VIDEO:O-Level ZIMSEC English Language : Subject-Verb Agreement

Hello English students

My name is Sir Ndhlovu I am an English teacher at E.Blue Institute.

Our mission at E.Blue Institute is helping low income students from high density areas like Budiriro, Glen View, Mufakose, Kuwadzana etc get access to quality O-Level education.

With perennial challenges faced by the public education system quality education has been the preserve of the rich few. We therefore, come in to bridge the gap.

We help our students through many ways. One of them is video for example the Subject-Verb Agreement video above. Subject-verb agreement is a key topic in understanding English. I myself came to this realization through experience.

During my school days I used to enjoy writing short English stories and poems. When I was an A-Level student my best poem was titled Wilderness Wanderer. After leaving high school I continued writing and made a career out of it.

2014 is an unforgettable year in my writing career because writing managed to help me earn $1 000.00 . What happened is I wrote a blog post that advised on the risk associated with buying property from a seriously-ill seller. This attracted a woman who had just purchased property from a seriously-ill seller and she had an outstanding balance. She decided to settle the outstanding balance by selling another property of hers. To sell this other property she asked me to do it on her behalf.  I got a commission of $1 000.00 from  this deal.

The ability to write good English can help you get a career that will bring bread and butter on the table. A knowledge about using latest digital media like a blog is critical in this endeavor. I have created two blogs – Property Matters News and Sunrise Talk – which I have written on since 2012.

Now at this point in time the million dollar question becomes how can you write good English. Understanding subject-verb agreement is key in writing good English. This is something one should know thoroughly by O-level.

Subject-verb agreement is a grammar or language structures topic, it is indispensable in perfecting English and the O-Level ZIMSEC syllabus require that students master it. Without, wasting much time lets therefore, learn more about what subject-verb agreement is all about.

Subject-Verb Agreement

A verb must agree with its subject in person and in number. With most verbs the only change in form to indicate agreement occurs in the present tense. An s or (es) is added to the basic verb when its subject is singular third-person. The linking verb be changes in both past and the present tense.

SINGULAR                                                         PLURAL

She advises.                                                      They advise.

He is there.                                                        They are there.

It was mysterious.                                             They were mysterious.

 

In verb phrases the auxiliary verb be, have and do change in form to show agreement with third-person subjects.

 

SINGULAR                                                          PLURAL

She is advising.                                                   They are advising .

He has left work.                                                They have left work.

Does he speak there ?                                        Do they speak there ?

 

Making a verb agree with its subject involves not only recognizing subjects or verbs but also telling whether a subject is singular or plural. In some sentences it may be easy to mistake another word for the actual subject. In other sentences determining whether the subject is singular or plural may be difficult. For example;

 

Mathematics is/are my best subject.

 

What is the correct verb to use between is and are in the above sentence? Please share your answers in the comment section at the end.  

Agreement With Special Nouns

Certain nouns that end in s such as mumps, measles, and mathematics take singular verbs.

Certain other nouns that name one thing but that end in s, such as eyeglasses, pants, scissors, and binoculars, take plural verbs.

 

PLURAL

These binoculars are a bargain.

These scissors were made in Bulawayo.

 

Many nouns that end in ics may be singular or plural depending with meaning.

 

SINGULAR

Ethics is the branch of philosophy that most interests me. [one subject of interest]           

PLURAL

His ethics in this matter are questionable. [ more than one ethical decision]      

       

What are other cases in which its easy to mistake another word for the actual subject ? Furthermore, what are other sentences in which determining whether the subject is singular or plural may be difficult ?

Share in the Comment Section below.

The End