SUBJECT AND VERB AGREEMENT

What is Subject–Verb Agreement?

Key : The subject of the sentence and the verb of the sentence must agree with each other
in number. If the subject is a plural noun, then the verb must match the plural noun. If the
subject is singular, then the verb must match the number of subject (singular). That’s why we
call it agreement. Perhaps the most critical thing for you to know is that in present-tense, the
third person-singular subject (she; he; it) always goes with a singular verb which ends in
“-s /-es”. While other subject pronouns (I / you / we / they) always go with verb without “-s/-
es” ending. Take a look at these examples:

Masha goes fishing with Miskha.

In this sentence, the subject is Masha (she / a third person singular subject), so that the verb
must be singular verb with “-s /-es” ending. Since the base word verb is ended with “o” -sound,
the verb is then ended with -es.
Most Students in my classroom are diligent.

Most Students in my classroom go fishing with Miskha.

In this two sentences, the subject is most students (they / a plural subject), so that the verb must
be in plural verb form “are” or without “-s /-es” ending “go”.

Therefore, in order to support your understanding of Subject and Verb agreement, you need
to know both subject and predicate makers. In these following tables are presented kinds of
subjects, kinds of verbs, and the summary of basic grammar rule to support your Subject &
Verb Agreement skill.

Common Terms Used in Structure:

Word ( Kata) Pronoun (Kata ganti orang/Benda)
Phrase ( kelompok Kata) Adjective (Kata sifat)
Sentence (kalimat: S + V) Adverb (Kata Keterangan)
Clause (Anak Kalimat, SV) Preposition (Kata Depan)
Subject (Subjek/Orang) Conjunction (Kata Hubung)
Verb /predicate (kt. kerja/Predikat) Object of a preposition ( Prep + N ¹ S)
Noun (Kata Benda) Appositive (Informasi tambahan adj & N)

Table a. Subject Makers .

(1) Noun (Kata Benda), (2) Pronoun (kata ganti org/benda),

(3) Noun Phrase (kelompok kata benda), (4) Gerund, (5) To Infinitive (To + V1),
(6) Clause (anak kalimat)
Subject Makers Examples
1. Noun A Car, Masha, people a
(can function Cow, love, sadness,
as a Subject or an water, length, news
Object) Government, etc.
I; You; She; He; It
We; You; They
2. Pronoun One, Each, every, few,
a little, a number of,
(Kata ganti org, some, Whoever,…
benda/binatang) (See table skill #15 for
definite pronouns )
Sentence Examples
Masha buys a car
S P O
Water in our village is abundant.
S P
• We love Masha very much.
• Every student is taking online
courses.
• Each of my students is here.
• Both Dewi and Desi are medical
doctors.
• A number of people are infected.

Pronoun (Kata Ganti Benda/org)

Jane/mother/woman/Girl/Lady/auntie/grandmother/sister/niece/(satu perempuan)-------------- SHE
Budi/father/man/Boy/guy/policeman/uncle/grandfather/brother/nephew (satu org laki-laki) -----HE
Jane and Budi/ the cats/books/people/ all plural noun (jamak/lebih dari satu) -----------------THEY
Jane and I / the children and I / People and I / ---------------------------------------------------------- WE
Jane and you/ they & you; ... & you; -------------------------------------------Kalian ---------------- You
A cat/a car/an apple / one marble / an office/ A company/ a book ------------------------------------ IT
Semua benda yang Tidak bisa dihitung (e.g., water, money, milk, dll) selalu dianggap tunggal -IT

Table f. Indefinite Pronouns & Always Singular Words

SUBJECT / VERB AGREEMENT AFTER CERTAIN WORDS
These words These words
Always singular words
Always take singular verb Always take plural verb
Selalu IT (Tunggal)
(SHE / HE / IT : menyesuaikan) Selalu THEY
Everybody (person) Both Information,
Somebody (person) Many advice,
Anybody (person) others leisure,
Nobody (person) Several (PN) architecture,
Everyone (person) A variety of (PN) assistance,
Someone (person) Various + PN mail,
Anyone (person) A number of (PN) blame,
No one (person) A total of (PN) luggage,
baggage,
Everything (thing) Few
clothing,
Something (thing) A few recreation,
Anything (thing) Those news,
None These courage,
No one There are enjoyment,
Nobody There were traffic,
Nothing No + PN evidence,
No + SN / No + UCTN furniture
A / An fame, pride,
One prestige,
Each + singular Noun (SN) trouble,
Every + singular noun (SN) music,
Each of PN (Plural Noun) relaxation,
Every of PN (Plural Noun) research,
One of (PN) reliability,
Lots of sadness,
Much + Uncountable Noun (UCTN) safety,

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 Another + singular CTN scenery,
An amount of (UCTN) significance,
A little / Little (UCTN) software,
wealth,
wisdom, etc.

