Verb tense agreement means that the verbs within a single sentence should be kept in the same tense in order to maintain consistency.
Subject-verb agreement states that singular subjects require singular verbs while plural subjects require plural verbs.
The subject tells what a sentence is about, while the verb defines the action of the subject. An example of a subject-verb pair is 'bird sings' within the following sentence: "The blue bird sings loudly."
A verb tense error occurs when different verb tenses are used in the same sentence.
Lilly wrote her name then colors a picture.
The verb tense shifts inappropriately within this sentence.
A basic sentence requires two parts: a subject and a verb.
To construct a proper sentence, the subject and verb must agree. Subject and verb agreement is a form of matching used in grammar. Plural subjects need plural verbs, while singular subjects need singular verbs. For example:
The sentence above is an illustration of subject-verb agreement. The singular subject 'bird' agrees with the verb 'eats' in the first clause, and when the subject becomes plural ('birds') in the second clause, it agrees with the verb 'eat.'
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Verb tense refers to the time the action occurs, such as in the past, present, or future. The following table summarizes verb tense agreement.
| Tense | Time Reflected | Agreement |
|---|---|---|
| Past | An action that is completed | Most past tense verbs use the same form for singular and plural subjects. |
| Present | An action occurring now | Most present tense verbs have different forms for singular and plural subjects. |
| Future | An action that will occur | Most future tense verbs use the same form for singular and plural subjects. |
| Perfect | Actions that are indefinite or on-going | The form of 'have' or 'has' changes to reflect the singular or plural subject, but the main verb stays the same. |
Faulty subject verb agreement results in sentences that sound awkward or confusing.
A regular verb uses the same form in past and future tenses, but its form varies in the present tense.
To see an example of a regular verb and its various forms in different tenses (and with different subjects), consider the following example, using the verb 'to play.'
Note that the difference occurs in the present tense in the third person singular form. This form is used with the pronouns he, she, or it, and with a singular noun (cow, person, phone, house). Below are a few more examples of the different verb tenses and forms.
| Verb (Infinitive form) | Present (1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person plural) | Present (3rd person singular) | Past | Future | Perfect (1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person plural) | Perfect (3rd person singular) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| To jump | jump | jumps | jumped | will jump | have jumped | has jumped |
| To whisper | whisper | whispers | whispered | will whisper | have whispered | has whispered |
| To want | want | wants | wanted | will want | have wanted | has wanted |
All regular verbs in English follow the above pattern. Past and perfect tenses are formed by adding '-ed' to the infinitive form of the verb.
Kelly walks. Chloe walks. They walk together. Subject and verb agreement requires singular verbs for singular subjects and plural verbs for plural subjects.
Irregular verbs are verbs that do not follow the basic pattern for creating tenses. Irregular verbs tend to keep the same rules for present tense agreement, but past tense and perfect tense are formed differently.
Some examples of irregular verbs are:
Irregular verbs must be learned and memorized. A dictionary can help writers to clarify difficult verb tenses.
One important irregular verb is the helping verb 'to be.' This verb changes according to person, plurality, and tense.
If the helping verb 'to be' is in use, it must match the subject.
In each of these examples, the helping verb 'to be' agrees with the subject, while the main verb remains the same.
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The basic rule of subject and verb agreement is that singular subjects require singular verbs, while plural subjects require plural verbs. The previous section on verb tense explained the changes required in verb forms, particularly in present tense verbs. In addition to this, however, there are several grammatical scenarios that require particular attention. These scenarios will be described in the upcoming sections.
Subject and verb agreement depends on first determining if a subject is singular or plural. Singular, quite simply, refers to one noun (person/place/thing/idea). Plural means more than one. If a subject is singular and third person (i.e., it can be replaced by the pronouns he/she/it), the verb should generally take the form of the infinitive plus '-s' or '-es.' Review these example sentences for clarification.
The singular subject 'Marvin' requires a different verb from the plural subject 'kids.'
The rules regarding verb tense relate to the subject pronouns: I/you/he/she/it/we/they. Another category of pronouns that may appear in the subject position is indefinite pronouns. An indefinite pronoun is used to replace a noun that is unclear, unknown, or uncountable. Examples of indefinite pronouns include some, each, any, all, and several. Two basic principles are:
Indefinite pronouns may be used to replace countable nouns (nouns that represent separate objects, places, or people that can be counted with numbers) or uncountable nouns (nouns that represent ideas which cannot by counted with numbers). Examples of uncountable nouns include loyalty, confusion, and air. Because an uncountable noun takes a singular verb, a pronoun replacing an uncountable noun should also take a singular verb. For example: The air is getting hot. Some of it is also getting foggy.
Countable nouns may take singular or plural verbs. For example:
The indefinite pronoun replacing a countable noun should take the same verb type as that countable noun.
Some sentences have compound subjects, which are two subjects joined by a conjunction. Subject and verb agreement in these sentences is determined by the meaning of the conjunction.
In summary, compound subjects that are cumulative (joined by 'and' or 'both/and') should take a plural verb, while compound subjects that contrast (joined by 'or,' 'either/or,' 'nor,' neither/nor,' 'but,' or 'yet') should be followed by a verb that agrees with the subject closest to the verb.
The teddy bears and book are on a stump. The bear or books look like fun. Each of these sentences show subject and verb agreement.
