SUBJECT~ VERB AGREEMENT - Writing Task 1 and 2

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With any writing, whether it is IELTS Writing Task 1 and Writing Task 2, it is important that a verb agrees with its subject. This is called agreement. When this agreement is made care must be taken to accurately identify the subject. Subjects may not always be obvious. These study notes focus on the various kinds of subjects and their agreement with the verb.


There are two main parts of a sentence, a subject (who or what) and a verb (action or condition). In order for a sentence to be grammatically correct, the verb must agree with the subject in number (singular or plural) and person (1st – I, 2nd –you, 3rd – s/he, it, they). A singular subject (one person/thing) must take a singular verb, and a plural subject (two or more people/things), a plural verb 



For example:






Generally, the verb form is the same for all persons with the exception of the 3rd person singular, which takes an s/es. The verbs to be and to have, however, are irregular, and change in other persons.

For example: 





It may not always be obvious whether the subject is singular or plural. The table below lists a number of rules for subject – verb agreement using different subjects. 

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