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Writing Improvement Tutorials
Courtesy of Rick Bailey, A.D.
English Instructor

Verb agreement means you have matched the right verb with the subject of your sentence.  In most cases, your ear will tell you if the subject and verb agree.  Wrong verbs just don’t sound right.

Read the following sentences out loud:

  • When I first arrive at school in the morning, there is people on both sides of me puffing on cigarettes.
     When I first arrive at school in the morning, there are people on both sides of me puffing on cigarettes.
     

  • It's funny how life's experiences influences a person’s attitude.
     It's funny how life's experiences influence a person’s attitude.

Changing the verb, as the illustrations above show, improves the sound of these sentences.  This improvement can be made also by changing the subject of the sentence.

  • When I first arrive at school in the morning, there is a person on either side of me puffing on a cigarette.

  • It's funny how life's experience influences a person’s attitude.

In both examples, the subject is plural, then singular.  “People” becomes “person.”  “Experiences” becomes “experience.”  Agreement refers to singular and plural parts of the sentence matching. 

Directions: Read the sentences below and identify subjects.  Then choose the verb that agrees best with the subject of the sentence. Your ear will tell you if the subject and verb agree/agrees.

Question One:

Since before the Kyoto Summit though, there has/have been many fingers pointed at assumed guilty parties.

Question Two:

Gifford Pinchot's belief was "the use of natural resources was/were for the benefit of humans."

Question Three:

We came outside and the police was/were sitting right there in front of us.

Question Four:

The examples of my uncle and cousin show/shows that there are different ways of being intelligent.

Question Five:

Then one afternoon my husband and I was/were watching TV, and we heard the motorcycle start up.

Question Six:

We had lunch at the Olive Garden.  The food and service was/were excellent.

Question Seven:

Over time, the capabilities of graphing calculators has/have increased significantly.

Question Eight:

Now which one of these women work/works the hardest?

Question Nine:

My second reason for favoring the war on drugs is/are the affects drugs have on newborn babies.

Question Ten:

Nearly every company, institution, and person has/have benefited from the development of the Internet.

 

Back to Verb Exercise page


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