Business Writing
Firefly Electric and Lighting Corp.
Training and Organizational Development
Human Resources Department
Module 2
WORKING WITH WORDS
Module 2
Lesson 7
Subject-Verb Agreement
Grammar
A.
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B.
C.
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Tenses of Verbs
Simple tenses
Continuous/ Progressive tenses
Perfect tenses
Subject –Verb Agreement
Voices of Verb (Transitive Verb)
Active Voice
Passive Voice
Lesson 7
Subject –Verb Agreement
Grammar rules details of language
syntax. Like spelling issues, grammar
violations in a business document can
reflect negatively on a professional or a
company. Care should be taken that all
business documents are grammatically
correct.
Subject –Verb Agreement
There are two grammar issues most writers
have trouble with - tenses of verb and
subject-verb agreement. This part of
Module 2 will deal with discussion of the
rules of subject – verb agreement.
Modern English has two sets of tenses- the
simple tenses and the perfect tenses. Each
set has a corresponding continuous or
progressive tenses.
Subject- Verb Agreement
Definition: Subject-verb agreement refers
to the relationship existing between the
subject and the verb in the sentence.
A singular subject requires a singular
verb. A plural subject requires a plural
verb.
General
in Subject- Verb
PSubjectVerbRule
Agreementp
Agreement
Singular subjects go with singular
verbs, and plural subjects go with
plural verbs
Please read Notes on Rules in Subject- Verb Agreement
for more detailed rules
Subject- Verb Agreement
1. A singular subject* requires a singular verb.
A singular verb in the present tense is
formed by adding –s or –es to the base form
Example:
o Lucia bakes delicious chocolate chip cookies.
o The congressman vetoes the controversial
bill.
*See notes for subjects classified as singular.
There are eleven.
Subject- Verb Agreement
1.a: Singular subjects connected by: or, nor;
either…or; neither…nor; not only… but also
– require singular verbs.
o Not only the honeybee but also the
bumble bee produces honey.
o Either Maria or Frances sings
beautifully.
o Neither rain nor snow slows the
letter carrier.
Subject- Verb Agreement
1.b: Words plural in form but singular in
meaning (abacus, abscess, aegis,
apparatus, atlas, chassis, genesis, measles,
mumps, neurosis, news, viscus ) take on
singular verbs.
o In Greek mythology, the aegis of
Zeus was oftentimes worn by Athena,
his daughter.
o The abscess in your gum causes bad
breath.
Subject- Verb Agreement
1.c: Titles of books, literary works, movies,
plays, musical compositions, paintings or
other such works, that are plural in form
take on singular verbs.
o The Three Musketeers was written
by Alexander Dumas. (title of a book)
o The Three Stoogies stars Charlie
Chaplin. (Title of a movie)
Subject- Verb Agreement
1.d: Names of groups, businesses, companies,
organizations or countries that are plural in
form , take on singular verbs because they
refer to only one entity.
o The Jaycees sponsors several charitable
organizations. (Name of a group)
o Cojuangco and Sons owns a large
mango plantation in Negros. (company)
o The Netherlands is one of the founders
of European Union. (country)
Subject- Verb Agreement
1.e: A subject based on verbal noun ( gerund ,
infinitive and their phrases) is treated as singular.
o Swimming tones the muscles. (Gerund)
o Telling lies does not improve one’s
character. (gerund phrase)
oTo succeed requires determination and
perseverance. (infinitive)
o To manage a business organization
successfully, with thousands of employees
calls for a genius in management . ( infinitive
phrase)
Subject- Verb Agreement
1.f: A subject consisting of a single noun clause is
treated as singular.
o How the baby manages to get out of his
crib remains a mystery to his parents.
o Why Felix just walked out of the meeting
without any explanation still baffles us.
o What General “Bato” has done to curb
the drug menace deserves our unstinting
support.
Subject- Verb Agreement
2. A plural subject* requires a plural verb.
2.a: Most plural subjects are formed by adding –s
or–-es to the base word. The verb form in the
present tense is the base form of the verb.
oThe hunting dogs chase the fleeing deer.
o Tomatoes abound during summer months.
2.b: Nouns ending in –y usually change –y to –i
before adding the –es as a plural signal
oThe stories about fairies interest the little kids
very much.
oBangus bellies thicken with stored fish oil.
Subject- Verb Agreement
2.c: Singular subjects* connected by “and” require a
plural verb.1
o Jessa and Marnie join the Milo 20K run
singular
singular
competition.
o China and the Philippines claim territorial
singular
singular
sovereignty over the South China Sea.
