Topic: Subject-Verb Rules

Guide: sprite_and_hamburger

Subject-Verb Rules

➶ Subject, Verb and Object; a short summary with side notes. ➶

↬A subject is something that is associated with the verb in a sentence. It is the performer of an action.

↬A verb is the action performed by a subject.

↬An object is the one upon which the action is performed.

Ex:

Can you punch her?

(here, you is the subject, being asked to perform the action(verb) of punching on the object her.)

↬A singular verb has an 's' at the end in its simple present tense (in a majority of cases) whereas a plural verb does not.

Ex: runs, was, plays, is, etc. are singular verbs.

Run, were, play, are, etc. are plural verbs.

↬A subject is always either a pronoun or a noun-proper, common, collective, etc. If it is a pronoun then it will always be 'I', 'He', 'She', 'We' or 'They'.

↬An object is also a noun or a pronoun in most cases. When it is a pronouns, it will always be 'Me', 'him', 'her', 'us' or 'them'.

↬A sentence may contain more than one object (often divided into indirect and direct objects).

Ex:

Can you pass her the keys?

(here, 'you' is the subject, 'pass' is the verb and both 'her' and 'the keys' are objects. But the consequences of the verb (pass) are acting directly upon the keys, making it a direct object. Whereas, her is the secondary or indirect object, being affected only when the main object is in existence.)

➶Important Subject-Verb thumb rules➶

If the subject is singular, so would be the verb form.

Ex:

-A dog barks.

-That floorboard squeaks every time.

If the subject is plural, so would be the verb form.

Ex:

-The dogs bark.

-Those floorboards squeak every time.

If the subject consists of two or more nouns or pronouns combined with punctuation and conjunctions, the verb will be plural.

Ex:

Mon and Fae are the founders of this community.

If there is one subject and multiple verbs for it, throughout the sentence they must be compliant with their subject.

Ex:

Fen writes her report before the deadline, submits it, and then relaxes the rest of the week.

When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by the conjunctions 'or' or 'nor', singular verbs must be used.

Ex:

Neither Mia nor Tia was willing to do her duty.

When the subject contains both a singular noun and a plural noun, the verb will comply with the one it's closest to.

Ex:

-Either Gouri herself or other editors complete the given tasks.

-Either the other editors or Gouri herself completes the given tasks.

Collective nouns may imply more than one subject, but they're considered singular nouns and thus demand a singular verb.

Ex:

The group is arriving right now.

The crowd is going wild.

When a phrase is added between the subject and the verb using commas, and does not change the meaning of the sentence, the verb following it will still comply with its original subject. Addition of phrases neither changes the subject form nor the number of subjects.

Ex:

-Fae, just like Mon, is the founder of K-pop House.

-Oil, as well as gas, is highly flammable.

Usage of Double negative

When one is said to be using double negatives, it means that two negative words are used in one sentence which is considered to be poor grammar (despite being correct in some other languages) in English. Nonetheless, it is a common mistake that people should obviously learn to avoid to ensure there is no confusion in understanding what they are trying to convey. Some examples are:

"She ain't doing no charity in here."

"Tom said he didn't commit no crime."

"That dude ain't no match for Mia."

"There ain't no lies no one can tell."

"He ain't got nothing on him."

You can also make use of double negatives when using "a negative word with a word that acts like a negative". The words may be adverbs, pronouns and conjunctions. Some examples of misused adverbs with double negatives are:

"Yuna scarcely had not died."

"He's not hardly working."

"I don't draw seldom."

"This girl isn't simply annoying, but arrogant too."

"They aren't barely eighteen."

However, though it's still better to avoid them, double negatives can be used in some cases. As 'Your Dictionary' states, "Sometimes, a negative can also be formed by attaching a prefix like ir-, in-, non- or un-." Some examples are:

"Luckily, the documents were not disclosed to the public."

"She was not degrading her friend."

"John was not amoral."

"They aren't inconsiderate guys, just a little oblivious."

"It's not impossible to find it."

Homophones and homonyms

Homonyms

Homonym is derived from the Greek words homos, meaning "same," and onuma, meaning "name." It's like those twins who look alike but their nature and habits are very different. If two words are pronounced or spelled the same way but have different meanings then it's called homonym. The most common example of a homonym in English is the word bat. Bat can mean a piece of equipment you use in some sports, and it's also the name of an animal.

The following table/set of examples will be helpful to understand more about the homonyms.

1- Night

I am going to dance all night.

1- Knight

After he saved my life, he was my knight in shining armor.

2- Bark

I peeled the bark off that tree.

2- Bark

The dog of my neighbors was barking all night.

3- See

I could see through these glasses.

3- Sea

Let's have a trip to Karachi's sea.

4- Right

Your answers are right.

4- Write

I am going to write a best selling book.

5- Ruler

He was the wisest ruler of our country.

5- Ruler

I bought a ruler from a stationary shop.

Homonyms are further categorized into two groups.

1) Homographs

Homographs are words that contain the same spellings, but they don't share the same meanings. For example, the word 'tear' has two different meanings which depend on the context and situation in which it is used. Notice the following table for a better understanding.

1- Bank

He works in a bank.

1-Bank

He jumped in and swam to the opposite bank.

2- letter

There is a letter for you.

2- letter

'A' is the first letter of the alphabet.

3- Bar

She is sitting in a bar.

3- Bar

She ate two chocolate bars

4- Capital

Cairo is the capital of Egypt.

4- Capital

Write your name in capital letters.

2) Homophones

Homophones are words that share the same pronunciation, but they share different meanings and spellings. Notice the following table for a better understanding.

1- Ballot

I enjoyed the Japanese ballet at the theater.

1- Ballet

I enjoyed the Japanese ballet at the theater.

2- Device

He used a fake device to win in the lottery.

2- Devise

He devised a new machine.

3- Cast

He cast the old books.

3- Caste

I don't believe in the caste system.

4- Cell

He was thrown into the cell.

4- Sell

I am selling this property.

That's it for this week. Thank you for joining us! 💖✨