Subject/Verb Agreement (Concord) (Grade 12 NSC Matric English FAL): Revision Notes
Subject/Verb Agreement (Concord)
Understanding subject-verb agreement
Concord is the grammatical term that describes how subjects and verbs must match in a sentence. This fundamental rule ensures that your writing sounds natural and correct.
The basic principle is straightforward: when you have a singular subject, you must use a singular verb. When you have a plural subject, you must use a plural verb. This matching creates harmony in your sentence structure.
Basic Agreement Examples:
Singular: "The policeman arrests the robbers"
- One policeman = singular subject
- "arrests" = singular verb
Plural: "The policemen arrest the robbers"
- Multiple policemen = plural subject
- "arrest" = plural verb
What to expect in exams
Exam Focus Areas:
Exam questions on subject-verb agreement typically ask you to:
- Transform a singular sentence into its plural form
- Identify and correct subject-verb agreement mistakes in given sentences
These questions test your ability to recognise subjects and ensure verbs match them correctly.
Changing sentences from singular to plural
When converting sentences from singular to plural form, you need to change multiple elements systematically.
Worked Example: Sentence Transformation
Original: "That mother and baby still move in my thoughts" Corrected: "Those mothers and babies still move in our thoughts"
What changed:
- "That" → "Those" (demonstrative pronoun becomes plural)
- "Mother" → "Mothers" (add 's' for regular plural)
- "Baby" → "Babies" (change 'y' to 'ies' for words ending in consonant + y)
- "My" → "Our" (possessive pronoun becomes plural)
Correcting subject-verb agreement errors
Many errors occur when students don't properly identify the true subject of a sentence.
Worked Example: Error Correction
Incorrect: "My heart was in my throat and a thousand thoughts was racing through my mind" Corrected: "My heart was in my throat and a thousand thoughts were racing through my mind"
The error: "thoughts" is plural, so the verb must be "were" rather than "was".
Working with different subject types
Simple subject changes
Example: Simple Subject Change
Original: "The Minister of Education worked tirelessly" Corrected: "The Ministers of Education worked tirelessly"
Note: Only the main subject changes from singular to plural - the verb stays the same because it already matches the new plural subject.
Third-person singular verbs
Critical Rule: Third-Person Singular
Third-person singular subjects (he, she, it) require verbs ending in 's' in present tense.
Example: Third-Person Singular
Incorrect: "She make an impact on people" Corrected: "She makes an impact on people"
Past tense agreement
Example: Past Tense Agreement
Incorrect: "His face were still partially paralysed and he spoke in a soft voice" Corrected: "His face was still partially paralysed and he spoke in a soft voice"
Explanation: "His face" is singular, so the past tense verb must be "was", not "were".
Singular nouns that might confuse you
Example: Confusing Singular Nouns
Incorrect: "Body language make up 50 to 100% of a conversation" Corrected: "Body language makes up 50 to 100% of a conversation"
Key point: "Body language" is a singular concept, even though it contains two words, so it takes a singular verb.
Complex sentence transformations
Worked Example: Complex Transformation
Original: "When a person is lying, he tends to become generally less expressive" Corrected: "When people are lying, they tend to become generally less expressive"
Multiple changes required:
- "A person" → "People" (singular to plural noun)
- "He" → "They" (singular to plural pronoun)
- "Is" → "Are" (singular to plural verb)
- "Tends" → "Tend" (verb must match new plural subject)
Practical exam tips
Essential Exam Strategy:
Step 1: Always identify the subject first. Ask yourself: "Who or what is performing the action?"
Step 2: Determine if the subject is singular or plural. Don't be fooled by words that come between the subject and verb.
Step 3: Match the verb to the subject. In present tense, third-person singular subjects take verbs ending in 's'.
Step 4: When correcting errors, look for only one mistake if the question is worth one mark. Don't over-correct.
Step 5: Read your corrected sentence aloud (in your head) to check if it sounds natural.
Key Points to Remember:
- Concord means subjects and verbs must agree - singular with singular, plural with plural
- Identify the true subject first - don't be distracted by other nouns in the sentence
- Third-person singular subjects (he, she, it) take verbs ending in 's' in present tense
- When transforming to plural, change all related words (pronouns, demonstratives, possessives)
- In exams, correct only one error per mark allocated to avoid losing points for over-correction