Subject verb agreement

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Average: 4 (2 votes)

Take a look at the two following sentences. Which is correct?

'She likes flowers.'
'She like flowers.'

I hope that you said that the first sentence, 'She likes flowers is correct', is correct. But why is it correct?

Singular Subjects

In English, when the subject is singular (in the example above 'she'), we use a singular verb (verb + s), for example:

'My father works in a bank.'
'James takes the train to college.'

Plural and Multiple Subjects

When the subject is plural or multiple we use plural verbs:

Plural Subjects - 'They like flowers.'
Multiple Subjects - 'Sandra and Lucy live in Brighton.'

-ing subjects

When the subject is an -ing word we use a singular verb:

'Learning English is fun.'
'Using a computer is difficult.'

Each and Every

When we use each and every, we usually use singular verbs:

'Every worker  has to use this entrance.'
'Each car is given a full check.'

Link: Making Passive Sentences

  • My parents ___ in Hong Kong.



  • They all ___ toast.



  • Peter and Paul ___ basketball.



  • Studying ___ hard work.



  • Each employee ___ a uniform.



  • Simon, unlike his brother, __ tall.



  • Vietnamese food __ wonderful.



  • Vegetables ___ healthy.







Comments

Very uesful to me~hehe~

Very uesful to me~hehe~

this was too good

this was too good

fantastic

It is fantastic.

very helpful =)

very helpful =)

Speaking

I did this exercise well , but if I have to speak to someone I'll make mistakes. I feel more comfortable to write than talk with native spoken people .

THANK

thank a lot for this i learned some thing and it was helpful

need help

Thanks for the lesson.

Vietnamese food is wonderful.

Why can't we add are instead of is in the above sentence (there are diffirent kinds of vietnamese food)

Your reply is much appreciated!
Thank you!

hi tib13

Food is a non-countable noun - we can NOT say 'Vietnamese foods are'.