{"id":1079,"date":"2016-06-28T18:53:10","date_gmt":"2016-06-28T18:53:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level2-english\/?post_type=chapter&p=1079"},"modified":"2016-11-08T00:28:54","modified_gmt":"2016-11-08T00:28:54","slug":"text-verb-agreement","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-introtocollegecomp\/chapter\/text-verb-agreement\/","title":{"raw":"Verb Agreement","rendered":"Verb Agreement"},"content":{"raw":"\"IconThe basic idea behind sentence agreement is pretty simple: all the parts of your sentence should match (or agree<\/strong>).\u00a0Verbs need to agree with their subjects in number<\/strong> (singular or plural) and in person<\/strong> (first, second, or third). In order to check agreement, you simply\u00a0need to find the verb and ask who or what is doing the action of that verb.\r\n

Person<\/h2>\r\nAgreement based on grammatical person (first, second, or third person) is found mostly between verb and subject.\u00a0For example, you can\u00a0say \"I am\" or \"he is,\" but not \"I is\" or \"he am.\" This is because the grammar of the language requires that the verb and its subject agree in person. The pronouns I<\/em> and he<\/em> are first and third person respectively, as are the verb forms am<\/em> and is<\/em>. The verb form must be selected so that it has the same person as the subject.\r\n

Number<\/h2>\r\nAgreement based on grammatical number can occur between verb and subject, as in the case of grammatical person discussed above. In fact the two categories are often conflated within verb conjugation patterns: there are specific verb forms for first person singular, second person plural and so on. Some examples:\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • I<\/strong> really am<\/strong> (1st pers. singular) vs. We<\/strong> really are<\/strong> (1st pers. plural)<\/li>\r\n \t
  • The boy sings<\/strong> (3rd pers. singular) vs. The boys sing<\/strong> (3rd pers. plural)<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n

    More\u00a0Examples<\/h3>\r\nCompound subjects are plural, and their verbs should agree. Look at the following sentence for an example:\r\n

    A pencil, a backpack, and a notebook were<\/b> issued to each student.<\/p>\r\nVerbs will never agree with nouns that are in prepositional phrases. To make verbs agree with their subjects, follow this example:\r\n

    The direction of the three plays is<\/b> the topic of my talk.<\/p>\r\nThe subject of \"my talk\" is direction,<\/i> not plays<\/i>, so the verb should be singular.\r\n\r\nIn the English language, verbs usually follow subjects. But when this order is reversed, the writer must make the verb agree with the subject, not with a noun that happens to precede it. For example:\r\n

    Beside the house stand<\/b> sheds filled with tools.<\/p>\r\nThe subject is sheds<\/i>; it is plural, so the verb must be stand<\/i>.\r\n

    Agreement<\/h2>\r\nAll regular verbs (and nearly all irregular ones) in English agree in the third-person singular of the present indicative by adding a suffix of either -s<\/i> or -es<\/i>.\r\n\r\nLook at the present tense of to love, <\/i>for example:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    Person<\/th>\r\nNumber<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Singular<\/th>\r\nPlural<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    First<\/th>\r\nI love<\/i><\/td>\r\nwe love<\/i><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Second<\/th>\r\nyou love<\/i><\/td>\r\nyou love<\/i><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Third<\/th>\r\nhe\/she\/it loves<\/b><\/i><\/td>\r\nthey love<\/i><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nThe highly irregular verb to be<\/i> is the only verb with more agreement than this in the present tense:\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    Person<\/th>\r\nNumber<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Singular<\/th>\r\nPlural<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    First<\/th>\r\nI am<\/i><\/td>\r\nwe are<\/i><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Second<\/th>\r\nyou are<\/i><\/td>\r\nyou are<\/i><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Third<\/th>\r\nhe\/she\/it is<\/i><\/td>\r\nthey are<\/i><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n
    \r\n

