Theory deals with subject-verb agreeement
Rule (conditions) of the most important in
English is that between the subject verb must be in agreement. That is, if the
subject of his singular so verb him must also be singular. Conversely, if the subject
of his plural then its verb must be plural, too.
1. Singular subject – singular verb
Is the singular subject is the subject pronoun he, she and it, or nouns
that can be replaced with he, she or it; Whereas the definition of singular
verbs are verb1 es/s is/was, as well as the verb phrase such as: is/was
verb-ing/verb3, verb3, has verb-ing has been and has been verb3.
Pattern of singular
subject-singular verb is presented in the following table :
Singular subject
|
Singular verb
|
Tenses
|
|
1
|
He/She/it
|
verb1 + es/s
|
|
2
|
He/She/it
|
is + verb-ing
|
|
3
|
He/She/it
|
was + verb-ing
|
|
4
|
He/She/it
|
has + verb3
|
|
5
|
He/She/it
|
has + been +
verb-ing
|
|
6
|
He/She/it
|
is going to +
verb1
|
|
7
|
He/She/It
|
is going to + be
verb-ing
|
|
8
|
He/She/it
|
was going to +
verb1
|
|
9
|
He/She/It
|
was going to + be
verb-ing
|
If the sentence does not use verb, we used to
be :
Singular subject
|
Singular verb
|
Tenses
|
|
10
|
He/She/it
|
Is
|
simple present
|
11
|
He/She/it
|
is + being
|
present
continuous
|
12
|
He/She/it
|
Was
|
simple past
|
13
|
He/She/it
|
was + being
|
past continuous
|
14
|
He/She/It
|
has been
|
present perfect
|
10
|
He/She/it
|
has + been +
being
|
present perfect
continuous
|
16
|
He/She/it
|
is going to + be
|
simple future
|
17
|
He/She/it
|
is going to + be
being
|
future continuous
|
18
|
He/She/it
|
was going to + be
|
past future
|
19
|
He/She/it
|
was going to + be
being
|
past future
continuous
|
2. Plural subject – plural verb
Is a plural subject is the subject pronouns such as I, we, you, they, and
all plural nouns. Whereas the definition of plural verbs are verbs and verb
phrase in addition to singular feminine verbs above.
Patterns of plural verb subject-plural presented in the following table :
Plural subject
|
Plural verb
|
Tense
|
|
1
|
I/we/you/they
|
verb1
|
simple present
|
2
|
I/we/you/they
|
am/are + verb-ing
|
present
continuous
|
3
|
I/we/you/they
|
was/were +
verb-ing
|
past continuous
|
4
|
I/we/you/they
|
have+ verb3
|
present perfect
|
5
|
I/we/you/they
|
have + been +
verb-ing
|
present perfect
continuous
|
6
|
I/we/you/they
|
am/are going to +
verb1
|
simple future
|
7
|
I/we/you/they
|
am/are going to +
be verb-ing
|
future continuous
|
8
|
I/we/you/they
|
was/were going to
+ verb1
|
past future
|
9
|
I/we/you/they
|
was/were going to
+ be verb-ing
|
past future
continuous
|
If the sentence does not use verb, we used to
be :
Plural subject
|
Plural verb
|
Tense
|
|
10
|
I/we/you/they
|
am/are
|
simple present
|
11
|
I/we/you/they
|
am/are + being
|
present
continuous
|
12
|
I/we/you/they
|
was/were
|
simple past
|
13
|
I/we/you/they
|
was/were + being
|
past continuous
|
14
|
I/we/you/they
|
have been
|
present perfect
|
10
|
I/we/you/they
|
have + been +
being
|
present perfect
continuous
|
16
|
I/we/you/they
|
am/are going to +
be
|
simple future
|
17
|
I/we/you/they
|
am/are going to +
be being
|
future continuous
|
18
|
I/we/you/they
|
was/were going to
+ be
|
past future
|
19
|
I/we/you/they
|
was/were going to
+ be being
|
past future
continuous
|
A. Subject –
verb agreement whent it is separated by prepositional phrase
If between the subject with the verb are separated by a prepositional
phrase (two or more words that are preceded by a preposition), phraseini has no
effect against a prepositional verb. To note is what the subject line. If the
subject of his singular verb then his should also be singular, whereas if its
subject plural verb then his should also be plural.
