4U Production

Subject-verb agreement is an essential grammar rule that every student must learn. To be specific, in class 4, students begin to develop the understanding of subject-verb agreement rules. This article provides an in-depth knowledge of the subject-verb agreement rules for class 4 students.

Subject and Verb

Before diving into the rules, it is important to understand the subject and verb in a sentence. The subject is the one who performs the action in the sentence, whereas the verb is the action that is performed. For instance, in the sentence “The cat sits on the mat," the subject is “the cat," and the verb is “sits."

Rule 1

The first rule of subject-verb agreement is that a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb. For example:

– The dog runs in the park. (singular subject, singular verb)

– The dogs run in the park. (plural subject, plural verb)

Rule 2

The second rule of subject-verb agreement states that when the subject is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by “and," a plural verb is used. For instance:

– John and Mark eat pizza. (plural subject, plural verb)

– My mother and father love me. (plural subject, plural verb)

Rule 3

The third rule of subject-verb agreement is that when two singular subjects are connected by “or," “either/or," or “neither/nor," the verb agrees with the subject that is nearer to it. For example:

– Either the cat or the dog is responsible. (singular verb)

– Neither the teachers nor the students were present. (plural verb)

Rule 4

The fourth rule of subject-verb agreement is that collective nouns, such as team, family, group, etc., take a singular verb when they are considered as a single entity. However, if they are considered as individuals, they take a plural verb. For example:

– The team is playing in the finals. (singular verb)

– The team are arguing among themselves. (plural verb)

In conclusion, subject-verb agreement is an important grammar rule that every student must learn. These four rules guide students in ensuring their subjects and verbs match in number. By thoroughly understanding these rules, students can improve their writing and communication skills.