Common mistake Who send (sends) the documents/how is (are) the kids doing

Common Subject-Verb Agreement Mistakes

Subject-verb agreement is one of the fundamental aspects of English grammar. It refers to ensuring that the subject and the verb in a sentence agree in terms of number - whether they are singular or plural. Unfortunately, many people make common mistakes when it comes to subject-verb agreement, leading to grammatically incorrect sentences. In this article, we will discuss some of the most frequent errors and provide examples to help you avoid them.

Mistake #1: Ignoring Singular and Plural Subjects

A common mistake is ignoring the number of the subject and incorrectly matching it with the verb. For instance, using a plural verb when the subject is singular, or vice versa.

  • Incorrect: "The cat chases the dogs."
  • Correct: "The cat chases the dog." (Matching singular subject with singular verb)

Mistake #2: Not Recognizing Collective Nouns

Collective nouns refer to a group of individuals as a single unit. It is important to remember that collective nouns can be treated as singular or plural, depending on the intended meaning.

  • Incorrect: "The committee disagrees with each other."
  • Correct: "The committee disagrees with itself." (Treating committee as a singular unit)

Mistake #3: Being Confused by Indefinite Pronouns

Indefinite pronouns, such as "everyone" and "everyone," are used to refer to nonspecific individuals or things. These pronouns are always treated as singular.

  • Incorrect: "Everyone have their own opinions."
  • Correct: "Everyone has their own opinions." (Using singular verb)

Mistake #4: Overlooking Compound Subjects

Compound subjects, which consist of two or more nouns joined by "and," are generally treated as plural and require a plural verb.

  • Incorrect: "Bread and butter is my favorite breakfast."
  • Correct: "Bread and butter are my favorite breakfast." (Using plural verb)

Mistake #5: Misinterpreting Prepositional Phrases

Prepositional phrases, such as "along with" or "as well as," do not affect subject-verb agreement. The verb should agree with the subject, regardless of the words in the prepositional phrase.

  • Incorrect: "The book, along with its characters, were fascinating."
  • Correct: "The book, along with its characters, was fascinating." (Using singular verb)

About Linguix Grammar Checker

Linguix Grammar Checker is a useful tool that can help you identify and correct subject-verb agreement mistakes and many other grammar errors. It scans your text for grammatical issues, provides suggestions for improvement, and enhances your writing overall. Incorporating such a tool into your writing process can significantly improve the quality and correctness of your work.

Who send (sends) the documents/how is (are) the kids doing mistake examples

  • Incorrect:
    Who send the documents to HR?

    Correct:
    Who sends|sent the documents to HR?

  • Incorrect:
    Who run the world?

    Correct:
    Who runs|ran the world?

  • Incorrect:
    What make the tide rise and fall?

    Correct:
    What makes|made the tide rise and fall?

  • Incorrect:
    What make the waves so huge?

    Correct:
    What makes|made the waves so huge?

  • Correct:
    Who put this paper here?
  • Correct:
    Who am I?
  • Correct:
    Who are you?
  • Correct:
    What do you think?
  • Correct:
    What have we got here?
  • Correct:
    What say you?
  • Correct:
    What can I do?
  • Correct:
    Who fear future discomfort.
  • Correct:
    What redeem code?
  • Correct:
    What feature exactly?
  • Correct:
    What know you of patience?
  • Correct:
    What make of computer do you use?
  • Correct:
    What make and model of vehicle?
  • Correct:
    What use case would I see second and subsequent installs?
  • Correct:
    What Let's Encrypt client did you use to obtain your certificate?
  • Correct:
    What hope attends you through this gate?
  • Correct:
    How entitled are you guys, who think a Guild Leader can’t kick who they want?
  • Correct:
    But I, who walk the Queen of Heaven confessed...
  • Correct:
    What mean these seven ewelambs which thou hast set apart?
  • Incorrect:
    What do the boy have to do?

    Correct:
    What does|did the boy have to does|did?

  • Incorrect:
    When have the professor ever been clear about his assignments?

    Correct:
    When has|had the professor ever been clear about his assignments?

  • Incorrect:
    Where have the child run off to?

    Correct:
    Where has|had the child run off to?

