Subject/Verb Agreement

A sentence has three essential parts: a subject, a verb, and an object.

• The subject is who or what the sentence is about. The subject has the agency of the sentence: that is, they are the one doing something.

• The verb tells you what the subject is doing, what is being done to the subject, or something about the state of being of the subject. The verb is usually the action.

• The object completes the thought. It will usually clarify what, how, when, why, or where a subject did an action (verb).

Therefore, sentences will usually follow this formula:

[Subject] [Verb] [Object]

Sentences that are written this way (SVO) are in the active voice: the subject is doing something. You may have heard your teacher tell you to "write in the active voice" before. When the order is reversed, the sentence is usually in the passive voice: something is happening to the subject.

Active voice: I threw the baseball.

Passive voice: The baseball was thrown by me.

Both are complete, grammatically-correct sentences. However, the active voice is preferred because it's more dynamic and usually more concise.

An easy way to distinguish between a subject and a verb is to determine who/what is doing the action: The subject does the object.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Remember, in a well-constructed sentence, subjects and verbs are linked and must agree; they must match in form, according to person (first, second, or third) and number (singular or plural).

The key to proper subject/verb agreement is to identify the verb, then identify the subject of the verb, and make sure they agree in person and number.

Sometimes, complex sentences can conceal the subject, making identification of proper subject/verb agreement more of a challenge. Putting modifiers and extra words between the subject and the verb can cause you to forget the subject by the time you get to the verb.

Example:

The final minute of the race, the last of many grueling minutes, was/were a time when I felt my resolve was about to break.

Even though the plural noun “minutes” comes right before the verb, the subject is really the third word of the sentence (“minute”), and therefore the correct verb is “was.” You can avoid mistakes like this by ignoring the “filler” and isolating the subject and verb from the rest of the sentence.

Subject/Verb Agreement - Watch For Prepositional Phrases

A prepositional phrase, such as “with several other interns,” never counts as the subject. Prepositional phrases always begin with a preposition; a word that gives physical location, chronological location, direction, or position (Examples include: “on,” “above,” “below,” “with,” “by,” “during,” “until,” …just Google “prepositions” for a full list) and end with a noun, such as “interns."

Here are a few more prepositional phrases: “of awards,” “with six kids,” or “on the table.”

So, when you are identifying the subject of an underlined verb, if there is a prepositional phrase, cross it out! Then subject/verb agreement is obvious, and a tricky question can seem clearer.

Identifying the Subject

Cross out any prepositional phrases between the subject and verb, and underline the subject of the bold verb in each of the following sentences.

Margarita, with her sisters, currently runs a marketing firm. The way of all samurai is a strict path. The girls, with their dog Alfred, walk to school. The PTA, through generous donations, is building a new school building.