    Practice<\/h3>\r\nChoose the correct verb to make the sentences agree:\r\n
      \r\n \t
    1. Ann (walk \/ walks) really slowly.<\/li>\r\n \t
    2. You (is \/ am \/ are) dating Tom?<\/li>\r\n \t
    3. Donna and April (get \/ gets) along well.<\/li>\r\n \t
    4. Chris and Ben (is \/ am \/ are) the best duo\u00a0this company has ever seen.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"813087\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"813087\"]\r\n
        \r\n \t
      1. Ann walks<\/strong>\u00a0really slowly.\r\n
          \r\n \t
        • Ann<\/em> is a singular, third-person\u00a0subject.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
        • You are<\/strong>\u00a0dating Tom?\r\n
            \r\n \t
          • You<\/em> is a singular,\u00a0second-person\u00a0subject.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
          • Donna and April get<\/strong> along well.\r\n
              \r\n \t
            • Donna and April<\/em> is a plural, third-person subject.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
            • Chris and Ben are<\/strong>\u00a0the best duo\u00a0this company has ever seen.\r\n
                \r\n \t
              • Chris and Ben<\/em> is a plural, third-person subject.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n

                Consistency<\/h2>\r\nOne of the most common mistakes in writing is a lack of tense consistency. Writers often start a sentence in one tense but ended up in another. Look back at that sentence. Do you see the error? The first verb\u00a0start<\/em> is in the present tense, but\u00a0ended<\/em> is in the past tense. The correct version of the sentence would be \"Writers often start a sentence in one tense but end up in another.\"\r\n\r\nThese mistakes often occur when writers\u00a0change their\u00a0minds halfway through writing the sentence, or when they\u00a0come back and make changes but only end up changing\u00a0half the sentence. It is very important to maintain a consistent tense, not just in a sentence but across paragraphs and pages.\u00a0Decide if\u00a0something happened, is happening, or will happen and then stick with that choice.\r\n\r\nRead through the following paragraphs. Can you spot the errors in tense? Type your corrected passage in the text frame below:\r\n

                \"AIf you want to\u00a0pick up a new outdoor activity, hiking is a great option to consider.\u00a0It's a sport that is\u00a0suited for a beginner or an expert\u2014it just\u00a0depended on the difficulty hikes you choose. However,\u00a0even the earliest beginners can complete\u00a0difficult hikes\u00a0if they pace themselves and were\u00a0physically fit.<\/p>\r\n

                Not only is hiking\u00a0an easy activity to\u00a0pick up, it also will have\u00a0some great payoffs. As you walked through canyons and climbed up mountains, you can\u00a0see things that you wouldn't otherwise. The views are breathtaking, and you will get a great opportunity to meditate on the world and your role\u00a0in it. The summit\u00a0of a mountain is unlike any other place in the world.<\/p>\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"792647\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"792647\"]As we mentioned earlier, you want to make sure your whole passage is consistent in its tense. You may have noticed that the most of the verbs in this passage\u00a0are in present tense; we've edited the passage be consistently in the present tense.\u00a0All edited verbs have been bolded:\r\n

                If you want to pick up a new outdoor activity, hiking is a great option to consider. (1) It's a sport that can be suited for a beginner or an expert\u2014it just depends<\/strong> on the difficulty hikes you choose. However,\u00a0even the earliest beginners can complete\u00a0difficult hikes (2) if they pace themselves and are<\/strong> physically fit.<\/p>\r\n

                (3) Not only is hiking\u00a0an easy activity to\u00a0pick up, it also\u00a0has<\/strong> some great payoffs. (4) As you walk<\/strong> through canyons and climb<\/strong> up mountains, you can\u00a0see things that you wouldn't otherwise. (5) The views are breathtaking, and you get<\/strong> a great opportunity to meditate on the world and your role\u00a0in it. The summit\u00a0of a mountain is unlike any other place in the world.<\/p>\r\nHere's each original sentence, along with an\u00a0explanation for the\u00a0changes:\r\n

