The subject verb agreement
Subject
When we speak or write, we always speak about some person or thing. The person or thing we speak about is called subject. Generally the subject comes first in a sentence.
Verb
Verb is an important word in a sentence the three important types of verbs are (a) State of being verb e.g. am, is are (b) Action verb like, read, walk, see etc. (c) Linking Verb (e.g. The apple looks fresh) appear, taste, smell, feel, look, For more detail please visit http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/verbs/Linking-Verbs.html
1. Bill is a student . (Bill = subject, is = verb)
2. Shane and Clara are friends. (Shane and Clara = subject, are = verb)
3. The old building is (a museum. The old building = subject, is = verb)
4. These four books are mine. (These four books = subject, are = verb)
5. The climate of Alaska is very cool. (The climate of Alaska = subject, is = verb)
6. The president of India is coming. (The president of India = subject, is = verb.)
7. The Chinese team plays well. (The Chinese team = subject, plays = verb)
8. Th Students are busy. (The students = subject, are = verb)
9. Jim and Jack have shower every day. (Jim and Jack = Subject, have = verb)
10.The crowd has entered the palace. (The crowd = subject, has = verb)
After reading the above sentences you would have found;
1. Some sentences like the first one has one word subject like Bill (simple subject)and some sentences like sixth one has four words subject.(compound subject)
NOTE: Subjects of a sentence may be any form of a noun, if it's a single word it's called just noun e.g. Bill (in the first sentences), if the subject consists of group of words (e.g. The President of India in the 6th sentence) , it's called a noun phrase.
NOTE: Subjects of a sentence may be any form of a noun, if it's a single word it's called just noun e.g. Bill (in the first sentences), if the subject consists of group of words (e.g. The President of India in the 6th sentence) , it's called a noun phrase.
2. Some subjects take is verb form (e.g. Bill is) some take are verb form (e.g. Shane and Clara) some take has verb form and some take have verb form. In other words every subject should agree with its verb form . Now the question arises there are millions of subjects (that we use daily in our talks), are there millions of verbs too? (Those agree with the subject), No we have very limited number of verb forms. Now another question arises how to use these limited verb forms with the unlimited subjects we speak about? To avoid this confusion the subject of a sentence is mentally converted into its pronoun form (called Subject-pronoun).
What is a Pronoun?
Pronoun is a word used in the place of a noun.
Jim is a teacher (Jim is a noun) .
e.g. He is a teacher ( he is a pronoun)
Sky is blue.(sky, is a noun).
e.g. It is blue ( It is a pronoun)
Conversion of subject to subject-pronoun
SUBJECT
Shane
Father
Mother
Teacher
President
Manager
Customer
Brother
Shop Asst.
Driver
Friend
Students
Machine
Animal
|
PRONOUN
She
He
She
He/she
He/she
He/she
He/she
He
He/she
He/she
He/she
They
It
It
|
SUBJECT
Jack
Pain
Thought
Crowd
Team
Nation
Herd
Audience
Water
Tea
House
Shops
Chairs
meeting
|
PRONOUN
he
It
It
It
It
It
It
It
It
It
It
They
They
It
|
This way millions of subjects are converted (mentally) into their pronoun forms he, she, it, they.
I ,we, you ( Singular) and you (Plural) are also pronouns.It is easier to frame sentences with pronouns. When a pronoun is used as a subject of a sentence it is called a subject pronoun or simply a subject
Subject pronoun
Person
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
First
|
I
|
we
|
Second
|
you
|
you
|
Third
|
He
She
it
|
They
|
He includes all male names e.g. Robert, Alex, Jim, and common nouns like President , Director, Chairman, Friend, Father, Uncle etc.
She includes all female names e.g. Elizabeth, Mary, and common nouns like President, Director, Chairman, Friend, Mother, Aunt etc.
It includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Singular form of things, animals etc.) and collective nouns (like team, army, group etc.)
They includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Plural form of things, people, animals etc.)
CONCEPT OF FIRST SECOND AND THIRD PERSON
Concept of the first, second and third person is important in making a sentence.
First person refers to the person who speaks (to someone) Second person refers to the listener. Third person refers to the person or thing, which the first and second person talk about. The term ‘person' includes non-living things, animals etc.
Person
|
Singular
|
Plural
|
First
|
I
|
we
|
Second
|
you
|
you
|
Third
|
He
She
it
|
They
|
Read the 10 sentences given at the top of this post, some subjects take is verb form (e.g. Bill is) some take are verb form (e.g. Shane and Clara) some take has verb form and some take have verb form. In other words every subject should agree with its verb form , in other words First Second and third person take different verb forms (sometimes first, second and Third Person may make same verb form)
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