Selasa, 31 Maret 2015

BAB III : SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT



Subject-verb agreement just means using the right version of the verb to agree with the subject. For example:

If you use the term "verb conjugation," your mates will probably think you're bit of brainbox, but it just means "how verbs change to agree with their subjects."

It's really simple. If you're a native English speaker, you'll naturally ensure your verbs agree with their subjects (i.e., conjugate correctly). Here's an example:
Subject
Conjugation of the Verb
To Be
I
am
You
are
He / She / It
is
We
are
You
are
They
are



That was the verb to be. Most other verbs are even easier:
Subject
Conjugation of the Verb
To Play
I
play
You
play
He / She / It
plays
We
play
You
play
They
play

It is a simple concept, but, sometimes, it's difficult to know whether your subject is singular or plural. In other words, should you be using a singular verb (like is and plays) or should you be using a plural one (like are and play)? Below is a summary of the areas which cause the most problems.
See the section on Plurals for additional help with subject-verb agreement.
1.      The indefinite pronouns anyone, everyone, someone, no one, nobody are always singular and, therefore, require singular verbs.
  • Everyone has done his or her homework.
  • Somebody has left her purse.
Some indefinite pronouns — such as all, some — are singular or plural depending on what they're referring to. (Is the thing referred to countable or not?) Be careful choosing a verb to accompany such pronouns.
  • Some of the beads are missing.
  • Some of the water is gone.
On the other hand, there is one indefinite pronoun, none, that can be either singular or plural; it often doesn't matter whether you use a singular or a plural verb — unless something else in the sentence determines its number. (Writers generally think of none as meaning not any and will choose a plural verb, as in "None of the engines are working," but when something else makes us regard none as meaning not one, we want a singular verb, as in "None of the food is fresh.")
  • None of you claims responsibility for this incident?
  • None of you claim responsibility for this incident?
  • None of the students have done their homework. (In this last example, the word their precludes the use of the singular verb.
2.      Some indefinite pronouns are particularly troublesome Everyone and everybody (listed above, also) certainly feel like more than one person and, therefore, students are sometimes tempted to use a plural verb with them. They are always singular, though. Each is often followed by a prepositional phrase ending in a plural word (Each of the cars), thus confusing the verb choice. Each, too, is always singular and requires a singular verb.
Everyone has finished his or her homework.
You would always say, "Everybody is here." This means that the word is singular and nothing will change that.
Each of the students is responsible for doing his or her work in the library.
Don't let the word "students" confuse you; the subject is each and each is always singular — Each is responsible.
3.      Phrases such as together with, as well as, and along with are not the same as and. The phrase introduced by as well as or along with will modify the earlier word (mayor in this case), but it does not compound the subjects (as the word and would do).
  • The mayor as well as his brothers is going to prison.
  • The mayor and his brothers are going to jail.
4.      The pronouns neither and either are singular and require singular verbs even though they seem to be referring, in a sense, to two things.
  • Neither of the two traffic lights is working.
  • Which shirt do you want for Christmas?
    Either is fine with me.
In informal writing, neither and either sometimes take a plural verb when these pronouns are followed by a prepositional phrase beginning with of. This is particularly true of interrogative constructions: "Have either of you two clowns read the assignment?" "Are either of you taking this seriously?" Burchfield calls this "a clash between notional and actual agreement."*
5.      The conjunction or does not conjoin (as and does): when nor or or is used the subject closer to the verb determines the number of the verb. Whether the subject comes before or after the verb doesn't matter; the proximity determines the number.
  • Either my father or my brothers are going to sell the house.
  • Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the house.
  • Are either my brothers or my father responsible?
  • Is either my father or my brothers responsible?
Because a sentence like "Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the house" sounds peculiar, it is probably a good idea to put the plural subject closer to the verb whenever that is possible.
6.      The words there and here are never subjects.
  • There are two reasons [plural subject] for this.
  • There is no reason for this.
  • Here are two apples.
With these constructions (called expletive constructions), the subject follows the verb but still determines the number of the verb.
7.      Verbs in the present tense for third-person, singular subjects (he, she, it and anything those words can stand for) have s-endings. Other verbs do not add s-endings.
He loves and she loves and they love_ and . . . .
8.      Sometimes modifiers will get betwen a subject and its verb, but these modifiers must not confuse the agreement between the subject and its verb.
The mayor, who has been convicted along with his four brothers on four counts of various crimes but who also seems, like a cat, to have several political lives, is finally going to jail.
9.      Sometimes nouns take weird forms and can fool us into thinking they're plural when they're really singular and vice-versa. Consult the section on the Plural Forms of Nouns and the section on Collective Nouns for additional help. Words such as glasses, pants, pliers, and scissors are regarded as plural (and require plural verbs) unless they're preceded the phrase pair of (in which case the word pair becomes the subject).
  • My glasses were on the bed.
  • My pants were torn.
  • A pair of plaid trousers is in the closet.
10.  Some words end in -s and appear to be plural but are really singular and require singular verbs.
  • The news from the front is bad.
  • Measles is a dangerous disease for pregnant women.
On the other hand, some words ending in -s refer to a single thing but are nonetheless plural and require a plural verb.
  • My assets were wiped out in the depression.
  • The average worker's earnings have gone up dramatically.
  • Our thanks go to the workers who supported the union.
The names of sports teams that do not end in "s" will take a plural verb: the Miami Heat have been looking … , The Connecticut Sun are hoping that new talent … . See the section on plurals for help with this problem.
11.  Fractional expressions such as half of, a part of, a percentage of, a majority of are sometimes singular and sometimes plural, depending on the meaning. (The same is true, of course, when all, any, more, most and some act as subjects.) Sums and products of mathematical processes are expressed as singular and require singular verbs. The expression "more than one" (oddly enough) takes a singular verb: "More than one student has tried this."
  • Some of the voters are still angry.
  • A large percentage of the older population is voting against her.
  • Two-fifths of the troops were lost in the battle.
  • Two-fifths of the vineyard was destroyed by fire.
  • Forty percent of the students are in favor of changing the policy.
  • Forty percent of the student body is in favor of changing the policy.
  • Two and two is four.
  • Four times four divided by two is eight.
12.  If your sentence compounds a positive and a negative subject and one is plural, the other singular, the verb should agree with the positive subject.
  • The department members but not the chair have decided not to teach on Valentine's Day.
  • It is not the faculty members but the president who decides this issue.
  • It was the speaker, not his ideas, that has provoked the students to riot.

