Subject-verb predicate agreement is crucial to effective communication as it ensures that a sentence makes sense and is grammatically correct. In this article, we will explore what subject-verb predicate agreement is and how to ensure that your writing adheres to this fundamental grammatical rule.
Firstly, it is important to understand what a subject and verb predicate are. Simply put, a subject is the person, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is about, while a verb predicate is the action or state of being that the subject is performing or experiencing. For example, in the sentence “The cat is sleeping,” the subject is “the cat,” while the verb predicate is “is sleeping.”
Subject-verb predicate agreement means that the subject of a sentence and the verb predicate must agree in number and tense. This means that if the subject of a sentence is singular, the verb predicate must also be singular, and if the subject is plural, the verb predicate must be plural as well. Similarly, if the subject is in the past tense, the verb predicate must also be in the past tense.
An example of subject-verb predicate agreement would be the sentence “She walks to school every day.” In this sentence, the subject “she” is singular, and the verb predicate “walks” is also singular, making the sentence grammatically correct.
However, mistakes in subject-verb predicate agreement can easily occur, especially in more complex sentences. For example, the sentence “The girl, along with her friends, are going to the movies” is incorrect because the subject “girl” is singular, while the verb predicate “are going” is plural, which contradicts the subject-verb predicate agreement rule. Instead, the correct sentence would be “The girl, along with her friends, is going to the movies,” with the verb predicate “is going” agreeing with the singular subject.
To ensure that your writing adheres to subject-verb predicate agreement, it is helpful to first identify the subject and verb predicate in a sentence. Then, ask yourself if they agree in number and tense. If they do not, revise the sentence accordingly.
In conclusion, subject-verb predicate agreement is a fundamental grammatical rule that is essential to effective communication. By ensuring that your writing adheres to this rule, you can avoid common grammatical mistakes and ensure that your sentences are clear, concise, and grammatically correct.