A Tribe of Goats: Subject-Verb Agreement Rules

A tribe of goats gathered around the village elder, who began to teach them the ways of subject-verb agreement.

The elder explained that a subject and verb must agree in number, or else the sentence will be as confusing as a goat in a maze.

For example, "The cat" is a singular subject, so it must be paired with the singular verb "is."

See a singular subject example.

But what about plural subjects? The elder asked the tribe, "If you have many goats, what verb form do you use?"

The tribe thought for a moment, and the elder replied, "You use the plural verb form, of course!"

See a plural subject example.

And what about irregular verb forms? The elder chuckled and said, "Those are like the goats that refuse to follow the rules."

See an irregular verb example.