Today we’ll be talking about subject-verb agreement. The verb must agree with the subject. In English verb forms are not varied very much, so this agreement is visible only in some cases.
Identical Verb Forms
So, here we have both singular and plural subjects. As you can see, the verb forms are identical.
The girl on the left jumped.
All girls jumped simultaneously.
The girl on the right will land on the ground.
All girls will land on the ground.
Different Verb Forms
In some cases, however, different forms must be used with singular subjects and with plural subjects. Here belong most verbs in the Present Simple tense, where the ending –s is added in singular.
Sana likes jumping.
Mana, Bana and Pana like jumping too.
Mana comes from Toronto.
The other girls come from Chicago.
Some verbs have irregular forms. Here belongs the verb TO HAVE, which has the distinctive form HAS in third person singular.
Bana has two brothers.
Pana and Mana have dogs.
The verb TO BE has irregular forms in both Present Simple and Past Simple tense.
Mana is a beautiful girl.
The other girls are beautiful too.
Sana was a difficult child.
The other girls were difficult children too.
This is also visible in progressive tenses.
Mana is looking at her shadow.
Sana and Pana are waiting for the optimal conditions to land.
Bana was waiting for the jump.
Mana and Sana were getting ready for the jump all morning.
There is no form difference with modal verbs.
Sana can jump very high.
All girls can jump high.
Mana should become an athlete.
The other girls should become athletes too.