A prepositional phrase begins with a preposition (a locational word) and ends in a noun that serves as the object of the preposition. Examples include phrases such as 'on the fence,' 'beside the tree,' and 'under the table.' Sometimes the noun in a prepositional phrase is confused with a sentence's subject, but the prepositional phrase is not a factor in subject and verb agreement. Consider the following sentences:
Common prepositions include: in, on, out, from, of, with, off, beside, over, under, around, and many others. To find the object of a preposition, look for the noun immediately following the preposition. This noun cannot be the subject of a sentence.
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A basic sentence requires a subject (noun or pronoun telling who or what the sentence is about) and a verb (the action of the subject). Subject and verb agreement is a form of matching in grammar, where plural subjects require plural verbs and singular subjects require singular verbs.
Rules for subject and verb agreement include:
Verb tense refers to the time action occurs, and it affects subject and verb agreement. In past tense and future tense, the verb form is the same for singular and plural subjects. In present tense and perfect tense, the verb form is changed if the subject is third person singular (requiring the pronouns he/she/it).
Irregular verbs often follow different patterns of tense formation. An important irregular verb is the helping verb 'to be,' which changes form to agree with the subject of the sentence.
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When writing, it's important to make sure that your subjects and verbs 'agree' with each other. That means that plural subjects should be matched to plural verbs and singular verbs should be matched to singular subjects. If you don't do this, the sentence is not only grammatically incorrect but confusing to boot.
Let's look at subject-verb agreement in the present tense.
The valet crash the car. The owners is upset.
Both of those sentences probably look and sound funny to you, but let's examine why. In the first sentence, we have a singular subject - that's 'the valet' - and in the second sentence, we have a plural subject - that's 'owners.' Quick refresher: to find the subject, first find the verb, and then find the thing the verb is connected to - usually the noun to left of the verb but not always. In the present tense, to make a verb singular, you usually add an '-s' or '-es', while to make a noun singular you remove the '-s'.
So, to make the subjects and verbs agree in the first sentence, we would either have to change the subject to make it plural (since the verb is plural) like so - The valets crash the car. or, more sensibly, change the verb to make it singular by adding '-es', making it - The valet crashes the car. Likewise, in the second sentence, you must change the form of the verb 'to be' to its plural form or change the subject to its singular form, making it either - The owner is upset. or The owners are upset.
To remember where to put your plurals, think of subject-verb agreement in the present tense as a little bit like a see-saw: When the subject is plural, it gets the plural form (usually an an '-s'), and when the subject is singular, the plural drops off the verb and gets the '-s' or '-es' this time.
In the past tense, however, subject-verb agreement is a little less complicated. Why? Because in the past tense, regardless of whether your subject is singular or plural, the verb form stays the same.
So, The robot menaced me from across the bar. and The robots menaced me from across the bar. keep the same verb form, though the first sentence has a singular subject ('robot') and the second sentence has a plural subject ('robots').
Of course, there are some exceptions! (This is English; there are always exceptions.) When certain helping verbs are used as the main verb, then you have to pay attention to your subject-verb agreement again. The most common are 'has'/'have' and 'was'/'were.' Take this example:
The robot has destroyed the village. Both 'has' and 'robot' are singular, and 'has' is the main verb here. If the main subject is plural, then you must also pluralize 'have', as in, The robots have destroyed the village.
Or, The photo was plastered all over campus. compared to The photos were plastered all over campus. 'Photo' - 'was.' 'Photos' - 'were.'
When two singular subjects form a compound subject joined by the conjunction 'and,' that makes the subject plural, and so, like our earlier examples, you'll need to make sure your verb is plural to match. Here are a couple of a examples.
The alligator and the crocodile are basically living dinosaurs. Here, 'the alligator and the crocodile' is the compound subject joined by 'and,' and therefore the main verb is plural - in this case 'are' instead of 'is.' Let's look at another.
Laughing nervously, the tourist and his guide wade into the reptile-infested swamp. Here the compound subject is 'the tourist and his guide,' and the main verb is 'wade' (that's the plural; remember the singular would be wades, adding the '-s').
As for other conjunctions, 'or' and 'nor' are also used between two subjects, but instead of bringing them together, they provide contrast - in other words, they keep them separate, singular subjects. In these cases, the subject closest to the verb determines whether it's plural or singular. So, Neither the band nor the singers are going on tonight. In this case, because the plural noun 'singers' is closest to the verb, we use the plural form of the verb - that's 'are.' Switch it around and we need to use the singular. Either the singers or the band is going on tonight. Singular 'band' is matched to singular verb 'is.'
Sometimes your subject isn't directly to the left of the verb, and this can lead to confusion in subject-verb agreement. For instance, say you have a prepositional phrase - that's a phrase connected to a noun by a preposition - that describes something about your subject. In these cases, you have to be careful to identify what the sentence subject is before deciding whether your verb should be singular or plural.
For instance: A team of horses races through the main street daily. Because 'horses' is next to the verb 'races,' you might be tempted to think the subject is plural - that is, 'horses.' However, 'horses' is actually part of the prepositional phrase that describes 'team' (what kind of team is it? It's a team of horses). Therefore, 'team' is the main subject, and it's singular, so the verb must be singular to match - hence, 'the team races.'
Here's another example: The streets at night are full of dangerous characters. 'Night' is to the left of the verb, but the prepositional phrase here describes the streets (what kind of streets? The streets at night), and so the main subject is 'streets,' which calls for the plural form of the verb 'to be,' which is 'are.'
Let's review. Remember that:
After watching this lesson, you should be able to identify and understand different examples of subject-verb agreement.
