Subject-Verb Agreement

Hello!

I'm a week behind in posting this, but life is very, very hectic right now. Juggling nine classes, even temporarily, certainly keeps me on my toes! I'm reminded, though, how many people have forgotten (or never learned?) some of the basics of English composition. Thus, I continue to write this blog!

Today, we're going to look at a concept that should be relatively simple ... and it can be. However, I still see issues with this in some of my students' writing.

The concept is: Subjects and verbs must agree in "number." This means that singular forms of the noun or pronoun in the subject must agree with the singular form of the verb; plural forms of the noun or pronoun in the subject must agree with the plural form of the verb.

Please note I said the singular form of the verb or the plural form of the verb. Some students get hung up on the fact that plural forms of nouns have an s on the end, so they think that the plural form of the verb also means an s at the end.

What I recommend to students is looking at the verb and conjugating it using pronouns:

I think ...
He thinks ...
She thinks ...
We think ...
They think ...
Who thinks ...
One thinks ...

So, if you're writing

John _______ in the morning,

you'd use the third person singular form of the verb:

John walks in the morning.

If you're writing

The students ________ for each test the night before.

you'd use the third person plural form of the verb:

The students cram for each test the night before.

Simple, right?

The issues arise when other elements come between the subject and the verb:

It's extremely important to break your sentence down to its absolute basics to make certain your subjects and verbs agree.

Another issue is what to do with compound subjects connected with and and those connected with or or nor.











Finally, you need to be aware indefinite pronouns (both singular and plural) and collective nouns:

As I've written before, writers communicate only with the words they use ... and how those words are used. Understanding simple concepts goes a long way towards your being more effective communicators.

My next blog (hopefully next week?) will be on writing thesis statements and outlines. I hope to "see" you then!

Keep pen to paper!

Prof. Rinehart

Lights. Camera. ACTION! (Verbs)

Last week, we talked about simple nouns and pronouns. These parts of speech often function as the subjects of sentences ... They're the ACTORS. Today, we're going to talk about verbs. These function as the ACTION of a sentence.

The idea of actors and actors appeals to me. I'm often involved with local community theaters, so acting is something near and dear to my heart.

Think of your favorite actor. One of the reasons you probably like him is because of how he takes the words of a script and makes them come alive. Just a slight difference in how he acts may change how you react.

This applies especially to verbs because, depending upon the verb chosen, the message of the sentence changes. For example, you could write:

The runner ran down the street.

Nothing is wrong with this sentence. But now change the verb:

The runner sped down the street.

The verb brings a different meaning. Instead of just running, the runner is speeding ... a slightly different meaning. Or how about this:

The runner flew down the street.

I don't know about you, but I have a different vision. Instead of envisioning someone just loping down the street, I see a blur of a runner.

Verbs are very powerful, but they can also be misused. So, now let's talk about some practical concepts about verbs.

Verbs come in several forms and tenses.

   Present tense is what's happening right now or    what happens regularly: I write this blog each week.

   Past tense is what has happened in the past (a completed action): I traveled to Alaska in June.

   Future tense is what will happen in the future: I will visit my family this weekend.

These are pretty simple, right?

It doesn't end there, though. We also have present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect. Before we go there, though, I need to explain a concept called past participle. A past participle uses the past tense form of a verb (walked, talked, worked, danced) and combines with helping verbs to change the meaning of a sentence.

Present perfect combines the present tense of the helping verb "to have" with the past participle of a verb to communicate an action that happened in the past but continues to the present (I have driven 300 miles [and am continuing to drive]).

Past perfect combines the past tense of the helping verb "to have" with the past participle of a verb to communicate and action that was completed in the past before another action occurred (I had driven 300 miles before I stopped for lunch).

Future perfect combines "will" AND the present tense of the helping verb "to have" with the past participle of a verb to communicate an action that will be completed in the future (I will have driven 3000 miles by the time I arrive).

Whew! I think that's enough for now. I'll address other verb uses in future posts, so stay tuned!

As always, if you have any questions or comments, let me know.

Keep pen to paper!
Prof. Rinehart