Help me here..with Subject Verb agreement...

[4pillars]

Ok.. So in the Rod and Staff English, it says that [B]The subject and the verb must work together in a sentence. If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural. [B]

Then it has these examples:
Wrong: Ralph write his memory verses.
Right: Ralph writes his memory verses.

Well, this confused my kiddo's because it contradicts the rule it states above...

The wrong sentence has a singular subject and a singular verb... then the right sentence has a singular subject with a plural verb... Ok.. call me dumb here, because I MUST be missing something here. Please set me straight here... I am looking really dumb to me children.. LOL

Jen

[Deece in MN]

Adding an "s" to a verb does not make it plural like it does for nouns. For most cases the verb will be the opposite ending of the noun.

So if your noun ends in s, the verb will not because most plural verbs do not end in s. If your noun does not end in s, the verb will because most singular verbs end in s.

HTH

[angela in ohio]

The verb writes is actually the singular verb. The s on the end doesn't make it plural like it would a noun.

[Deece in MN]

Here is a link that may help.

http://books.google.com/books?id=-dA7Dj-vwPIC&pg=RA1-PA410&lpg=RA1-PA410&dq=why+do+singular+verbs+end+in+s&source=web&ots=2HKUkew3vz&sig=Grv1mpTpzffwd5Fn3-YOl4DqCnc&hl=en#PRA1-PA410,M1

Scroll down to the section that is titled: Do Your Subjects Agree With Their Verbs: Do Your Predicates Match Their Subjects.

This will explain and give some examples.

HTH

[4pillars]

DUH... Thanks!! I get it now! I think maybe I was distracted with the little ones when we were trying to figure this out! SIGH.. I really feel stupid now. ha ha ha ha

Jen

[Susie in MS]

Don't feel stupid! When I was brought up in public school I never even learned what a verb was. The most I learned was from those old SchoolHouseRock cartoons. It wasn't till I started my kiddos in ABeka that I was able to teach myself lots of grammar (still not perfect). The way I remember the verb thingie is that the *s* on verbs is *s*ingular.

[4pillars]

Susie- Thanks for the encouragement:) I agree with you! I really did not learn anything in school. I remember not "getting" it, and the class just moving right along and I was totally lost. If I had a parent to really explain it to me, then I would have got it!! The verb/subject agreement is pretty easy to get with just going with what sounds right... but when you get into compound subjects, well, it will be a bit more trickier. So, I wanted to make sure the I really know what I am talking about here!! KWIM??

Thanks guys.... I know I can always count on the WTM boards to help with any grammar question;):D