Subject Verb Agreement Guided Notes
Subject-verb agreement is an essential component of the English language. It refers to the agreement between the subject of a sentence and the verb that follows it. When the subject and verb agree, the sentence sounds grammatically correct and makes sense to the reader. However, when there is a disagreement between the subject and verb, it makes the sentence sound awkward and confusing. Therefore, understanding the rules of subject-verb agreement is critical to effective writing.
To gain a better understanding of subject-verb agreement, it’s essential to create a set of guided notes. Guided notes are a useful tool to organize and simplify information for easier comprehension. Below are some guidelines on creating subject-verb agreement guided notes.
1. Identify the subject
The first step is to identify the subject of the sentence. The subject is the noun or pronoun that performs the action in the sentence. For example, in the sentence “John plays tennis,” John is the subject.
2. Determine the verb
The verb is the action word that describes what the subject is doing. It should agree with the subject in terms of number and tense. For example, in the sentence, “John plays tennis,” the verb “plays” agrees with the singular subject “John.”
3. Singular subjects and verbs
When the subject of the sentence is singular, the verb should be singular as well. For example, “The dog barks at the mailman” is correct because both the subject (dog) and verb (barks) are singular.
4. Plural subjects and verbs
When the subject of the sentence is plural, the verb should be in the plural form. For example, “The dogs bark at the mailman” is correct because both the subject (dogs) and verb (bark) are in the plural form.
5. Subject-verb agreement with compound subjects
When there are two or more subjects in a sentence, it’s referred to as a compound subject. In this case, the verb should agree with the subject closest to it. For example, “The cat and the dog sleep on the sofa” is correct because the verb “sleep” agrees with the closest subject “dog.”
6. Subject-verb agreement with indefinite pronouns
Indefinite pronouns refer to a non-specific person, place, or thing. These include pronouns like “everyone,” “someone,” and “anyone.” When these pronouns are the subject of the sentence, they are considered singular, and the verb should be singular as well. For example, “Everyone wants to go to the party” is correct because the pronoun “everyone” is considered singular.
In conclusion, subject-verb agreement is vital to effective communication in the English language. Creating a set of guided notes based on these guidelines can help you learn and understand the rules of subject-verb agreement more efficiently. So, the next time you write a sentence, make sure the subject and verb agree to ensure that your message is clear, concise, and grammatically correct.