As we have finished some fundamental lessons of grammar such as types of sentences, modifiers, and present and past participle adjectives, we are going to share with you one of the most important lessons in grammar_ Subject verb agreement. As a matter of fact, the general formula of the lesson is very simple. Bear in mind that singular subjects take singular verbs and plural subjects take plural verbs. For example , When we say : This girl is very cooperative. We've used "is" because this is the verb that goes with the singular subject "this girl". Another example, Mom speaks 5 languages fluently. Again , this is a simple present sentence where the singular subject must take a verb with "s" , so we have used "speaks" , since the subject, mom, is singular.
Additionally, we must use singular verbs with gerunds_ Verb+ ing. They are nouns that come as subjects, direct objects, and objects of prepositions.
There are a lot of examples such as talking, moving, painting, studying and so on. If any of these words come in the beginning of a sentence, it will be the subject of the sentence;it's considered a singular subject that takes a singular verb. For instance, traveling to other countries helps me increase my knowledge and wisdom. Here , the subject is
" traveling" not countries. So , it takes a singular verb" helps" not help. If we asked," What helps you increase your knowledge and wisdom?" The answer is definitely "traveling" not the countries themselves.
Last but not least, singular indefinite pronouns such as everyone, someone , no one, anybody,nobody, etc... .
These indefinite pronouns are always singular and take singular verbs. For example, No one "has" the right to kill children in wars. Another example, Everyone at school " knows" how to swim.
To sum up , make sure when you speak, and more importantly when you write, that there is always an agreement between the subject and its verb in number and gender. At first, you may make a lot of mistakes, yet everything is like a piece of cake when you practice it nonstop.
Remember to practice all the time with love, enthusiasm, positivity, optimism, and determination to meet your expectations you have always dreamed of.
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