Subject-Verb Agreement Part 2
Grammar Cheat Sheet
In a complete sentence, there is a subject and a verb. Usually, either the subject or the verb will end with an “-s”. There should only be one “-s”! But what happens when we are dealing with tricky subjects?
TRICKY SINGLE SUBJECTS
Find the main subject and the verb and ignore the words in between.
e.g. The alien with the long tentacles has/have a spaceship.
The alien with the long tentacles has a spaceship.
The alien with the long tentacles have a spaceship.
Reason: The main subject in this sentence is the alien, which is singular.
TRICKY PLURAL SUBJECTS
When “and” is used to join subjects together, the sentence’s subject is plural.
e.g. The monster and the alien has/have a spaceship.
The monster and the alien have a spaceship.
The monster and the alien has a spaceship.
Reason: The subject of the sentence is plural, consisting of both the monster and the alien.
