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Time for some editing - Winged is getting a makeover. A newer, stronger, better version will be up shortly! :)

Grammar tip of the week:

Verbs - Subject/Verb agreement

I always say that the verb is the heart of the sentence. You can find almost anything in your sentence simply by finding your verb - including your subject.

If you look at any sentence and find the action or the state of being, ask yourself 'what is doing this?', and the answer to that question will be your subject.

Your subject and your verb work together, so it makes sense that they have to agree. If the subject is singular (one), then your verb has to be singular, but be careful! Your verb does not follow the same rules as the subject.

Let's break it down.

A subject can either be a noun or a pronoun. We make nouns plural (most of the time - there are irregular nouns, but that's another lesson) by adding some form of the suffix -s. We make pronouns plural by changing the whole pronoun (they, them, we, us, you, ect.)

Verbs, specifically action verbs, are made plural by NOT adding -s (again - there are exceptions like irregular verbs).

To sum it up - a singular noun subject does not have -s. A singular verb does.

Ex. - The girl dances around the yard.

'Girl' is your subject. It is singular. 'Dances' is your verb - it's also singular.

Let's try plural.

The girls dance around the yard.

'Girls' is plural. We added -s.
'Dance' is singular; we took the -s away.

Seems easy, right? It can be, but sometimes your subject doesn't always come before your verb!

Ex. Here is a field of wild flowers out in the middle of nowhere!

Your verb is 'is' - singular. The subject is not 'here'! Ask yourself 'what is in the middle of nowhere?' - a field of flowers!

Well now, we have a problem! We can't have that whole phrase be the subject. We need only one word. 'Of flowers' is a prepositional phrase. It can't be the subject. Besides, it's describing the field. Therefore, field is our subject! It just happens to come after the verb.

Last one - conjunctions!

Conjunctions (and, but, and or) are used a lot, but sometimes it's not easy to decide what verb to use. Well, let me explain it!

And - The conjunction and is putting together two or more things. Therefore, it's plural!

Ex. The umbrella and raincoat are over there.

'Are' is plural even though 'umbrella' and 'rain coat' are singular by themselves. However, we are putting two things together in a sentence, so we have a plural subject using two singular nouns!

Or - When using 'or', look at the subject that comes after the conjunction. The verb agrees with whichever subject is closest to it.

Ex. The monkey or the gorillas swing from trees.

'Monkey' is singular, but it's not the subject closest to the verb. The subject 'gorillas' is the closest, therefore it's the one that needs to agree, and that's why the verb 'swing' is plural.

Being aware of your subject and your verb in the sentences you write is the first step to writing grammatically correct and making your writing and your story flow and sound flawless to the reader!



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24 years old from NoVa
6-8th grade grammar and literature teacher for 3 years
Has a 2 month old son named James :)

I really enjoy editing for grammar mistakes, so if you would like someone exclusively check for grammatical errors in you manuscript, feel free to message me!

Remember - grammar takes guts! ;)

P.S. Just because I like being grammatically correct doesn't mean my manuscript isn't free of grammatical errors! You always need a fresh eye to spot the things you missed, so feedback is appreciated! :)

favourite books

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
The Wasteland by T.S. Eliot

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