  • Incorrect:
    How do your wife do it?

    Correct:
    How does|did your wife does|did it?

  • Correct:
    When do these count?
  • Correct:
    What do UFOs believe in?
  • Correct:
    What do the Algerians want?
  • Correct:
    What do the British do?
  • Correct:
    Where do all of you live?
  • Correct:
    How do the expert reviewers be assigned?
  • Correct:
    How do y’all do it?
  • Correct:
    How do the rest of you handle this?
  • Correct:
    Relic Solution: How do Host Not Reporting Alert Conditions Work?
  • Correct:
    How do most of your customers associate exceptional conditions with an incident report?
  • Correct:
    My question is, how do able would that be?
  • Correct:
    Well, what have the two of you decided?
  • Correct:
    How do feel about it, Tom?
  • Correct:
    What do the “percentages” that appear in the bottom of the display box, represent?
  • Incorrect:
    How does video sources play into this config?

    Correct:
    How do|did video sources play into this config?

  • Incorrect:
    What does the flags mean below each post?

    Correct:
    What do|did the flags mean below each post?

  • Incorrect:
    When has the designers ever been clear about what they want?

    Correct:
    When have|had the designers ever been clear about what they want?

  • Incorrect:
    Where has the kids run off to?

    Correct:
    Where have|had the kids run off to?

  • Incorrect:
    How does the teams do it?

    Correct:
    How do|did the teams do it?

  • Correct:
    What does this kanji mean?
  • Correct:
    What does his silence imply?
  • Correct:
    What does his father do?
  • Correct:
    What does your owners manual say?
  • Correct:
    What does the above method returns?
  • Correct:
    What has legs, but cannot walk?
  • Correct:
    Where does the imageCaptue.take() action stores the photo?
  • Correct:
    What does the Consumer Reports Used Car Guide say?
  • Correct:
    I think the oil filter specifications would confuse the typical vehicle owner and this is something I generally do not see in owners manuals, what does your owners manual state for oil filter specifications?
  • Incorrect:
    What are the most widely used browser for JIRA and Confluence?

    Correct:
    What is|was the most widely used browser for JIRA and Confluence?

  • Incorrect:
    What are the 2019 recommendation?

    Correct:
    What is|was the 2019 recommendation?

  • Incorrect:
    Where are the soldier going?

    Correct:
    Where is|was the soldier going?

  • Incorrect:
    What were the boy doing?

    Correct:
    What is|was the boy doing?

  • Incorrect:
    When were the professor ever clear about his assignments?

    Correct:
    When is|was the professor ever clear about his assignments?

  • Incorrect:
    Where were the book I gave you?

    Correct:
    Where is|was the book I gave you?

  • Correct:
    What are ye doing?
  • Correct:
    Who are your working for?
  • Correct:
    Where are the other three?
  • Correct:
    How are the new dashboard apis coming along?
  • Correct:
    Where are mine?
  • Correct:
    So who were the 25?
  • Correct:
    What are the default user agent and other headers sent by New Relic synthetics?
  • Correct:
    So what are the long term ft's OP?
  • Correct:
    What are my step by step diagnostics to determine the cause?
  • Correct:
    What are your must have or best Keyboard Maestro Workflows?
  • Correct:
    If so, what are the “type” and “device” here?
  • Correct:
    What are the total heap size, -XX:PermSize and -XX:MaxPermSize settings for your JVM?
  • Correct:
    Where are my mom and dad?
  • Correct:
    What are your Energy Saver settings?
  • Correct:
    Would courts hold that contraceptives or what are today called sex toys were such articles?
  • Correct:
    Now… I feel like a newb with this Q but… what are the Owner, name and branch of the github for the integration?
  • Correct:
    Where are the simple step by step instructions for setting up HTTPS for a Tomcat server running on Windows?
  • Correct:
    What are the main reason(s) for using pocketknife vs using QueryDSL directly, even for the local DB?
  • Correct:
    What are the most commonly used swear words in Dutch?
Linguix Browser extension
Fix your writing
on millions of websites
Linguix pencil
This website uses cookies to make Linguix work for you. By using this site, you agree to our cookie policy