Tip #23: Subjects and predicates should agree (even if you don't)

My love affair with Schoolhouse Rock began as a child and, particularly for the Grammar Rock segments, continues today.  So when I decided to write a post on subject-predicate agreement, I recognized that Schoolhouse Rock’s Mr. Morton could explain what the subject and predicate are quite well.  I could just tell you that the subject is the noun part of the sentence and the predicate is the verb part, but Schoolhouse Rock’s approach (which takes about three minutes) is just too classic to ignore.

Once you know what the subject and the predicate are, you need to ensure that they agree in number.  That means that a singular noun takes a singular verb and a plural noun takes a plural verb.  Most writers follow this rule rather well.  But occasionally you can see an example of a writer who didn’t.

Usually it happens when the main verb in the predicate is distanced from the noun in the subject and what immediately precedes the verb appears like the form opposite that of what the verb should take.

Take for example the sentence in the graphic at left.  The insert attached to the locking positions is the subject and is singular since the main noun insert is singular.  The predicate is hold sufficiently well.  This is plural but should be singular to agree with the singular noun in the subject.

Likely the plural positions confused the writer who then wrote to hold in a plural form.  But the verb in the predicate should be singular just like the noun in the subject.  Thus, the writer should change the sentence thus:

---

---

The insert attached to the locking positions holds sufficiently.

---

Make sure that your subjects and predicates agree (even if you don’t)!  Better writing makes for a better presentation, and that’s always better than the alternative.