Subject-verb agreement is an essential aspect of good writing. It ensures that the subject and verb in a sentence agree in terms of number, person, and tense. When this rule is not followed, it can make a sentence sound awkward or even change the meaning of what you are trying to communicate.
As a professional, it is critical to be able to spot errors in subject-verb agreement, as they can often affect a website`s search engine optimization (SEO) ranking. Here are a few tips to help you identify and correct subject-verb agreement errors:
1. Identify the subject and verb in a sentence: The first step in identifying subject-verb agreement errors is to identify the subject and verb in a sentence. The subject is the person, place, or thing that performs the action, while the verb is the action itself.
For example, in the sentence “The dog barks,” “dog” is the subject, and “barks” is the verb.
2. Ensure that the subject and verb agree in number: The subject and verb must agree in terms of number (singular or plural). If the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular, and if the subject is plural, the verb must also be plural.
For example, in the sentence “The dogs bark,” both the subject (dogs) and the verb (bark) are plural.
3. Ensure that the subject and verb agree in person: The subject and verb must agree in terms of person (first, second, or third person). If the subject is in the first person, the verb must also be in the first person, and so on.
For example, in the sentence “I am going to the store,” both the subject (I) and the verb (am) are in the first person.
4. Ensure that the subject and verb agree in tense: The subject and verb must agree in terms of tense (past, present, or future). If the subject is in the past tense, the verb must also be in the past tense, and so on.
For example, in the sentence “She danced all night,” both the subject (she) and the verb (danced) are in the past tense.
Here are a few examples of subject-verb agreement errors:
– “The boys was playing basketball.” (Error: The subject “boys” is plural, but the verb “was” is singular. It should be “The boys were playing basketball.”)
– “She don`t like pizza.” (Error: The subject “she” is singular, but the verb “don`t” is plural. It should be “She doesn`t like pizza.”)
– “The cat chases the mouse yesterday.” (Error: The verb “chases” is in the present tense, but the time reference “yesterday” is in the past tense. It should be “The cat chased the mouse yesterday.”)
As a professional, it is essential to spot subject-verb agreement errors to ensure that the content on a website is error-free and easy to read. Remember to check for number, person, and tense agreement when editing, and make the necessary corrections to ensure that the content is grammatically correct and optimized for search engines.