Rani,
the cat, the table) have s-ending. Other verbs do not add s-ending.
·
She teaches english
·
Rani teaches English
·
The cat eats fish
·
It eats fish
REMEMBER
!
Add –s / es only to
present verbs, notto past or past participle verbs. The past form of singular
“be” is “was”
Singular Present : she
is here
Singular past : she was
here
8.
RULE
8 : WORD END IN –S
Singular
some words end in –s and appear to be plural but are
really singular and require singular verbs.
·
The news from the front is bad
·
Measles is a dangerous disease for
pregnant women
Plural
But, some words end in –s and appear to be plural
and require plural verbs.
·
My assets were wipedout in the
depression
·
The average worker’s earnings have gone
up dramatically
·
Out thanks go to the workers who
supported the union
List
of singular words end in –s
·
Diseases : measles, rabies
·
Fields of study and occupation :
economics, ethics, linguistics, politics, physics, gymnastics
·
Games : dominoes, darts, cards
Example
:
mathematics is my favorite lesson
List
of plural words end in –s (only with certain meanings)
·
Customs (at the airport, not practices)
·
Guts (courage, not intestines)
·
Quarters (lodgings, not ¼ s)
·
Clothes (garments, not fabrics)
·
Goods (merchandise, not the opposite of
bad)
·
Arms (weapons, not limb)
Example
:
the goods are in the warehouse
Nouns
that are always plural :
Pants tweezers
Clothes pajamas
Binoculars police
Jeans shorts
Forceps glasses
Trousers scissors
Tongs goggles
Shorts tweezers
Example
:
The scissors are on the table, the pair of the jeans
needs to be washed
9.
RULE
9 : FRACTIONAL EXPRESSIONS HALF OF, A PART OF, A PERCENTAGE OF, AND SO FORTH
With words that indicate portions-percent, fraction,
part, majority, some, all, none, remainder, and so forth-look at the noun in
you of phrase (object of the preposition) to determine whether to use a
singular or plural verb. If the object of the preposition is singular, use a
singular verb. If the object of the preposition is plural, use a plural verb
Examples
:
Fifty percent of the pie has disappeared
Pie is the object of the preposition of
Fifty percent of the pies have disappeared
Pies is the object of the preposition
One-third of the city is unemployed
One-third of the people are unemployed
10.
RULE
10 : NEGATIVE AND POSITIVE SUBJECT
If your sentence compounds a positive and a negative
subject and one is plural, the other singular, the verb should agree with the
positive subject.
·
The department members but not the chair
have decided not to teach on valentine’s day
·
It is not the faculty members but the precident who
decides this issue
·
It was the speaker, not his ideas, that
has provoked the students to riot
11.
RULE
11 : SUM OF MONEY OR PERIODS
Use a singular verb with sums of money or periods of
time
Examples
:
Ten dollars is a high price to pay
Five years is the maximum sentence or that offense
bosses