Subject-verb agreement can be one of the trickiest aspects of grammar to master. It requires a careful understanding of the relationship between the subject and verb in a sentence. One way to test your understanding of subject-verb agreement is through a quiz. Here are some rules you should know before taking a subject-verb agreement quiz:
1. Singular subjects take singular verbs, and plural subjects take plural verbs. For example: The bird sings. (singular subject and verb), and The birds sing. (plural subject and verb).
2. Collective nouns (such as team, family, or audience) can be singular or plural, depending on the context. For example: The team is practicing (singular), and The team are arguing (plural).
3. Compound subjects joined by the coordinating conjunction “and” take a plural verb. For example: The dog and the cat play together. (plural subject and verb).
4. When a compound subject is joined by the coordinating conjunction “or” or “nor,” use a verb that agrees with the nearer subject. For example: Neither the dog nor the cat is hungry. (singular verb).
5. When a subject is followed by a phrase that begins with “with,” “together with,” “along with,” or “as well as,” the verb agrees with the subject, not the phrase. For example: The cat, along with her kittens, is sleeping. (singular verb).
6. Indefinite pronouns (such as someone, anyone, everyone, nobody, or everybody) are always singular and require a singular verb. For example: Everyone likes pizza. (singular subject and verb).
7. When a sentence begins with “here” or “there,” the verb agrees with the subject that comes after the verb. For example: Here is your coffee. (singular verb).
8. When a sentence begins with “here” or “there” and the subject comes after the verb, use a plural verb. For example: There are three cats in the room. (plural subject and verb).
9. Titles of books, movies, or other works that are singular take a singular verb, even if the title contains a plural noun. For example: The Lord of the Rings is a popular book. (singular subject and verb).
10. Inverted sentences (sentences in which the subject comes after the verb) use the same subject-verb agreement rules as non-inverted sentences. For example: In the park were two dogs. (plural subject and verb).
Now that you know the basic rules of subject-verb agreement, you can try a quiz to test your knowledge. By mastering the rules of subject-verb agreement, you can improve your writing and communicate your ideas more effectively.