Read this and learn the rules that govern English Language.

SUBJECT VERB CONCORD

Objective

The objective of this lesson is to teach the students to write grammatically correct sentences having a perfect harmony between the subject and the verb. After going through the lesson and practicing the rules of the concord, they will be able to avoid errors of verbs regarding their being singular or plural and use the correct number and person of the verb in a sentence.

Introduction

Concord literally means harmony, agreement. Thus, it means harmony between different members of a group. When we talk of sentences, concord means harmony or agreement between different parts of a sentence, specially the subject and the verb.

Every sentence says something about a person or thing. The part of a sentence that names the person or thing is called Subject or the part, which gives us information about the Subject, is called Predicate. The subject of a sentence thus has a close relation to what is being said in the Predicate. The form of the verb should be in direct relation to the number and person of the Subject.

Rules for Subject-Verb Agreement

• The verb must agree with the subject in Number and Person.

• If the subject is singular, the verb should also be singular.

• If the subject is plural, the verb should also be plural, e.g., 1. He is a good boy. (Singular subject, singular verb) 2. They are good players (plural subject, plural verb)

• When two or more singular subjects are joined together by ‘and’, plural verb is used. E.g. 1. Ram and Sham are playing a game. 2. He and his friends have arrived.

• If two singular nouns refer to the same person or thing, the verb must be singular, e.g. 1. My friend and benefactor has come. 2. By the death of Gokhale a great statesman and patriot was lost to India. It should be noted that the article is used only once if the two nouns refer to the same person. If different persons were referred to, the article would be used before each noun and the verb would be plural. E.g. the orator and the statesman are dead.

• If two subjects together express one idea, the verb will be in the singular, e.g., 1. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. 2. Slow and steady wins the race.

• If singular subjects have ‘each’ or ‘every’ before them, the verb is usually singular. E.g. 1. Every man, woman and child was lost. 2. Each day and each hour brings its duty.

• Two or more singular subjects connected by ‘or’, ‘nor’, ‘either’, ’neither’ or ‘nor’ take a verb in the singular, e.g. 1. Neither Hari nor Ravi has come. 2. No nook or corner was left unexplored.

• When the subjects joined by ‘or’, ‘nor’ are of different numbers, the verb must be plural, and the plural subject must be placed next to the verb. E.g., 1. Hari or his brothers have done this. 2. Either the boy or his parents have gone there.

• When the subjects joined by ‘or’, ‘nor’ are of different persons, the verb agrees in person with the one nearest to it, e.g., 1. Either he or I am mistaken. 2. Neither you nor he is to blame.

• A collective noun takes a singular verb when the collection is thought of as a whole. E.g. 1. The counsel has chosen its president. 2. The fleet has set sail.

• It should however be kept in mind that if the individuals of which the collective noun is composed of are thought of, it can take a plural verb. E.g. 1. The military work called out. 2. The crew were taken prisoners.

• Some nouns which are plural in form, but singular in meaning, take a singular verb, E.g. 1. The news is true. 2. Physics is a branch of natural science.

• When a plural noun counts between a singular subject and its verb, the verb used is singular in form. E.g., 1. Each of the sisters is clever. 2. A variety of objects charms the eye. 3. The quality of the mangoes was not good.

• Words joined to a singular subject by with, together with, in addition to or as well as are parenthetical and therefore do not affect the number of verb. E.g., 1. The chief, with all his men, was killed. 2. Justice as well as mercy, allows.

• When the subject of the verb is a relative pronoun, care should be taken to see that the verb agrees in number and person with the antecedent of the relative. E.g., 1. I, who am your friend, will guard you interest. 2. You, who are my friend, should not worry me.

• The title of a book, play, story, musical composition and the name of a country, even though plural in form take a singular verb, e.g., 1. Sons and Lovers is an interesting Novel. 2. The United States of America is a developed country.

Summary: The basic rules for writing grammatically correct sentences have been discussed. In a sentence, the verb must agree with its subject with respect to its number and person.

Key words: Subject, verb, predicate, noun, pronoun, singular, plural.