Subject-verb agreement is one of the most important aspects of English grammar. It refers to the rule that states that the verb used in a sentence should agree in number with the subject of the sentence. This rule can become a bit tricky when subjects are joined by the conjunction “and.”
When two or more subjects are joined by “and,” the verb used in the sentence should be plural. This means that the subject and the verb should both be in the same plural form. For instance, “The dog and the cat chase the mouse” is a correct sentence. Both “dog” and “cat” are joined by “and,” and therefore, the verb “chase” is used in its plural form.
However, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, when the subject is a compound noun, the verb used should be in the singular form. In this case, the subjects are not two separate things but instead are referring to one single entity. For instance, “Peanut butter and jelly is my favorite sandwich” is a correct sentence. In this case, “peanut butter and jelly” is being referred to as one sandwich, and therefore, a singular verb is used.
Another exception to this rule is when one of the subjects is singular, and the other is plural, the verb used should agree with the subject that is closest to the verb. For example, “The dog and the cats chase the mouse” is a correct sentence. In this case, “cats” is plural, but “dog” is a singular subject. The verb used, “chase,” is plural because “cats” is closer to the verb.
In conclusion, subject-verb agreement is essential in English grammar. When two or more subjects are joined by “and,” the verb used should be plural. However, there are exceptions to this rule, such as when the subject is a compound noun or when one of the subjects is singular, and the other is plural. Copy editors should be well-versed in subject-verb agreement rules to ensure that the writing is grammatically correct and helps to improve the SEO ranking of the content.