Subject Verb Agreement

Pengertian Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject-verb agreement adalah persesuaian antara verb (kata kerja) dengan subject kalimat dalam hal number, yaitu: singular (tunggal) atau plural (jamak).

Subjek dapat berupa noun (kata benda), pronoun (kata ganti), atau konstruksi lain yang berakting sebagai noun, seperti gerund dan infinitive. Pada dasarnya, singular subject (subjek tunggal) menggunakan singular verb (kata kerja tunggal), sedangkan plural subject (subjek jamak) menggunakan plural verb (kata kerja jamak).

Subject – Verb Agreement Rules

Rules 1

Singular subject must be accompanied by singular verb, plural subject must be accompanied by plural verb.

Singular Subject  : nama orang, he, she. It, etc.

Singular Verb      : diiringi dengan  akhiran –s/ -es.

Plural Subject      : we, they, you.

Plural Verb          : tanpa diiringi akhiran –s/-es.

Contoh :

She breaks the window intentionally.

They are just acting tough, I know they want to cry.

Rules 2

If there is a noun phrase containing "of", then the verb is recognized as a subject and followed by the form is the noun before of.

Contoh :

The secrets of Nina need to be revealed immediiately.

Yang diakui sebagai subject dan harus diikuti oleh verb “need” adalah “The secret”.

Rules 3

The singular subject associated with or, either / or, and neither / nor use the singular verb.

Contoh :

Maybe Nanda or Ali is the one who did this, but we can’t conclude the result if there isn’t any proof.

Rules 4

If the two subjects in the sentence are different (singular / plural), the verb in the sentence that has or, either / or, and neither / nor follows the closest subject.

Contoh :

The students or Adi visits Kellan who is sick at the hospital.

Rules 5

Two subjects that are linked to and use a plural verb (unless the subject is a compound noun).

Contoh :

You and I are meant to be together forever.

Rules 6

If there are additional phrases (along with ...,as well as..., besides..., not..., etc) separating subject and verb, those phrases are not considered in the agreement.

Contoh :

Mr.Mark, along with his children, goes to the beach now.

meski pada kenyataannya Mr.Mark pergi ke pantai bersama anak-anaknya, dalam kalimat tersebut phrases “along with his children” tidak dihitung.

Rules 7

In sentences that use there or here, the subject is usually behind the verb, and the verb must still follow the subject.

Contoh :

Here is the orange juice you ordered.

Rules 8

Singular verb can be used for plural subjects, as long as the plural subject is considered as singular in the context of the sentence.

Contoh :

Five thousand dollar per month is considered high for a fresh graduate.

Dalam konteks kalimat tersebut, “Five thousand dollar per month” adalah noun phrase yang diperlakukan sebagai singular subject.

Rules 9

In sentences that use determiner a lot of, all, some, etc, verb follows the form of the subject that precedes it.

Contoh :

A lot of people have been suffering from war and poverty.

Rules 10

In sentences that use collective noun (family, team, population, etc), you can use plural or singular verb.

Contoh :

Family is the one you need to prioritize over anything.

Rules 11

Verb to be "were" can be used in any sentence to indicate contrast / presupposition conditions, no matter the subject is singular or plural.

Contoh :

If you were my girlfriend, I swear I’ll give you anything.