Rule 4: Use a plural form if you associate multiple names or pronouns with the object using the word “and.” This sentence contains an error in the subject verb agreement. The theme of the sentence is “reports,” so the verb “a” must be changed to “have” in the plural to approve the plural theme “reports.” They usually refer to an earlier substantive phrase (the precursor) and follow a verb: In the subject-verbal agreement, look at the subject to see if the chord should be plural or singular. In the examples above, even if the words that follow the subject refer to something pluralistic because the initial theme is singular, each part of the sentence must also be singular. The problem with the sentence as it is written is that the theme of the phrase, “every night,” is singular, but the verb “were” is plural. The subject and the verb must match. The correct answer is: “Every night for five straight nights was well below freezing.” In this case, the one who refers to the Father (singular), and thus speaks the verb, is also singular. Very rarely, a collective name can take a plural verb: the theme of the first part of the composed sentence is “Rebecca`s preference”. It`s a unique subject. Therefore, the corresponding verb should be “is,” not “are.” Looking for worksheets for thematic verbal chords to better understand what a verb-subject chord is? Print this page as a PDF and use it to check your understanding of what a subject-verb agreement is and the rules related to the use of the subject. Check your results at the end of the verb agreement worksheets and refer to the PDF topic-verb agreement for instructions. The theme of the phrase is singular, “the boy,” and not the plural “many friends,” which means that the verb must also be singular. In addition, the sentence must keep the same meaning as it makes the celebration young. “Celebrating” is the right choice of response.

The examples also show that when the subject contains both singular and plural names, it generally seems the most natural to place the plural noun closest to the verb. Compare the following sentences: Rule 7. Use a singular verb with distances, periods, sums of money, etc. if they are considered a unit. Here is a definition of the verb-subject chord: If the subject of a sentence is singular, then you must use the singular form of an action word for your sentence. To avoid a subject-verb chord error, if you use a plural subject in a sentence, you need to cross-reference it with a plural form of an action word. How has the verb-subject agreement been concluded so far? Often, the subject contains an indefinite pronoun. What is tricky is that some indeterminate pronouns can be singular or plural.

The ability to find the right topic and verb will help you correct the errors of the subject verb agreement. Test your understanding of the subject-verb agreement by selecting the right words in the theme-verb chord questions in the worksheets below. Remember, the most important rule in the subject verb agreement is that the name should match according to the word of the action or the word being.