Subject Verb Agreement Error

As a copy editor with experience in search engine optimization (SEO), one of the most common errors I come across is subject-verb agreement errors. These errors occur when the subject and verb in a sentence do not agree in number (singular or plural).

Subject-verb agreement errors can cause confusion for readers and affect the credibility of the content. When search engines crawl webpages, they also take into account the quality of the content and may rank pages lower if they contain numerous errors.

Here are some examples of subject-verb agreement errors:

– The group of students is going on a field trip. (Correct)

– The group of students are going on a field trip. (Incorrect)

In this example, “group” is a singular noun, so the verb “is” should also be singular.

– My family loves to go on vacation. (Correct)

– My family love to go on vacation. (Incorrect)

In this example, “family” is a collective noun, but it is still treated as a singular noun, so the verb “loves” should also be singular.

– The bottles of water are on the table. (Correct)

– The bottles of water is on the table. (Incorrect)

In this example, “bottles” is a plural noun, so the verb “are” should also be plural.

To avoid subject-verb agreement errors in your writing, it is important to identify the subject and verb in each sentence and ensure they agree in number. Here are some tips to help you do this:

1. Identify the subject of the sentence and determine if it is singular or plural.

2. Identify the verb in the sentence and ensure it matches the number of the subject.

3. Be especially careful with collective nouns, such as “group” or “family,” which can be singular or plural depending on context.

By following these tips and paying attention to subject-verb agreement, you can improve the clarity and accuracy of your writing, and boost its appeal to both readers and search engines.