                  \r\n \t
                1. It's a sport that is\u00a0suited for a beginner or an expert\u2014it just\u00a0depended<\/strong> on the difficulty hikes you choose.\r\n
                    \r\n \t
                  • depended<\/em> should be the same tense as\u00a0is<\/em>; it just depends<\/strong> on the difficulty<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
                  • if they pace themselves and were<\/strong>\u00a0physically fit.\r\n
                      \r\n \t
                    • were\u00a0<\/em>should be the same tense as\u00a0pace<\/em>; if they pace themselves\u00a0and are<\/strong> physically fit.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
                    • Not only is hiking\u00a0an easy activity to\u00a0pick up, it also will have<\/strong>\u00a0some great payoffs.\r\n
                        \r\n \t
                      • will have<\/em> should be the same tense as\u00a0is<\/em>;\u00a0it also has<\/strong> some great pay offs<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
                      • As you walked<\/strong> through canyons and climbed<\/strong> up mountains\r\n
                          \r\n \t
                        • walked<\/em> and\u00a0climbed<\/em> are both past tense, but this doesn't match the tense of the passage as a whole. They should both be changed to present tense: As you\u00a0walk<\/strong> through canyons and\u00a0climb<\/strong> up mountains.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t
                        • \u00a0The views are breathtaking, and you will get<\/strong> a great opportunity to meditate on the world and your role\u00a0in it.\r\n
                            \r\n \t
                          • will get<\/em> should be the same\u00a0tense as\u00a0are<\/em>; you get<\/strong> a great opportunity<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n
                            \r\n

                            Practice<\/h3>\r\nRead the following sentences and identify any errors in verb tense. Type your corrections in the text frame below:\r\n
                              \r\n \t
                            1. Whenever Maudeline goes to the grocery store, she\u00a0had made\u00a0a list and stick to it.<\/li>\r\n \t
                            2. This experiment turned out to be much more complicated than Felipe thought it would be. It ended up being\u00a0a procedure that was seventeen steps long, instead of the original eight that he had planned.<\/li>\r\n \t
                            3. I applied to some of the most prestigious medical schools. I hope the essays I write get me in!<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[practice-area rows=\"4\"][\/practice-area]\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"615298\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"615298\"]\r\n
                                \r\n \t
                              1. had made<\/em>\u00a0and stick<\/em>\u00a0do not match the present tense that was set up by goes<\/em>. The sentence should read, \"Whenever Maudeline goes to the store, she\u00a0makes<\/strong> a list and sticks<\/strong> to it.\"<\/li>\r\n \t
                              2. This sentence is correct.<\/li>\r\n \t
                              3. applied<\/em> and\u00a0write<\/em> do not match tense. If you've already applied, hopefully you've already written your essays as well! The\u00a0sentences should read, \"I applied to some of the most prestigious medical schools. I hope the essays I wrote<\/strong> get me in!\"<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n[\/hidden-answer]\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

                                \"IconThe basic idea behind sentence agreement is pretty simple: all the parts of your sentence should match (or agree<\/strong>).\u00a0Verbs need to agree with their subjects in number<\/strong> (singular or plural) and in person<\/strong> (first, second, or third). In order to check agreement, you simply\u00a0need to find the verb and ask who or what is doing the action of that verb.<\/p>\n

                                Person<\/h2>\n

                                Agreement based on grammatical person (first, second, or third person) is found mostly between verb and subject.\u00a0For example, you can\u00a0say “I am” or “he is,” but not “I is” or “he am.” This is because the grammar of the language requires that the verb and its subject agree in person. The pronouns I<\/em> and he<\/em> are first and third person respectively, as are the verb forms am<\/em> and is<\/em>. The verb form must be selected so that it has the same person as the subject.<\/p>\n

                                Number<\/h2>\n

                                Agreement based on grammatical number can occur between verb and subject, as in the case of grammatical person discussed above. In fact the two categories are often conflated within verb conjugation patterns: there are specific verb forms for first person singular, second person plural and so on. Some examples:<\/p>\n

                                  \n
                                • I<\/strong> really am<\/strong> (1st pers. singular) vs. We<\/strong> really are<\/strong> (1st pers. plural)<\/li>\n
                                • The boy sings<\/strong> (3rd pers. singular) vs. The boys sing<\/strong> (3rd pers. plural)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                  More\u00a0Examples<\/h3>\n

                                  Compound subjects are plural, and their verbs should agree. Look at the following sentence for an example:<\/p>\n

                                  A pencil, a backpack, and a notebook were<\/b> issued to each student.<\/p>\n

                                  Verbs will never agree with nouns that are in prepositional phrases. To make verbs agree with their subjects, follow this example:<\/p>\n

                                  The direction of the three plays is<\/b> the topic of my talk.<\/p>\n

                                  The subject of “my talk” is direction,<\/i> not plays<\/i>, so the verb should be singular.<\/p>\n

