SUBJECT -VERB AGREEMENT
SENTENCE
= SUBJECT + VERB
SUBJECT
|
SETENCE
|
I
|
I work
|
She
|
She works
|
The car in the garage
|
The care in the garage is mine
|
The man with the black jacket
|
The man with the black jacket is my
father
|
The man who is standing before the door
|
The man who is standing before the door
is my father
|
Basic Rule / Principle
Singular Subject need Singular Verb
Plural Subject need Plural Verbs
Example :
- My brother
is a nutrisionist
- My sisters are
mathematicians
RULE 1
Indifinite Pronoun ( Kata ganti tidak jelas
/tidak menentu)
Anyone
, everyone, someone, no one, no body always
singular and require Singular Verb
Example :
·
Everyone has done his or
her homework
·
Somebody has left her purse
·
Nobody is in the the room
EXCEPTION 1 : ALL & SOME
ALL & SOME are
singular or plural depending on what they are reffering to .(is the thing
reffered to countable or not.
·
Some of the books are mising
·
Some of the water is gone
EXCEPTION 2 : NONE
NONE can be singular or plural depending on the
noun that follows
·
None of the student are in the
class
·
None of the food is fress
SPESIAL CASE : EACH (always singular )
·
Each of the students is
responsible for his/her homework
·
Each of the cars has different
color
RULE 2 : TOEGTHER WITH , AS WELL AS , and ALONG WITH
Togther with , as well as ,& along with are not same as and . They don’t add or compound the
subject.
·
The mayor , as well as his
brother , is going to prison
·
The mayor and his brothers are
going to jail
·
My friends , together with Rani
are at school
ADDITIONAL EXPLANATION
Sometimes the subject is separated from the
verb by words such asa along with , as well as, besides or not. Ignore these
expression when determining whether to use a singular or plural verb
Example :
·
The politician , along with the
newsmen, is expected shortly
·
Excitement , as well as
nervousness , is the cause of her shaking
RULE 3 : SUBJECT SEPARATED FROM THE VERB
(APPOSITIVE)
Sometime modifiers will get between a subject
and its verb, but these modifiers must not confuse the agreement between the
subject and its verb.
·
The mayor , who has been
convicted along with his for brothers on four counts of various crimes but who
also seems , like a cat , to have several political lives , is finally gpoing
to jail
RULE 4 : THE PRONOUN OF ADJECTIVE CLAUSE
Sometimes the pronoun 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 the scientist whoo
writes the reports
·
He is one of the men who does
the work
RULE 5: EITHER + OR and NEITHER + NOR
Or doess 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?
·
Neither of the two traffic
lights is working
·
Either of us is capable of
doing the job
·
Which shirt do you want for
Christmas?
-
Either is fine with me
BE CAREFUL!
In informal writing , neither and either
sometimes take a plural verb when these pronouns are followed by a preposional
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?
RULE 6 : 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
RULE 7 : THIRD PARTY SINGULAR ( He , She , It ,
Personal Name )
Verbs in the present tense for third-person,
singular subjects have s-endings.Othet verbs do not add s-endings.
·
She teaches English
·
Rani teaches English
·
The cat eats fish
·
It eats fish
Have -> has
·
He has good personality
·
It has beautiful fur
REMEMBER!
Add -s/es only to present verb, not to past
or past participle verb . The past form of singular “be” is “was”
Singular Pesent
·
She is here
·
She takes the offer
Singular Past
·
She was here
·
She took the offer
RULE 8 : WORDS END IN –S
SINGULAR
|
PLURAL
|
Some words end in –s and appear to be plural but are really
singular and require singular verbs
|
Some word end in –s an appear to be plural and require plural
verbs
|
List of singular word end in –s :
·
Diseases ( measles , rabies ,
fields of study and)
·
Occupation ( economics ,
ethics , linguistics , politics , physics , gymnastics )
·
Games ( dominoes , dats ,
cards)
|
List of plural
word end is –s (ony with certain meanings)
·
Customs (at the airport , not
practices )
·
Guts (courage , not
intestines)
·
Quarters (lodgings, not 1/4s)
·
Clothes (garments, not
fabrics)
·
Goods (merchandise , not the
opposite of bad)
·
Arms ( weapons , not limb)
·
Pants
·
Jeans
·
Binoculars
·
Forceps
·
Throusers
·
Tongs
·
Shorts
·
Tweezers
·
Pajamas
·
Police
·
Glasses
·
Scissors
·
Googles
|
Example
·
The news from the front is
bad
·
Measles is a dangerous
disease for pregnant woman
·
Mathematics is my favorite
lesson
|
Example
·
My assets wew wiped out in
the depression
·
The average worker’s earnings
have gone up dramatically
·
Our thanks go to the workers
who supported the union.
·
The goods are in the
warehouse
·
The scisors are on the table
·
The pair of the the jeans
needs to be washed
|
RULE 9 : FRACTIONAL EXPRESSIONS HALF OF, A PART OF, A
PERCENTAGE OF, AND SO FORTH
Dengan kata-kata yang
menunjukkan porsi seperti part, percent, some, all dst lihat kata benda setelah
kata o nya jamak atau tunggal, jika objek tunggal maka kata kerjanya juga
tunggal begitu sebaliknya.
Example: Fifty percent
of the pie has disappeared. (Pie sebagai objek)
Fifty
percent of the pies have disappeared
One-third
of the city is unemployed
One-third
of the people are unemployed
RULE 10 : NEGATIVE
& POSITIVE SUBJECTS
Suatu kalimat yang
memiliki 2 subjek yaitu subjek positif dan negatif namun yang dipakai hanyalah
subjek positifnya saja. Dan kata kerja akan mengikuti subjeknya.
Example:
- The department members, but not the chair have decided not to teach on
valentine’s day (subjek jamak)
- It is not the faculty
members but the president who decides this
issue (subjek tunggal)
- It was the
speaker, not his ideas, that has provoked the
students to riot (subjek tunggal)
RULE 11 : SUM OF MONEY OR PERIODS
Apabila berkaiatan
dengan waktu dan uang itu selalu tunggal.
Example: Ten
dollars is a high price to pay
Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense
