Now, we are going to learn how to make verbs agree with their subjects.
1. What are verbs and subjects?
Verbs are action words.
e.g. eat, sleep, talk, walk, do, buy are all verbs
Subjects are the person or thing who are doing the action of the verb.
e.g.I eat; The dog sleeps; George talks a lot; They walk to work.
The subject of a sentence can be singular (one) or plural (many).
e.g.
i) The computer is old. (singular)
ii)The computers are old. (plural)
2. What is verb-subject agreement?
The verb form can change depending on whether the subject is singular or plural.
e.g.
i)The car park (singular subject) was (verb) full.
ii)The car parks (plural subject) were (verb) full.
In these sentences each of the verbs agrees with its subject. The correct verb form has been used.
The verb must always agree with its subject.
The formula
Single subject = single verb, plural subject = plural verb.
3. How does this work?
In regular verbs:
singular plural
First person. e.g.: I like bananas. We like bananas.
Second person. e.g.: You like bananas. You like bananas.
Third person. e.g.: He / she / it likes bananas. They like bananas.
Note!
She likes to cycle to work.(correct) / She like to cycle to work.(incorrect)
We like swimming. (correct) / We likes swimming. (incorrect)
Love,
Grammar Goddess.
