Common mistake Subject-verb agreement

Introduction

Sometimes even the most proficient English speakers make mistakes, and one of the most common mistakes is related to subject-verb agreement. Subject-verb agreement refers to ensuring that the verb form matches the subject in number and person.

Why subject-verb agreement is important

Subject-verb agreement is crucial because it helps maintain clarity and grammatical correctness in our writing. Using the correct verb form ensures that our sentences are not only grammatically correct but also convey the intended meaning accurately.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

Mistake 1: Using the wrong verb form with a singular subject

Incorrect: The book that I borrowed was interesting.

Correct: The book that I borrowed is interesting.

Explanation: In this example, the verb form "was" does not agree with the singular subject "book." The correct verb form should be "is."

Mistake 2: Using the wrong verb form with a plural subject

Incorrect: The students in the classroom is studying.

Correct: The students in the classroom are studying.

Explanation: Here, the verb form "is" does not agree with the plural subject "students." The correct verb form should be "are."

Mistake 3: Ignoring the subject-verb agreement with compound subjects

Incorrect: The cat and the dog were playing in the yard.

Correct: The cat and the dog was playing in the yard.

Explanation: In this example, the incorrect verb form "were" is used, but it should be "was" to match the compound subject "the cat and the dog."

Mistake 4: Failing to match the verb form with a singular indefinite pronoun

Incorrect: Everybody was late for the meeting.

Correct: Everybody was late for the meeting.

Explanation: It may seem counterintuitive, but the verb form "was" is correct here. Even though "everybody" refers to multiple individuals, it is considered as a singular indefinite pronoun and should be followed by a singular verb.

Linguix grammar checker - Your solution for subject-verb agreement

Linguix grammar checker is an excellent tool for identifying and correcting subject-verb agreement errors. With its comprehensive database and intuitive interface, Linguix can help you write error-free sentences with proper subject-verb agreement.

Subject-verb agreement mistake examples

Incorrect:
The tall gentleman get a lot of attention.

Correct:
The tall gentleman gets|got|will get a lot of attention.
Incorrect:
The tall gentleman get a lot of attention and he certainly must know it.

Correct:
The tall gentleman gets|got|will get a lot of attention and he certainly must know it.
Incorrect:
This beautiful red ball gown go well with the color of your eyes.

Correct:
This beautiful red ball goes|went|will gown goes|went|will go well with the color of your eyes.
Incorrect:
The TV news program help us keep up with the world.

Correct:
The TV news program helps|helped|will help us keep up with the world.
Correct:
The right way forward is to allow retail prices to fluctuate with market conditions.
Correct:
The New Relic log directory is empty on both instances of the cloud service.
Correct:
The other two are available for glory.
Correct:
A good example are war movies.
Correct:
A LEGAL wrangle over pipeline use is threatening the future of New Zealand.
Correct:
Some liberal Christians do not accept a literal bodily resurrection
Correct:
The other IPO in Exhibit 6 (especially Uunet) demonstrate how hot the market is.
Correct:
The Eastern Orthodox generally recognize them.
Correct:
The recent weakness in bank stocks is shocking.
Correct:
Many anti-Zionist Jews are accused of being anti-Semites.
Correct:
The latter two frequently appear on the number one spot.
Correct:
My three macro are enabled.
Correct:
A little tricky nomenclature don't you think.
Correct:
The best known are mass strandings of pilot whales and sperm whales.
Correct:
The couple next door are fighting again.
Correct:
A full chat server rebuild?
Correct:
The rust belt are not swing states as the writer says.
Correct:
The Twelver Shia criticize Abu Bakr for an alleged dispute.
Correct:
The Bolivian Andes produce principally tin.
Correct:
The second list below are those who either serve as Reporting Council or aldermen.
Correct:
The HOT BODY DETECTOR KIT let's you know when someone's peeping in your window.
Correct:
The Swedish lottery board consider that the target number is 5.
Correct:
The most notable are Montreal's Mount Royal and Mont Saint-Hilaire.
Correct:
The most common are the virelai and the rondeau.
Correct:
The next largest group are Pentecostals.
Correct:
All Haas faculty are invited to attend the symposium free of charge.
Correct:
The Royal Artillery are unique in using the term.
Correct:
Another Dutch hip-hop duo are Pete Philly and Perquisite.
Correct:
A high percentage fail when faxed at night, early morning, and weekends.
Correct:
The Voltaic Mossi make up about one-half of the population.
Correct:
My immediate family are muslim.
Correct:
My friend Sun shine on me now and ever.
Correct:
The Anglican Pacifist Fellowship remain highly active throughout the Anglican world.
Correct:
The Houston Astros are on track to clinch their 4th Central Division title.
Correct:
The consumer advocacy group the Center for Science in the Public Interest continues to promote the position that aspartame is not safe.
Correct:
The facility run by Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. is set to start reprocessing in July 2005.
Correct:
Our El Paso Natural Gas south mainline expansions to Mexico are going to serve mainly CFE generation.
Correct:
The wish list might include a summary page to show the desks net 0.
Correct:
This summer there are an ever increasing number of announcements about CEO's stepping down, moving on and dropping out.
Correct:
The Kurukh have traditionally claimed to be from the Deccan Peninsula.
Correct:
The meeting time the El Paso building.
Correct:
These measure are meant to make it easier for those newly entering.
Correct:
The anti-choice crowd don't know what they're unleashing.
Correct:
The next day repeat the exact same thing.
Correct:
A player betting don't pass and don't come every roll and ...

Incorrect:
The dusty book about red ants and termites seem very informative.

Correct:
The dusty book about red ants and termites seems|seemed|will seem very informative.
Incorrect:
This beautiful red ball gown with the little flowers go well with the color of your eyes.

Correct:
This beautiful red ball goes|went|will gown with the little flowers goes|went|will go well with the color of your eyes.
Incorrect:
The delivery location for all newspaper subscriptions need to be changed to ECS 05/06.

Correct:
The delivery location for all newspaper subscriptions needs|needed|will need to be changed to ECS 05/06.
Correct:
An equal number of marketers have also expressed concern about the load.
Correct:
The few remaining Jews in the Arab countries reside mostly in Morocco and Tunisia.
Correct:
The most well known in English-speaking countries include "Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel" and "Chanukah, Oh Chanukah".
Correct:
The most notable in the Bay Area are Fred's and Mont Saint-Hilaire.
Correct:
The later Prelude to Dune prequels also employ this floating ability.

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