*Dalam sebuah kalimat, Jika 2 kata benda (subject) di hubungkan dengan OR / NOR, maka Kata
benda/ subjek yang terletak paling dekat dengan posisi PRDIKAT (Verb) – lah yang dihitung
sebagai Subject kalimat tersebut.
e.g. (+) John or my sisters are in the living room now.
(?) Is John or my sisters in the living room now?

Exercise Pronoun. Please write down the pronoun of these following words or phrases.

Word Phrase Pronoun Word / Phrase Pronoun

1. Cats and horses
2. Jack and I
3. You and Dave
4. Cheese
5. Marrying you
6. Children
7. A Bicycle
8. Sugar
9. To watch a movie
10. One of the boys
11. Each of the birds
12. Few monkeys
13. Every student
14. A number of cats
15. The cheapest car
They 16. A ladybug
17. An amount of sand
18. mice
19. My sadness
20. A spectacular show
21. Shopping in Alfamart
22. Our Father
23. The dogs’ cage
24. None of the women
25. Consuming sugar
26. Both Paula & Rufina
27. Our economic growth
28. My marriage status
29. To learn English
30. None of boyfriends

e.g., One of our female teachers has been teaching in this School for more than 30 years.
S must Agree with its V

a. A good student • A good student reads module

3. Noun Phrase
(Kelompok kata benda)
can function
as a subject or an Object)
b. Beautiful girls regularly.
c. A Washing machine • Beautiful girls were coming to
d. A fried chicken party.
• A washing machine needs to be
fixed.
• A fried chicken is yummy.

Singing, Reading, • Swimming is my hobby.

4. Gerund
A verb which functions as a
Noun.(Verb1+ing)
Pronounnya = IT (tunggal)
swimming, loving, • Loving you requires a lot of
Leaving, etc. money, so
• Leaving you is the best solution.
• Learning English needs a lot of
efforts.
• Doing regular practices makes
perfect.

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5. To Infinitive
A noun infinitive which is
located at the beginning.
Pronounnya = IT (tunggal)
To + Verb1 • To swim in Sungai Kapuas may be
and as a Subject or dangerous.
• To make mistakes is human.
a Subject Complement • My main goal is to graduate this
year.

• Noun Clause • What our president said makes

6. Clause
A unit of grammatical
organization next below the
sentence in rank,
traditionally it consists of a
Subject and a predicate.
sense.
• Adj. Clause using • Someone who has a lot of friends
subject- relative is lucky.
pronoun. • Whoever comes to my house must
eat.
• That clause • That Corona Virus is so dangerous
makes a global panic.

Table b. Predicate Makers (Kinds of Verbs)

(1) To Be, (2) Auxiliary Verb (kata kerja bantu),

(3) Linking Verb, (4) Action Verb/ Verb Word, (5) Modal (s)

Predicate Makers Structure Patterns Sentence Examples

1. To Be Subject + To be + adjective
Subject + to be + noun
Is / am / are Subject + to be + V-ing (Sedang)
Was / were Subject + to be + V3 (passive)
Subject + to be + OP (obj of
prep.)
2.Auxiliary Verb *Present Tense (S + Verb1)
Do / Does / Did (she/He/it—V1 +-s/-es)
Have /Has / Had
Auxiliary:
She/He/it -- Does
I /You/They/We – Do
*Past (S + Verb2) all Sub. – DID
*Present Perfect Tense
She/He/It + has + V3
I/you/They/We + have + V3
• She is beautiful.
• Jane was a teacher 2 years ago
• We are taking online classes.
• Shane was elected a president.
• Now, he is in White House J.
• (+) Jane eats an apple everyday.
(-)She does not eat an apple.
(?) Does she eat an apple?
• (+) Jane ate an apple.
(-) Jane did not eat an apple.
(?)Did Jane eat an apple?
• (+) She has eaten five apples.
(+)We have eaten five apples.
(?) Had you eaten five apples?

