Introduction: Connecting Your Learning

You may be knowledgeable about a certain area of expertise, but if you cannot communicate effectively, your ability to share that knowledge is affected. Incorrect subject-verb agreement can cause your writing to be confusing to the reader.

For example the sentence below has incorrect subject-verb agreement.

If your subjects and verbs disagree, you does not sound so good. In fact, a writer who do not understand the elementary concepts of grammar have no credibility.

Was the sentence easy to understand? You probably found it quite confusing. In this lesson, you will learn how to determine correct subject-verb agreement and correct verb tenses.

Readings, Resources, and Assignments
Required Readings	Read the following before starting the lesson: Making Subjects and Verbs Agree
Multimedia Resources	View the following presentations: Subject-Verb Agreement PowerPoint Presentation (Click on the PowerPoint icon to view the presentation) Presentations on Subject-Verb Agreement and Tense Shift
Required Assignments	Subject-Verb Agreement and Verb Tenses

Focusing Your Learning

Key Terms

Subjects

Verbs

Singular

Plural

Presentation

Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement errors are very common in the English language. Odds are that you have made this mistake yourself. Subject-verb agreement is very important because without it, the reader can be confused.

Rule: Subjects must agree with their verbs in number.

• Singular subjects must take singular verbs.
• Plural subjects must take plural verbs.

Here are three steps to help you with subject-verb agreement.

1. Recognize a singular or plural subject.
2. Recognize a singular or plural verb.
3. Check that the verb matches the subject.

Recognizing a singular or plural subject is easy. Take a look at the chart below to see examples of singular and plural subjects.

Singular	Plural
subject	subjects
child	children
I	we

Recognizing a singular or plural verb is a little trickier. Plural verbs are not formed by adding an "s." In the present tense, plural verbs are formed in the opposite way from nouns. Plural nouns add "s," but plural verbs take the "s" away.

Exceptions to the subject-verb agreement do occur. The rule states that a singular subject should have a singular verb and a plural subject should have a plural verb.

Exception 1: All pronouns obey the subject-verb agreement rule except for I and you. Even though they are singular, they always take a plural verb.

Example: I work. You work. He works. We work. They work.

Indefinite pronouns are always singular and include the following:

Practice

Make sure that you have read Making Subjects and Verbs Agree, and that you have reviewed the following presentations: Subject-Verb Agreement PowerPoint Presentation (Click on the PowerPoint icon to view the presentation) Presentations on Subject-Verb Agreement and Tense Shift

These resources will help you complete the activities below.

Activity 1: Subject-Verb Agreement

Select the answer which reflects correct subject-verb agreement.

1. Phil (research/researches) advances in technology on the Internet.
2. Ron and Marsha (import/imports) data onto spreadsheets.
3. Students (create/creates) folders for their writing samples.
4. The system automatically (back up/backs up) files to protect data.
5. Julie and I (fix/fixes) errors in our classmates' rough drafts.

Check Answers Here

Activity 2: Irregular Verbs (Be, Have, and Do)

Select the correct present tense form of be, have, or do. Refer to the chart for help.

Irregular Verb	Present Tense
be	am, is, are
do	do, does
have	has, have

Irregular Verb Present Tense

be am, is, are

do do, does

have has, have

Example: I am a software developer.

1. I______ the helpdesk supervisor.
2. These devices ______ lots of memory.
3. Who ______ the data input?
4. Technicians ______ in great demand.
5. Ben ______ a refurbished laptop.
6. You ______ need to change your password.
7. You ______ all meeting the requirements of the course.
8. She ______ deleting duplicate files.
9. The report ______ seem to be in order.
10. You ______ ready to advance to the next exercise.

Check Answers Here

For additional practice with subject-verb agreement, visit these Web sites:

Making Subjects and Verbs Agree

Examples and Practice Quizzes Subject-Verb Agreement Quiz

Activity 3: Verb Tenses

Select the correct form of the verb in simple present, past, or future tenses.

1. The first computer (is, was, will be) big enough to fill an entire room.
2. The team (consider, considered, will consider) the proposal tomorrow.
3. I (think, thought, will think) that my tablet was already charged.
4. The power outage last week (cause, caused, will cause) irreparable damage.
5. Grainy images occur because the space between pixels (affects, affected, will affect) resolution.

Check Answers Here

Activity 4: Irregular Verbs

Fill in the past tense form of the irregular verbs in parentheses.

1. (give) Yesterday, the professor ______ a lecture on green technology.
2. (shake) Some of his remarks ______ our beliefs.
3. (buy) I, for one, ______ into his philosophy.
4. (lay) In the famously green state of Vermont, a draft horse named Fred ______ miles of cable for Internet access.
5. (teach) Ethics is a topic that is ______ in many IT programs.

Check Answers Here

For additional examples and practice visit these Web sites:

Verb Tense: General Guidelines Verb Tenses

Final -s Verb Endings Practice Test (commnet.edu)

Summarizing Your Learning

Every field has a language of its own. As you begin a new career path, learning the lingo will help you become part of the new community. Subjects and verbs will follow the same rules and patterns you have learned in this lesson.

Even subjects like ISPs, RAM, clouds, and applications must agree with verbs like interface, boot, configure, and bounce.

With the skills you are gaining, you will be speaking and writing like a pro in no time!

Assessing Your Learning

Now that you have gained some knowledge and had to time to practice with subject-verb agreement, show what you know by applying your skills. Complete the assignments below.

1. Grammar: Subject-Verb Agreement and Verb Tense

Additional Attributions