What statement best describes subject-verb agreement?

What statement best describes subject-verb agreement?

• A. A sentence's mood determines the verb form.
• B. The subject and verb must always be in the same tense.
• C. The verb must agree in number with its subject.
• D. Subject-verb agreement is optional in standard writing.

Answer: (C)

Subject-verb agreement means the verb form must match the subject in number. If the subject is singular, the verb is singular; if the subject is plural, the verb is plural. This keeps the sentence clear and grammatically correct. For example, The dog runs shows a singular subject with a singular verb, while The dogs run uses a plural subject with a plural verb. Think of it as the verb doing the same “amount” as the subject. When two things are joined by and, the subject becomes plural and the verb should be plural, as in The dog and the cat are playing. If a noun phrase sits between the subject and the verb, the verb still agrees with the main subject: The bouquet of flowers smells lovely. Some statements about grammar confuse number with tense or mood. Tense is about time (when), and mood is about how a statement is framed; subject-verb agreement is specifically about matching number, not time or mood.

Subject-verb agreement means the verb form must match the subject in number. If the subject is singular, the verb is singular; if the subject is plural, the verb is plural. This keeps the sentence clear and grammatically correct. For example, The dog runs shows a singular subject with a singular verb, while The dogs run uses a plural subject with a plural verb.

Think of it as the verb doing the same “amount” as the subject. When two things are joined by and, the subject becomes plural and the verb should be plural, as in The dog and the cat are playing. If a noun phrase sits between the subject and the verb, the verb still agrees with the main subject: The bouquet of flowers smells lovely.

Some statements about grammar confuse number with tense or mood. Tense is about time (when), and mood is about how a statement is framed; subject-verb agreement is specifically about matching number, not time or mood.