Singular subject + (prepositional phrase) +
singular verb
|
Plural subject + (prepositional phrase) +
plural verb
|
B. Subject – verb agreement when it is
separated together with, along with, as well as
Besides prepositional phrase above, such expressions together with, along
with, accompanied by, and as well as, nor does it affect the verb.
together with
along with
accompanied by
as well as
Ø Examples of subject-verb agreement
Singular
subject-singular verb
|
Plural
subject-plural verb
|
|
1
|
She dances
|
They dance
|
2
|
She is dancing
|
They are dancing
|
3
|
She was dancing
|
They were dancing
|
4
|
She has danced
|
They have danced
|
5
|
She has been
dancing
|
They have been
dancing
|
6
|
She is going to
dance
|
They are going to
dance
|
7
|
She is going to
be dancing
|
They are going to be
dancing
|
8
|
She was going to
dance
|
They were going
to dance
|
9
|
She was going to be
dancing
|
They were going to
be dancing
|
10
|
She is nice to
me.
|
They are nice to
me.
|
11
|
She is being nice
to me.
|
They are being
nice to me.
|
12
|
She was nice to
me.
|
They were nice to
me.
|
13
|
She was being
nice to me.
|
They were being
nice to me.
|
14
|
She has been nice
to me.
|
They have been
nice to me.
|
10
|
She has been
being nice to me.
|
They have been
being nice to me.
|
16
|
She is going to
be nice to me.
|
They are going to
be nice to me.
|
17
|
She is going to
be being nice to me.
|
They are going to
be being nice to me.
|
18
|
She was going to
be nice to me.
|
They were going
to be nice to me.
|
19
|
She was going to
be being nice to me.
|
They were going
to be being nice to me.
|
How does subject-verb agreement in simple tense is another not mentioned
above?
Form of a verb or verb phrase in the simple tense-simple tense is not
mentioned above is good when its subject nor singular plural is the same.
Example:
- The elevator worked very well yesterday.
- The elevators worked very well yesterday.
- Andi had gone before Ani arrived.
- Andi and Amir had gone before Ani arrived.
- My mother will go to Bali tomorrow.
- My mother and my father will go to Bali tomorrow.
- Jenny would have passed the test if she had studied well.
- Jenny and Julie would have passed the test if they had studied well.
In the
examples above, we see that his subject is directly followed by the verb. Next,
let's discuss subject-verb agreement when the subject separated by a
prepositional phrase or by expressions (expression).
A. Subject –
verb agreement whent it is separated by prepositional phrase
Example :
- The study of languages is very interesting. (singular subject)
- Several theories on this subject have been debated. (plural subject)
- The view of these disciplines varies from time to time. (singular subject)
- The danger of forest fires is not to be taken seriously. (singular subject)
- The effects of that crime are likely to be devastating. (plural subject)
- The fear of rape and robbery has caused many people to flee the cities. (singular subject).
- The boys in the room are studying (plural subject).
B.
Subject – verb agreement when it is separated together with, along with, as
well as
Example :
- The actress, along with her manager and some friends, is going to a party tonight.
- Mr. Julianto, accompanied by his wife and children, is arriving tonight.
- My wife as well as I is a volleyball player.
Use together with, along with,
accompanied by, and as well as, in a pattern like this only add additional
information. If expression is omitted, the core meaning of the sentence
unchanged, namely:
- The actress is going to a party tonight.
- Mr. Julianto is arriving tonight.
- My wife is a volleyball player.
Conversely, if the conjunction
‘and’ is used to replace the expressions above, then the verb him turned into a
plural.
Example :
- The actress and her manager are going to a party tonight.
- Mr. Julinto and his wife and children are arriving tonight.
- My wife and I are volleyball players.
