As a professional, one of the most important aspects of writing that I often come across is correct subject-verb agreement. This is a fundamental principle of English grammar that is often overlooked but can make a significant impact on the clarity and credibility of your writing.

Subject-verb agreement simply means that the subject and the verb in a sentence must agree in number. If the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular, and if the subject is plural, the verb must be plural. Sounds simple, doesn`t it? But unfortunately, many writers make mistakes in this aspect of their writing, which can be a turnoff for readers and can also negatively impact the SEO of their content.

For instance, consider the following sentence: “The group of employees at the company is planning a party.” Here, the subject is “group,” which is a singular noun, and therefore, the verb “is” is also singular. On the other hand, if the sentence were written as “The employees at the company are planning a party,” the subject would be “employees,” a plural noun, and the verb “are” would also be plural to match it.

Another example is the use of collective nouns, which are nouns that refer to a group of people or things as a single entity. Examples of collective nouns include “team,” “committee,” “staff,” and “family.” In such cases, it is important to consider whether the noun is acting as a singular or plural entity in the sentence and to use the appropriate verb form. For example, “The committee has made its decision” (singular) versus “The committee are still debating their options” (plural).

Correct subject-verb agreement is not only important for clarity and readability, but it can also impact the SEO of your content. Search engines like Google are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their ability to understand the meaning and context of content. If your writing is riddled with subject-verb agreement errors, search engines may interpret your content as low quality or irrelevant, resulting in a lower ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs).

In conclusion, correct subject-verb agreement is a crucial aspect of writing that is often overlooked. As a copy editor working in the field of SEO, I cannot stress enough the importance of this fundamental principle in creating clear, concise, and credible writing that can rank higher in search engine results pages. So, next time you write, take a few extra minutes to make sure your subjects and verbs agree in number, and you will be on your way to producing content that is both reader-friendly and SEO-friendly.