As a copy editor who understands the importance of SEO, I have come across numerous writing errors that can negatively impact a website’s ranking. One such error is subject-verb agreement, which can make your content seem unprofessional and cause search engines to lower your rank.
Subject-verb agreement is a basic grammatical rule that states that the subject and verb in a sentence must agree in number. For example, if the subject is singular, the verb should also be singular, and if the subject is plural, the verb should be plural as well.
To ensure that your writing is free of subject-verb agreement errors, it is important to understand the basic rules and guidelines. Here is a subject-verb agreement packet that can help you.
1. Singular subjects take singular verbs, and plural subjects take plural verbs. Example: The dog barks loudly, but the cats purr softly.
2. Compound subjects joined by “and” usually take a plural verb. Example: The sun and the moon rise together.
3. If the compound subject is joined by “or,” the verb should agree with the subject closest to it. Example: Either the teacher or the students are responsible for the project.
4. Collective nouns can be either singular or plural, depending on the context. Example: The jury is deliberating (singular verb), but the jury members are in disagreement (plural verb).
5. Indefinite pronouns, such as everyone, someone, and nobody, are always singular. Example: Someone is knocking on the door.
6. Each, every, and either are also always singular. Example: Each of the students is responsible for their own work.
7. Quantifiers, such as all, most, some, and none, can be either singular or plural, depending on the noun they modify. Example: All of the students are in class (plural verb), but all of the milk is gone (singular verb).
By following these simple rules, you can avoid subject-verb agreement errors and improve the quality of your writing. This, in turn, can help your website rank higher in search engine results pages and attract more traffic. So, be sure to review and practice these guidelines in your writing, and your content will be more professional, effective, and SEO-friendly.