English Study Notes: SUBJECT- VERB AGREEMENT - II

☞Rule-6 Abstract nouns usually take singular verbs.

Examples

Truth eventually prevails.

Hatred has no limit.

The fragrance of this perfume is so overpowering.

☞Rule 7. When sentences start with “there” or “here,” the subject will always be placed after the verb, so care needs to be taken to identify it correctly.
Examples:
There are four hurdles to jump.
Here are the keys.
There is a problem with the balance sheet.
Here are the papers you requested.

☞Rule 8. Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as singular and take a singular verb.
E.g. The Burbs is a movie starring Tom Hanks.

Click here to get Study Notes for English Language Section Important for all SSC Exams 2019-20

☞Rule 9. When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence, they take the singular verb form but, when they are linked by ‘and’ they take the plural form.
E.g. Standing in the water was a bad idea.
Swimming in the ocean and playing drums are my hobbies.

☞Rule 10. If two infinitives are separated by ‘and’ they take the plural form of the verb.
E.g. To walk and to chew gum require great skill.

        Click here to follow Daily Vocabulary important for all SSC Exams

☞Rule 11. Don’t get confused by the words that come between the subject and verb; they do not affect agreement rule.
E.g. The dog that is chasing the squirrels belongs to Bridget.

☞Rule 12. Inverted Sentences
Usually in a sentence the subject always precedes the verb, but sometimes they can reverse this order, so that the verb comes before the subject.

Incorrect: Through the Golden Eagle Bridge passes thousands of vehicles every day.

In the above sentence, the singular verb passes is not referring to the singular ‘Golden Eagle Bridge’ but to the plural ‘thousands of vehicles’. Hence, the correct verb will be ‘pass’.

Correct: Through the Golden Eagle Bridge pass thousands of vehicles every day.

☞ Rule 13. Remember, only the subject affects the verb!