Page 142 - New Grammar with a Smile 7

Subject-Verb

20 Agreement

Warm-up

Fill in the correct form of the verbs given in the brackets.

1. Crows (caw).

2. The nightingale (sing).

3. My brother (be) coming home this weekend.

4. The boy (share) his toys with his friends.

5. He (have) a lot of homework today.

6. She (look) nice in this dress.

7. I (walk) my dog every day.

8. My mother (bake) cake on my birthday.

A singular noun takes a singular verb and a plural noun takes a plural verb.
This is called the subject-verb agreement.

Let us revise the rules of subject-verb agreement.
1. Two or more singular (or plural) subjects joined by and act as a plural compound
subject and take a plural verb. For example,

y My brother and sister are acting in a play. Note
y The cat and the dog are great friends. A singular verb is used when
two subjects joined by and
2. When two singular subjects are joined by the words represent one idea. For
or, nor, neither or either, they require a singular example,
verb. For example, • Rice and curry is my

y My uncle or my cousin is coming over. favourite dish.
y Either is fine.
3. Two or more singular subjects joined by neither…nor, either…or, need a
singular verb. For example,

y Neither the emperor nor the minister was able to give a reply.

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