* See notes for subjects classified as plural.
There are twelve.
1 See notes for exceptions to Rule 2.c . There are
six.
Subject- Verb Agreement
• 2.d: Words derived from foreign languages
such as Greek or Latin may retain their plural
forms.
o The criteria (criterion-singular) for this contest are
posted in the Intranet.
oThose heavenly phenomena (phenomenonsingular) baffle the scientists.
Take Note: agendum –singular ; an item in
the agenda
agenda – singular or plural – a list
of items to be taken up in a meeting
agendas – plural – several lists
Subject- Verb Agreement
2.e: Some nouns take only plural verbs.
(clothes, credentials, earnings, fireworks,
headquarters, scissors, trousers2 )
o Nena’s clothes are badly sewn.
o The magnificent fireworks have awed the
onlookers.
o James’s trousers are loose.
2
When “a pair of” is affixed to trousers, the
verb to be used is singular.
Subject- Verb Agreement
2.f: Names of sports teams will require plural
verbs even if the names don’t end in “s”.
o Miami Heat prevail over Utah Jazz.
(Basketball)
o Juventus reach finals in European
Champion League.
Subject- Verb Agreement
3. A common cause of errors are the
intervening words or phrases.
Intervening words or phrases. These are
grammatical structures found between
the subject and the verb. They don’t in
any way affect the agreement between
the subject and the verb.
The most common of intervening
words/ phrases are prepositional
phrases.
Subject- Verb Agreement
3.a: Prepositional phrase
o The work of the masons requires a
thorough knowledge of structural
rocks.
o The old love letters, from
her long-
lost love, are kept inside an antique
jewelry box.
Subject- Verb Agreement
o One of the athletes sprains his knees
during the scrimmage.
The subject of this sentence is “One” The
word “athletes” could be mistaken for
subject of the sentence. Its actual function
is as an object of the preposition “of” and
objects of the preposition can’t be used as a
subject of the sentence.
Subject- Verb Agreement
3.b: Adverb – usually adverb of frequency, the
adverb is found before the verb it modifies.
o Mother always bakes a cake for our
birthday.
o Channel 5 sometimes shows anime
early in the afternoon.
o Father oftentimes brings us novelties
from his trips abroad.
Subject- Verb Agreement
3. c: Appositive – a word or a phrase that
follows directly a word it modifies.
o The focal point of the garden show,
the giant cabbage roses, has attracted a
lot of visitors.
The appositive “roses” is plural. The
plural appositive does not affect the
relationship between point, a singular
subject and has attracted, a singular verb.
Subject- Verb Agreement
3.d: Present Participial phrase
oThe players, following the coach’s order,
practice until 7 o’clock on Fridays.
o The old man, selling colorful
usually stays in front of the
elementary school.
balloons
Subject- Verb Agreement
3.e: Infinitive phrase
o The general’s order,
to penetrate
the enemies’ line, was immediately
carried out.
o Melanie’s ambition, to become a
world-class ballet dancer, is fully
supported by her mother.
Subject- Verb Agreement
3.f: Past Participial Phrase
o The antique statue of the Blessed Virgin,
taken by thieves three weeks ago ,was
mysteriously returned to its niche a week
later.
o The civic-minded employees, led
by their
manager, have joined the campaign for the
greening of the countryside.
Subject- Verb Agreement
3.g: Adjective clause is a clause that is usually
introduced by a relative pronoun sed to
modify a noun or noun substitute.
o The girls ,whom Sally Villaluz is coaching
for the National Games, swim fifty laps
everyday.
o Melissa, whom
the basketball varsity team
has chosen for its muse, excels in many cocurricular activities
Subject- Verb Agreement
4. Some sentences have helping or auxiliary
verbs placed ahead of the subject. These
are called inverted sentences.
Classes of Inverted Sentences
4. a: Sentences introduced by here or there.
o Here comes the bride
o Here come the bride and her
entourage
Subject- Verb Agreement
4.b: Sentences introduced by Interrogative
pronouns( what, which, whom, who,
how, why, when, where)
o Why is that girl crying?
Normal order of the sentence: That girl
is crying. Why?
o Which blouse have you chosen?
Normal order of the sentence: You
have chosen which blouse.
Subject- Verb Agreement
4.c: Sentences introduced by linking verb “to
be”
o Is Anne happy in her new job?
o Are the vegetables still fresh?
