Why do subjects and verbs need to agree

His friends or the boy runs every day. The people who listen to that music are few. The team captain , as well as his players, is anxious. The book , including all the chapters in the first section, is boring. The woman with all the dogs walks down my street.

Each of these hot dogs is juicy. Five dollars is a lot of money. Dollars are often used instead of rubles in Russia. Those trousers are made of wool. The team runs during practice. The committee decides how to proceed. For example:. All regular verbs and nearly all irregular ones in English agree in the third-person singular of the present indicative by adding a suffix of either -s or -es.

The highly irregular verb to be is the only verb with more agreement than this in the present tense:. Skip to main content. Module 1: Grammar. Search for:. Person Agreement based on grammatical person first, second, or third person is found mostly between verb and subject. Number Agreement based on grammatical number can occur between verb and subject, as in the case of grammatical person discussed above. Some examples: I really am 1st pers.

We really are 1st pers. Example: Interviews are one way to collect data and allow researchers to gain an in-depth understanding of participants. Example: An assumption is something that is generally accepted as true and is an important consideration when conducting a doctoral study. Example: The student , as well as the committee members, is excited.

Example: Strategies that the teacher uses to encourage classroom participation include using small groups and clarifying expectations. Example: The focus of the interviews was nine purposively selected participants.

Example: The chairperson or the CEO approves the proposal before proceeding. Example: The student or the committee members write every day. Example: The committee members or the student writes every day. Example: Each of the participants was willing to be recorded.

Example: Neither alternative hypothesis was accepted. Example: No one was available to meet with me at the preferred times. Example: Education is the key to success.

Example: Diabetes affects many people around the world. Example: The information obtained from the business owners was relevant to include in the study. Example: The research I found on the topic was limited. It should be noted that if the members of the noun are not acting in unity as a group, then the noun should be treated as plural and matches with a plural verb.

However, fractions are singular if they are used to modify singular nouns. They are plural if they are used to modify plural nouns:. Using these conventions is important for proper English writing.

In academic writing, neglecting subject-verb agreements has serious consequences. These include not getting your message across, confusing your readers, and reducing your credibility. Academic writing is characterized by perfect syntax, sentence structure, and grammar. These things cannot be ignored and you need to pay attention to your subject-verb agreements when writing your manuscript. However, it is essential and even critical for you to master.

Do you get confused when using subject-verb agreements? How difficult or easy do you find to implement these rule? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below! Enago Academy, the knowledge arm of Enago, offers comprehensive and up-to-date resources on academic research and scholarly publishing to all levels of scholarly professionals: students, researchers, editors, publishers, and academic societies.