Subject Verb Agreement - Exercise

Exercise : Subject and Verb Agreement Exercise
Choose the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject.


1. Annie and her brothers (is, are) at school.
Annie and her brothers are at school .

2. Either my mother or my father (is, are) coming to the meeting.
Either my mother or my father is coming to the meeting.

3. The dog or the cats (is, are) outside.
The dog or the cats are outside.

4. Either my shoes or your coat (is, are) always on the floor.
Either my shoes or your coat is always on the floor.

5. George and Tamara (doesn't, don't) want to see that movie.
George and Tamara don’t want to see that movie.

6. Benito (doesn't, don't) know the answer.
Benito doesn’t know the answer.

7. One of my sisters (is, are) going on a trip to France.
One of my sisters is going on a trip to France.

8. The man with all the birds (live, lives) on my street.
The man with all the birds lives on my street.

9. The movie, including all the previews, (take, takes) about two hours to watch.
The movie, including all the previews, takes about two hours to watch.

10. The players, as well as the captain, (want, wants) to win.
The players, as well as the captain want to win.

11. Either answer (is, are) acceptable.
Either answer is acceptable.

12. Every one of those books (is, are) fiction.
Every one of those books is finction.

13. Nobody (know, knows) the trouble I've seen.
Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen.

14. (Is, Are) the news on at five or six?
Is the news on at five or six ?

15. Mathematics (is, are) John's favorite subject, while Civics (is, are) Andrea's favorite subject.
Mathematics is John’s favorite subject, while Civics is Andrea’s favorite subject.

16. Eight dollars (is, are) the price of a movie these days.
Eight dollars is the price of a movie these days.

17. (Is, Are) the tweezers in this drawer?
Are the tweezers in this drawer ?

18. Your pants (is, are) at the cleaner's.
Your pants are at the cleaner’s.

19. There (was, were) fifteen candies in that bag. Now there (is, are) only one left!
There were fifteen candies in that bag. Now there is only one left!

20. The committee (debates, debate) these questions carefully.
The committee debates these questions carefully.

21. The committee (leads, lead) very different lives in private.
The committee leads very different lives in private.

22. The Prime Minister, together with his wife, (greets, greet) the press cordially.
The prime minister, together with his wife greet the press cordially.

23. All of the CDs, even the scratched one, (is, are) in this case.
All of the CDs, even the scratched one, are in this case

Subject Verb Agreement

Subject Verb Agreement

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.

The answer is number 2, because “One of” refers to singular subject so singular subject need singular verb (is).

Subject, do you know subject ?

Subject is the person/people/thing(s) that do the activity.

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.

Kind of Verb divided into 3 such as : Action verbs, Linking Verbs, and Helping Verbs.

·        Action Verb (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.    Abdus gave Becky the pencil. (kkt)

2.    He was pontificating about art and history. (kki)

·        Linking Verb

A linking verb connects the subject of a sentence to a noun or adjective that renames or describes the subject.

Example :

1.    Noun (usually follow by to be) : Lisa is in love with Jason.

2.    Adjective (usually follow by verb) : She looks pale.

·        Helping Verb

Helping verbs are used before action or linking verbs to convey additional information regarding aspects of possibility (modals : can, could, may, might, shall, will, ought to, should, would.) or time (was, did, has, etc.). Modals  always function as Helping Verbs.

Example :

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 the main verb, drive.)

Main Rule Of “Subject Verb Agreement”

Basic Principle: Singular subjects need singular verbs; plural subjects need plural verbs.

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.

2.    Don’t get confused by the words that come between the subject and verb; they do not affect agreement.

Example :

The dog, who is chewing on my jeans, is usually very good.

3.    Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb usually do not affect agreement.

Example :

The colors of the rainbow are beautiful.

4.    The words there and here are never subjects. the subject will always be placed after the verb, so care needs to be taken to identify it correctly.

Examples :

There are two reasons (plural subject) for this.

There is no reason for this.

Here are two apples.

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

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

6.    The verb is singular if the two subjects separated by and refer to the same person or thing.

Example :

Red beans and rice is my mom's favorite dish

7.    If one of the words each, every, or no comes before the subject, the verb is singular.

Examples :

Everyone has finished his or her homework.

Each of the students is responsible for doing his or her work in the library. (Don't let the word "students" confuse you; the subject is each and each is always singular — Each is responsible).

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.

Neither of the two traffic lights is working.

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.

Example :

All of the chicken is gone.

All of the chickens are gone.

10.  The singular verb form is usually used for units of measurement or time.

Example :

Four quarts of oil was required to get the car running.

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.

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 :

Either the bears or the lion has escaped from the zoo.

Neither the lion nor the bears have escaped from the zoo.

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.

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.

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.

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:

Standing in the water was a bad idea.

Swimming in the ocean and playing drums are my hobbies.

