LAURA FINEBERG COOPER
  • Home
  • EDITING
  • College Essays
  • Tutoring
    • Overview
    • Grades 6-8
    • Grades 9-12
    • Adults
  • Grammar Blog
  • Resume
SIGN UP HERE to receive A SPOONFUL OF GRAMMAR in your inbox!

Spoonful #4: SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

3/27/2019

5 Comments

 
Picture

IT'S A MATCH!

Subjects and verbs of the world unite!


In each sentence, SUBJECTS are bold and matching VERBS are red. 



​
SINGULAR 
  • Honey is excited to see me, whether I'm gone for minutes or hours. 
  • Either Honey or Daisy is sure to grab that Frisbee. 
  • Honey nor Daisy was responsible for the ruined lawn. 
  • The other dogs or Honey walks to Berry Pond every day. 
  • Memorial Hall Library in Andover is my second home. 
  • The table shakes whenever the door opens. 
  • I am a huge dog lover, as if you couldn't tell. 
  • The topic of these books is French cooking. (These books aren't random - they share the same topic! That's why topic is the subject, not books.)  

PLURAL  
  • The other dogs run loose, but mine rarely does. 
  • Multiple libraries across Massachusetts combine into a consortium.
  • Hummingbirds are my favorite type of birds. 
  • They promise to bring pizza to the track meet. 
  • Honey and Daisy were born just a few months apart. 
  • Honey or the other dogs walk to Berry Pond every day.  
  • After the enjoyable trip to Acapulco, the Coopers and Michael pledge to travel together every year. (When a sentence starts with an introductory phrase, the subject should appear right after the comma!)

SPECIAL NOTE: Subject-verb mis-matches are commonly found in the SAT Writing section!!

​Thanks for reading this spoonful. Until next time...

Sincerely,
Laura Fineberg Cooper 

laurafcooper.com
@spoonfulgrammar

5 Comments
Marcia Strykowski link
3/27/2019 06:28:10 pm

What a great resource this site will be when I run into a problem sentence!

Reply
Laura Fineberg Cooper link
3/27/2019 10:19:02 pm

Thank you, Marcia! I'm so happy you find my grammar spoonfuls helpful.

Reply
Amy link
9/2/2019 09:28:35 am

Can you provide more definition between the singular and plural sentences with the dogs going for a walk? What is the rule when you have “or” in the subject? Thanks!

Reply
Laura Fineberg Cooper link
9/2/2019 03:34:47 pm

Dear Amy:
In summary, or means "one or the other" and will usually call for a singular verb. If both subjects are singular, the verb is singular. If the second subject is singular, the verb is singular. The only time the verb is plural with OR is when the second subject is plural.

Here are examples (from above):
1) Either Honey or Daisy IS sure to grab that Frisbee. (singular subjects, singular verb)
2)The other dogs or Honey WALKS to Berry Pond every day. (first subject plural, second subject singular: verb is singular)
3)Honey or the other dogs WALK to Berry Pond every day. (first subject singular, second subject plural: verb is plural)

**Remember that when making verbs plural, you lose the S.**

Amy, I hope that clears up your confusion!

Reply
Laura Fineberg Cooper link
9/2/2019 03:40:03 pm

Dear Amy,
One more thing! With OR, if BOTH subjects are plural, then the verb will be plural as well. Here's an example:

Dogs or cats MAKE great pets.

VS

A dog MAKES a great pet.

Now I really hope I've cleared up this subject for you!




Leave a Reply.

    Welcome to
    ​A Spoonful of Grammar!

    Swallowing too many grammar rules at once can be hazardous to one's health. That's why my goal is to deliver one spoonful at a time - in the most delightful way.
    ​

    Sincerely,
    Laura Fineberg Cooper

    Archives

    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019

    Categories

    All
    All Summaries
    Grammar
    Punctuation
    Recipes
    Story Elements
    Vocabulary

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • EDITING
  • College Essays
  • Tutoring
    • Overview
    • Grades 6-8
    • Grades 9-12
    • Adults
  • Grammar Blog
  • Resume