Subject-verb agreement is one of the fundamental principles of English grammar. It’s important to uphold this rule to ensure that sentences are clear, concise, and grammatically correct. In this article, we’ll explore subject-verb agreement and provide examples to help you better understand this grammar rule.

What is subject-verb agreement?

Subject-verb agreement refers to the agreement between the subject and the verb in a sentence. Essentially, the verb must match the subject in terms of number. When the subject is singular, the verb must be singular. When the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.

For example, in the sentence “She walks to school,” the subject is “she” (singular) and the verb is “walks” (singular). In the sentence “They walk to school,” the subject is “they” (plural) and the verb is “walk” (plural).

Examples of subject-verb agreement

To better understand subject-verb agreement, let’s look at some examples:

1. Incorrect: The dog barks loudly.

Correct: The dogs bark loudly.

Explanation: The subject “dog” is singular, but the verb “barks” is plural. To fix this, we need to change “barks” to “bark” to match the plural subject “dogs.”

2. Incorrect: The team are playing well.

Correct: The team is playing well.

Explanation: The subject “team” is singular, but the verb “are playing” is plural. To fix this, we need to change “are playing” to “is playing” to match the singular subject “team.”

3. Incorrect: The girls loves to dance.

Correct: The girls love to dance.

Explanation: The subject “girls” is plural, but the verb “loves” is singular. To fix this, we need to change “loves” to “love” to match the plural subject “girls.”

4. Incorrect: The book on the table is interesting.

Correct: The books on the table are interesting.

Explanation: The subject “book” is singular, but the verb “is” is plural. To fix this, we need to change “is” to “are” to match the plural subject “books.”

Why is subject-verb agreement important for SEO?

Subject-verb agreement is important to maintain good writing practices that offer quality content. A blog or article with poor grammar and incorrect subject-verb agreement can be difficult to read and understand. This can lead to a high bounce rate, harming your website’s SEO ranking.

In conclusion, subject-verb agreement is a critical grammar rule to follow to maintain clarity and correctness in your writing. By ensuring that the subject and verb match in terms of number, you can provide clear and concise sentences that are easy to understand and enjoyable to read.