Subject-verb agreement is a crucial aspect of English grammar. It refers to the agreement between the subject and its corresponding verb in a sentence. This agreement ensures that the sentence is grammatically correct and coherent. The key to mastering subject-verb agreement lies in understanding the subject and the verb and how they interact.

There are a few key things to keep in mind when working with subject-verb agreement:

1. Singular subjects require singular verbs, and plural subjects require plural verbs.

For example, “The dog barks” (singular subject, singular verb) and “The dogs bark” (plural subject, plural verb). This may seem straightforward, but there are some tricky cases to watch out for, such as collective nouns (e.g. “team,” “group,” “family”) that can be either singular or plural depending on the context.

2. Inverted sentences require extra attention.

Inverted sentences are those where the verb comes before the subject, as in “On the shelf sits a book.” In these cases, it`s important to identify the subject correctly and use the corresponding verb.

3. Phrases between the subject and the verb do not affect agreement.

For example, “The book, along with the pen and paper, is on the desk.” The subject is still “book,” which is singular, so the verb should be “is.”

4. In compound subjects connected by “and,” use a plural verb.

For example, “The dog and the cat play.” Both subjects are plural, so the verb should be “play.”

5. In compound subjects connected by “or” or “nor,” use a verb that agrees with the closer subject.

For example, “Either the dog or the cats are responsible” (plural subject, plural verb) and “Neither the dog nor the cat is responsible” (singular subject, singular verb).

Mastering subject-verb agreement takes practice and attention to detail. However, it is key to producing grammatically correct writing. By keeping these rules in mind, you can ensure that your writing is clear and effective. And when it comes to SEO, writing with proper grammar and syntax is crucial for search engine algorithms to recognize and rank your content.