Subject-Verb Agreement [subject= bold; verb= italic]:
1
The sun rises. (Matahari terbit.)
2
The stars shine. (Bintang bersinar.)
3
Leo rarely eats white bread. (Leo jarang makan roti putih.)
4
You go straight ahead then turn left.
(Kamu jalan lurus ke depan lalu belok kiri.)
Namun jika ada helping verbmaka helping verb-nya yang berubah sedangkan main verb dalam bentuk dasar (base form verb). Pilihan helping verb dalam bentuk tunggal-jamak-nya adalah is-are, does-do, dan has-have. Khusus untuk has-have, agreement tidak berlaku jika kata tersebut merupakan second helping verb atau digunakan dibelakang helping verb lainnya.
Contoh Kalimat Subject-Verb Agreement [subject= bold; verb= italic; helping verb= underline]:
1
My boss always comes on time.
(Bos saya selalu datang tepat waktu.)
2
They like eating out. (Mereka suka makan diluar.)
3
He is working. (Dia sedang bekerja.)
4
I do submit the task. (Saya harus mengirimkan tugas tersebut.)
5
The manager has checked the documents.
(Manager telah mengecek dokumen-dokumen tersebut.)
6
will have been sleeping for an hour when you arrive.
(Saya akan sudah tidur selama satu jam ketika kamu tiba.)
has-have TIDAK BERLAKU
Sedangkan pada past tense, tidak ada perbedaan bentuk kata kerja dalam hal number (tunggal atau jamak)  jika tidak ada helping verb, yaitu: was-were.
Contoh Kalimat Subject-Verb Agreement [subject= bold; helping verb= underline]:
1
The cat was sleeping. (Kucing itu sedang tidur.)
2
We were roasting corn. (Kita sedang membakar jagung.)
3
She drove fast. (Dia mengebut.) TIDAK BERLAKU
Adapun jika kata kerja yang digunakan berupa linking verb, maka isam (khusus I), was (past tense) digunakan oleh singular subject, sedangkan are dan were (past tense) oleh plural subject.
Contoh Kalimat Subject-Verb Agreement [subject= bold; linking verb= italic]:
1
Ricky is smart. (Ricky pintar.)
2
The children are naughty. (Anak-anak itu nakal.)
3
I was a stamp collector. (Saya dulu pengoleksi prangko.)
4
My books were borrowed by him. (Buku-buku saya dipinjam dia.)
Permasalahan pada Subject-Verb Agreement
Subject-verb agreement menjadi membingungkan ketika  dihadapkan pada persoalan seperti: subjek berupa collective noun, compound subjectplural form dengan makna singular, dan indefinite pronoun. Selain itu, ada pula phrase atau clause yang menyela subjek dan kata kerja sehingga cukup dapat membingungkan didalam penentuan agreement-nya.
Berikut penjelasan dan beberapa contoh subject-verb agreement. [Subject= bold; verb, linking= italic; helping verb= underline]
No
Subject-Verb Agreement
Contoh Subject-Verb Agreement
1
Collective Noun
Collective noun merupakan kata benda yang digunakan untuk menyatakan suatu nama kumpulan (terdiri dari lebih dari satu anggota). Sebagai subjek, kata benda ini dapat singular atau plural tergantung konteks.Jika anggota kumpulan melakukan hal yang sama secara serentak, maka kata benda ini dianggap sebagai suatu kesatuan subjek dengan singular verb.
Sebaliknya, bila anggota dari kumpulan bertindak secara individual, maka dianggap sebagai subjek jamak dengan kata kerja yang jamak pula.
The team is going
on holiday now.
[Artinya: Para anggota team sedang pergi berlibur (bersama-sama)
sekarang.]
The team are going
on holiday now.
[Artinya: Para anggota tim sedang berlibur (masing-masing) sekarang.]










 SUMBER :
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/sv_agr.htm