                                  In the English language, verbs usually follow subjects. But when this order is reversed, the writer must make the verb agree with the subject, not with a noun that happens to precede it. For example:<\/p>\n

                                  Beside the house stand<\/b> sheds filled with tools.<\/p>\n

                                  The subject is sheds<\/i>; it is plural, so the verb must be stand<\/i>.<\/p>\n

                                  Agreement<\/h2>\n

                                  All regular verbs (and nearly all irregular ones) in English agree in the third-person singular of the present indicative by adding a suffix of either -s<\/i> or -es<\/i>.<\/p>\n

                                  Look at the present tense of to love, <\/i>for example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
                                  Person<\/th>\nNumber<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
                                  Singular<\/th>\nPlural<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
                                  First<\/th>\nI love<\/i><\/td>\nwe love<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                  Second<\/th>\nyou love<\/i><\/td>\nyou love<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                  Third<\/th>\nhe\/she\/it loves<\/b><\/i><\/td>\nthey love<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

                                  The highly irregular verb to be<\/i> is the only verb with more agreement than this in the present tense:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
                                  Person<\/th>\nNumber<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
                                  Singular<\/th>\nPlural<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
                                  First<\/th>\nI am<\/i><\/td>\nwe are<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                  Second<\/th>\nyou are<\/i><\/td>\nyou are<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
                                  Third<\/th>\nhe\/she\/it is<\/i><\/td>\nthey are<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
                                  \n

                                  Practice<\/h3>\n

                                  Choose the correct verb to make the sentences agree:<\/p>\n

                                    \n
                                  1. Ann (walk \/ walks) really slowly.<\/li>\n
                                  2. You (is \/ am \/ are) dating Tom?<\/li>\n
                                  3. Donna and April (get \/ gets) along well.<\/li>\n
                                  4. Chris and Ben (is \/ am \/ are) the best duo\u00a0this company has ever seen.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                                    Show Answer<\/span><\/p>\n
                                    \n
                                      \n
                                    1. Ann walks<\/strong>\u00a0really slowly.\n
                                        \n
                                      • Ann<\/em> is a singular, third-person\u00a0subject.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
                                      • You are<\/strong>\u00a0dating Tom?\n
                                          \n
                                        • You<\/em> is a singular,\u00a0second-person\u00a0subject.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
                                        • Donna and April get<\/strong> along well.\n
                                            \n
                                          • Donna and April<\/em> is a plural, third-person subject.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
                                          • Chris and Ben are<\/strong>\u00a0the best duo\u00a0this company has ever seen.\n
                                              \n
                                            • Chris and Ben<\/em> is a plural, third-person subject.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

                                              Consistency<\/h2>\n

                                              One of the most common mistakes in writing is a lack of tense consistency. Writers often start a sentence in one tense but ended up in another. Look back at that sentence. Do you see the error? The first verb\u00a0start<\/em> is in the present tense, but\u00a0ended<\/em> is in the past tense. The correct version of the sentence would be “Writers often start a sentence in one tense but end up in another.”<\/p>\n

                                              These mistakes often occur when writers\u00a0change their\u00a0minds halfway through writing the sentence, or when they\u00a0come back and make changes but only end up changing\u00a0half the sentence. It is very important to maintain a consistent tense, not just in a sentence but across paragraphs and pages.\u00a0Decide if\u00a0something happened, is happening, or will happen and then stick with that choice.<\/p>\n

                                              Read through the following paragraphs. Can you spot the errors in tense? Type your corrected passage in the text frame below:<\/p>\n

                                              \"AIf you want to\u00a0pick up a new outdoor activity, hiking is a great option to consider.\u00a0It’s a sport that is\u00a0suited for a beginner or an expert\u2014it just\u00a0depended on the difficulty hikes you choose. However,\u00a0even the earliest beginners can complete\u00a0difficult hikes\u00a0if they pace themselves and were\u00a0physically fit.<\/p>\n

                                              Not only is hiking\u00a0an easy activity to\u00a0pick up, it also will have\u00a0some great payoffs. As you walked through canyons and climbed up mountains, you can\u00a0see things that you wouldn’t otherwise. The views are breathtaking, and you will get a great opportunity to meditate on the world and your role\u00a0in it. The summit\u00a0of a mountain is unlike any other place in the world.<\/p>\n