*Past Perfect Tense

All Sub. + had + V3

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 3. Linking Verb A verb that links (connects) the • Ugh! Your voice sounds awful.
subject of the sentence
Always LV: to information about the subject.
(is/am/are/was/were)
(has /have/ had, S + LV + Information about the • Anna proves me wrong.
has/have/had subject (e.g., adjective, noun or
+been), complement).
e.g. appear, become, feel, grow,
Be, being, been
look, remain, seem, smell, sound,
stay, taste, turn, prove.
Plus Verb Phrases:
Can be, could be, may be, should
be, etc.
4. Action Verb / A verb that describes an action.
Verb Word e.g., run, jump, eat, cry, walk,
smile, think, kick, swim, etc.
(penggunaannya menyesuaikan
dengan Tenses & bentuk
structure)
5. Modals * Modal + Verb1(Murni Tanpa -s)
Will / would/ can * Modal + be + Verb1 -ing
Could / must * Modal + be + adjective
/shall/should / * Modal + be + Noun
may/ might. Ought * Modal + be + Object of Prep.
to * Modal + be + Verb3
• Well, I can be your date.
• She looked so pretty last night.
• Susi and Sue now become
friends.
• The flower smells so fragrant.
• UPT Bahasa May be open next
summer.
Masha cleans her house every
morning, but yesterday she woke
up late and rushed to school, so she
did not clean her house until she
came back from school.
• Our govt will cancel National
Exam.
• She must be sleeping now.
• We must be aware of the Virus
spread.
• This might be love J
• He must be in love.
• Homeless ought to be provided
shelters.

Modal Exercise. Each of the following sentences contains a verb formed with a modal.
Underline the verb. Then indicate if the sentences are correct (C) or
__ 1. You should try to respond politely.
__ 2. Everyone must leaves the rooms immediately.
__ 3. I could sat on the beach for hours.
__ 4. He may lie to you because he is not very truthful.
__ 5. This course will satisfy the graduation requirement.

Table c. Properties of Pronoun and their respective verbs

Subject Auxiliary Verb:
Person

To Be Ob.Pron Poss.Adj Poss.

Pronoun (aux) Have
(whom) (Whose) Pron
(Who) Pres Past Pre. Past Pre. Past
I (Saya) Am Was Do Did Have Had Me My Mine
Singular

You (Kamu) Are Were Do Did Have Had You Your Yours
She (Dia, F) Is Was Does Did Has Had Her Her Hers
He (Dia, M) Is Was Does Did Has Had Him His His
It (B’nda/b’tng Is Was Does Did Has Had It Its Its
Plural ( lebih dari 1)
Plural

We(K’mi/k’ta) Are Were Do Did Have Had Us Our Ours

You (Kalian) Are Were Do Did Have Had You Your Yours
They (Mereka) Are Were Do Did Have Had Them Their Theirs

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Study the following paragraph and find the usage of pronouns properties.

Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. She is known for

narrative songs about her personal life. Her songs always have received
widespread media coverage, and both teenagers and adults are so crazy
about them, due to their crazy lyrics. At age 14, she became the youngest
artist signed by the Sony/ATV Music publishing house and, at age 15,
she signed her first record deal that made her a famous singer.

A. SENTENCE WITH ONE CLAUSE _________ One Subject + One Predicate _____

Skill 1. BE SURE THE SENTENCE HAS A SUBJECT AND A VERB

The most common types of problems that you will encounter in the
Structure section of the TOEFL test have to do with subjects and verbs:
perhaps the sentence is missing either the subject or the verb or both, or
perhaps the sentence has an extra subject or verb.