4.d: Sentences introduced by auxiliary verb
or helping verb “to be”
o Is Jason starring in this movie?
o Are your parents attending the
meeting?
Subject- Verb Agreement
4.e: Sentences introduced by auxiliary verb
“to do” or “to have”
o Does your belly jiggle when you
laugh?
o Do honey bees sting?
o Has Lilian known the code to this
safe?
o Have you heard the latest news?
Subject- Verb Agreement
4.f: Sentences introduced by prepositional
phrase.
o Behind the clouds lies a vast blue
sky.
o Along the tracks of your digestive
system teem millions of aerobic and
non-aerobic microorganisms.
o Beside the plaza, stands the imposing
cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Subject- Verb Agreement
4. g: Sentences introduced by present
participle.
o Protesting loudly against unjust
accusations is the primary suspect of
the murder case.
o Lining along Rizal Avenue are the
people eager to catch a glimpse of
their favorite actors and actresses.
Subject- Verb Agreement
4. h: Sentences introduced by past participle
o Hidden among the fallen brown
leaves is a solitary, mottled quail
egg.
o Taken in captivity are the ISIS
fanatics responsible for the
bombing and suicide attacks in
Paris suburbs.
Subject- Verb Agreement
5. Personal and demonstrative pronouns
have different plural forms from their
singular forms.
I (singular) – We (plural) nominative
case
me (singular) – us (plural) objective
case
He, she, It ( singular)- they (plural)
Him,her,it (singular) - them (plural)
This (singular)- these (plural)
That(singular)- those (plural)
Subject- Verb Agreement
o We are reviewing our notes in English.
o They prefer to sit in the back row.
o The mangoes are sweet. These come
from Guimaras.
o Did you see the big snails? Those are a
delicacy in France.
*See notes for subjects classified as
plural. There are twelve.
Subject -Verb Agreement
.
Subject- Verb Agreement
If the underlined verb agrees with the
subject, write C as your answer. If it doesn’t,
write the correct verb that will agree with
the subject.
1) The children watches a horror movie.
2) The zipper of this pair of pants needs to
be repaired.
3) Real Madrid battles Juventus today.
4) Cheese and butter are the main
ingredients for these cookies.
Subject- Verb Agreement
5. Please choose another pair of shorts.
These is already sold.
6. The spokesman for the players call for a
forum.
7. The barangay chairman, preceding his
subordinates, conduct a house- to- house
campaign for cleanliness.
8. How happy are you today?
9. That abscess in your leg requires medical
treatment
Subject- Verb Agreement
10.Here is the documents needed to support
your claim for sickness benefit.
11.The magnificent fireworks attracts many
spectators.
12.Has your classmates finished their
assignment?
13.The rice in the fertilized fields are growing
faster than those in the unfertilized fields.
Subject-Verb Agreement
If you got a score of 6 or less in the practice
exercise, please review the notes on
Subject-Verb Agreement before taking the
quiz.
Please look over the uploaded “Notes on
Subject-Verb Agreement” notes in Quia
and check whether there are other facts
you need to include in your Cheat Sheet.
Subject- Verb Agreement
If the underlined verb agrees with the subject,
write C as your answer. If it doesn’t, write the
correct verb that will agree with the subject.
1) The children watches a horror movie. watch
2) The zipper of this pair of pants needs to be
repaired. C
3) Real Madrid battles Juventus today. battle
4) Cheese and butter are the main ingredients for
these cookies. C
Subject- Verb Agreement
5. Please choose another pair of shorts.
These is already sold. are sold
6. The spokesman for the players call for a
forum. calls
7. The baranggay chairman, preceding his
subordinates, conduct a house- to- house
campaign for cleanliness. conducts
8. How happy are you today? C
9. That abscess in your leg requires medical
treatment C
Subject- Verb Agreement
10.Here is the documents needed to support
your claim for sickness benefit. are
11.The magnificent fireworks attracts many
spectators. attract
12.Has your classmates finished their
assignment? have finished
13.The rice in the fertilized fields are growing
faster than those in the unfertilized fields.
is growing
Module 2, Lesson 7: Subject-Verb
Agreement Quiz
1. Please proceed to www. Quia.com/web
2. On the space provided, enter your log in
name and your password.
3. Under “Quiz”, please select, Module 2 Lesson
7, Quiz 1
4. Follow the instructions in the quiz.
5. Follow these same steps when you go to
succeeding quizzes after every lesson.
Pictures3
End of
Module 2,
Lesson 7
Subject- Verb
Agreement