17.  Collective nouns like family, committee, herd, senate, class, crowd, etc. usually take a singular verb form.

Examples :

The herd is stampeding.

Cooper family always attends the annual party.

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

Examples :

The Burbs is a movie starring Tom Hanks.

Harry Potter has reached Top 3 Best Seller books.

Week 3 - Two things I have to bring everywhere i go

Hello readers , here i come back again. In my third post of my english assignment, i would like to tell you about two things that i have to bring everywhere i go.

First thing that i have to bring everywhere is a smartphone. In this modern age, i think smartphone is used by many people nowdays. There’s no denying that modern smartphones allow us to do more than ever before. No other device can match the functionality and sheer versatility of a smartphone and still fit the palm of our hand. A modern smartphones reduce the need to carry a camera, watch, pen and paper, flashlight, and wallet. This is great for minimalist my bag. A smartphone has many function for me such as messaging, browsing, listening music, watching a video, gaming etc. Then how about the second ?

Second thing i have to bring everywhere is a earphone, Earphone may be used with stationary CD and DVD players, home theater, personal computers, digital audio player/mp3 player, mobile phone. Headphones are connected to their source by a cable. I use it when i’m watching a movie and listening music with my smartphone or notebook. Its more real when you use earphone when you have listened music and movie. Music and movie is the one media that i like when i feel bored. It makes me feel more happier and reduce my stress.

Thanks for reading my third post in this blog, i hope you like it. Please comment below if there is something mistake that i make in this post.

5 Tenses We Frequently Use

Today in September 22nd 2016, i got english lesson by Ms. Dini about 5 tenses we frequently use and i want to share it with you guys. I hope this post might be useful for you. Thank you.

1.      Simple Present Tense 

Tenses ini digunakan untuk menyatakan rutinitas dan fakta – fakta umum.

Rumus tense ini :

(+) S + V1 (s/es)*

(–) S + do / does** + not + V1

(?) Do/ does** + S + V1

*untuk orang ketiga tunggal (she, he, it)

Subject	Auxiliary
I You They We	Do
She He It	Does

Contoh :

(+) I take a bath twice a day

(–) I don’t take a bath twice a day

(?) Do you take a bath twice a day ?

 (+) You make the cake

(–) You don’t make the cake

(?) Do you make the cake ?

·      (+) They open the door

(–) They don’t open the door

(?) Do they open the door ?

·      (+) She makes the cake

(–) She doesn’t make the cake

(?) Does she make the cake ?

·         (+) Egi takes a bath twice a day

(–) Egi doesn’t take a bath twice a day

(?) Does Egi take a bath twice a day ?

·         (+) It opens the door

(–) It doesn’t open the door

(?) Does it open the door ?

2.      Simple Past Tense

Tense ini diguanakan untuk menunjukkan bahwa kejadian terjadi di masa lampau.

Rumus simple past :

(+) S + V2

(-) S + Did+ not + V1

(?) Did + S + V1

Example :

·         (+) I tried my best

(-) I didn’t try my best

(?) Did you try your best ?

·         (+) We liked the beach so much

(-) We didn’t like the beach so such

(?) Did they like the beach so much ?

·         (+) She always drank fresh water every morning

(-)  She didn’t always drink fresh water every morning

(?) Did she always drink fresh water every morning ?

3.      Present/ past continuous tense

Tense ini digunakan pada saat kejadian yang sedang berlangsung.

Rumus present/ past continious tense :

(+) S + be +Ving

(-) S+be + not + Ving

(?) Be + S + Ving ?

Subject	Present	Past
I	Am	Was
You	Are
They
We
He	Is	were
She
It

Example :

·         (+) They are going to campus by bus

(-) They aren’t going to campus by bus

(?) Are they going to campus by bus ?

·         (+) She was going to campus by motorcycle

(-) She wasn’t going to campus by motorcycle

(?) Was she going to campus by motorcycle ?

4.      Simple Future Tense

Tenses ini digunakan untuk mengekspresikan kejadian yang belum terjadi, masih direncanakan, atau kejadian di masa yang akan datang.

Rumus simple future :

(+) S + will + V1

(-) S+ will + not + V1

(?) Will + S + V1 ?

5.      Present perfect Tense

Tense ini menyatakan kejadian yang sudah terjadi dan hasilnya masih terasa atau terlihat.

Rumus present perfect :

(+) S + has / have + V3

(-) S + has/ have + not + V3

(?) Has/ have + s +V3 ?

Subject	Auxiliary
I	Have
You
They
We
He	Has
She
It

Question :

1.      she (drink) coffee. (S. Past)

she drank coffee.

2.      They (start) the course.  (Pr. Perfect)

They have started the course.

3.      Ana and Linda (open) the account. (Past Continuous)

Ana and Linda were opening the account.

4.      The bank (close) at 5pm. (S. Present)

The bank closes at 5pm.

5.      The dog (run) through the park. (S. Past)

The dog ran through the park.