Exercise 1.a Now let’s look at some simple sentences and underline the subjects once and the
verbs twice in each of these following sentences. Do these following steps:

a. Decide the subject of the sentence, and determine whether it is

singular or plural.
b. Find the verb of the sentence; does it suit the subject?
c. Then, indicate if the sentences are correct (C) or incorrect (I)
is
I 0. My best friend always helpful with problems.
___ 1. The bus schedule have changed since last week
___ 2. Accidentally dropped the glass on the floor.
___ 3. The customer paying the clerk for the clothes.
___ 4. The professor handed the syllabus to the students.
___ 5. That man the one who painted our house last summer.
___ 6. Each of my friends are looking for a part-time employment in Transmart Mall.

Important!
Please take a look at table c. for Properties of Pronoun on page 5, and Make sure that you
correctly determine and use the Properties of Pronoun in a sentence.

• Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. She is known for narrative songs about

her personal life, and most young people love them.

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Exercise 1.b. Please consult with table c.(p.5) for the Properties of Pronoun and write down
the appropriate; verb to have; possessive adjective, and possessive pronoun in each
sentence.

Example: Jane has a doll. Her doll is beautiful. The beautiful doll is hers.

1. I ___ an umbrella. ____ umbrella is yellow. This yellow umbrella is __________ .

2. Bon and you ____ a bicycle. ____ bicycle is Polygon. That Polygon Bicycle is _______.
3. Maria ____ two dogs. _____ dogs are Bonnie & Cipluk. So, Bonnie & Cipluk are ____.
4. Our rich uncle ____ three kids. ____ kids are so naughty. Now they are visiting us and
those naughty kids are _____ .
5. They _____ bananas. These are _______ bananas. Yeah, the bananas are __________.
6. Paula Ureso ______ a coffee shop. ____ shop is named ‘The King’. The coffee shop is
____ .
7. My hen ____ three legs. One of ___ legs is very short and dangling. The extra short, cute
and funny leg is ____ .
8. Betina ____ two goats. _____ goats are healthy. These healthy goats are _________ .
9. My brothers or Roman _____ an expensive car. _____ expensive car is red. The
expensive red car is ____ .
10. Bens and I have six marbles. These are our marbles. These marbles are _________ .

Exercise 1.c. Each of the following sentences contains at least one subject or object pronoun.
Circle the pronouns. Then indicate if the sentences are correct (C) or incorrect (I).

C 1. John and I saw Steve and Masha at the movie studio last night as we left it after
watching Moana, but they did not call us.
____ 2. Perhaps you would like to go to the seminar with they and their friends.
____ 3. The mother took her son to the doctor’s office because he was feeling sick.
____ 4. I did not know that you and her were working together on the project.
____ 5. Mary and Mark invited theirs parents to see their new apartment.
____ 6. When my roommate paid her half of the rent, I paid mine.

Exercise 1.d. Circle the pronouns, object of pronouns, and possessives. Draw arrows to the
nouns they refer to. Then indicate if the sentences are correct (C) or incorrect (I).

I 1. If a person really wants to succeed, they must always work hard.

___ 2. If you see the students from the math class, could you return their exam papers to
him?
___ 3. Some friends and I went to see a movie, and afterwards we wrote a critique about them.
___ 4. If you have a problem, you are welcome to discuss it with me before you try to
resolve them.
___ 5. I know you had a terrible time last week, but you must try to forget about it.
___ 6. Helicopters are being used more and more in emergency situations because of its
ability to reach out-of-the-way places.

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TOEFL EXERCISE 1: Choose the letter of the underlined word or group of words that is
not correct.

1. Superman made their comic debut in 1938 in Action Comics.

A B C D
2. Commercial letters of credit are often used to finance export trade, but them can
A B C
have other uses.
D
3. When children experience too much frustration, its behavior ceases to be integrated.
A B C D
4. On March 30,1981, President Reagan was shot as his was leaving a Washington hotel.
A B C D
5. Although the destruction that it causes is often terrible, cyclones benefit a
A B
much wider belt than they devastate.
C D
6. President Andrew Jackson had an official cabinet, but him preferred the advice of his
A B C D
informal advisors, the Kitchen Cabinet.

7. After Clarence Day’s book Life with Father was rewritten as a play, they ran for six years
Á B C D
on Broadway.

8. Almost half of the Pilgrims did not survive theirs first winter in the New World.
À B C D
9. There was no indication from the Senate that he would agree with the decision made
A B C D
in the House.

10. A baby learns the meanings of words as they are spoken by others and later uses him
A B C D
in sentences.