Students of English often make mistakes in subject-verb agreement. The following are some examples and their corrections:
Example 1
One of the boys come here every day. [wrong]
One of the boys comes here every day. [correct]
Explanation: The subject is ‘one’, singular.
Example 2
Either of the girls do not know my name. [wrong]
Either of the girls does not know my name. [correct]
Explanation: ‘Either of the girls’ means ‘anyone of the girls’. So the subject is singular.
Example 3
Neither of us have the key to the room. [wrong]
Neither of us has the key to the room. [correct]
Explanation: ‘Neither of the us’ means ‘not one of us’. Hence the subject is singular.
Example 4
John, together with his brother were at the bus stop just now. [wrong]
John, together with his brother was at the bus stop just now. [correct]
Explanation: The subject here is John, singular.
Example 5
My friend and owner of this shop always play badminton with me. [wrong]
My friend and owner of this shop always plays badminton with me. [correct]
Explanation: My friend is also the owner of the shop. So, the subject is singular.
However, if ‘owner’ is preceded by ‘the’, then ‘plays’ should be replaced with ‘play’.
Hi there... wow.. great tips about subject verb agreement.
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