Which one is right? Subject-verb agreement & Why It Is Important
* The girl with the long braids (was, were) the winner.
* The man behind the curtains (is, are) the wizard.
* Lettuce or tomatoes (go, goes) well on a sandwich.
* Individual freedom and social cooperation (remain, remains) important concepts.
Making mistakes in subject-verb agreement is a serious error. It often costs students points on standardized tests and is an issue for adults who want their spoken speech to sound professional and polished.
The basic concept of subject-verb agreement is easy. If the subject (main noun) of a sentence is singular, the verb should also be singular. If the subject of a sentence is plural, the verb should also be plural.
It sounds easy, and usually it is, in fact, easy. But – what if there is a phrase between the subject and the verb? What if there are two subjects joined by “and”? What if there are two subjects joined by “or”? What if the subject is a collective noun like “army” or “team”?
That’s when it gets tricky.
At Beyond Words Learning, we have a lesson that makes it all easy. This detailed lesson includes what to do when prepositional phrases come between the subject and verb, when there is a plural subject, when there is an inverted verb-before-subject sentence, and several more common situations.
This also includes a 36-question est, complete with key.
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