“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.

” ProTEFL | Grammar

UNIT III
SUBJECT–VERB AGREEMENT
Setiap subject harus sesuai dengan verb-nya. Pada simple present tense, singular subject (subjek
tunggal) harus diikuti oleh singular verb (kata kerja tunggal). Begitu pula plural subject (subjek
jamak) harus diikuti oleh plural verb (kata kerja jamak).

A. BASIC SUBJECT–VERB AGREEMENT

SINGULAR VERB PLURAL VERB

Sing.S Sing.V Plur.S Plur.V

(a) My friend lives in Jakarta. (b) My friends live in Jakarta.

Pada contoh (a), subject kalimat my friend dalam bentuk singular, sehingga verb-nya juga
dalam bentuk singular, yaitu lives (V1 + -s/-es).
Sedangkan pada contoh (b), subject kalimat my friends dalam bentuk plural, sehingga verb-
nya juga dalam bentuk plural, yaitu live (V1 tanpa -s/-es).

Dalam simple present tense, subject – verb agreement mengikuti struktur berikut ini:

(c) He rarely kicks the ball.

(d) She often sings a beautiful
Jika suatu kalimat ber-subject tunggal, seperti he, she,
song.
dan it, verb-nya dibentuk dengan pola V1 + -s/-es.
(e) It always lies at the bottom of
the sea.
(f) I eat an apple everyday.
Sebaliknya, jika suatu kalimat ber-subject selain he, she,
(g) You never clean the house.
dan it, seperti I, you, we, dan they, verb-nya tidak diikuti
(h) We always study English.
akhiran –s/-es.
(i) They often walk to the school.
Tips: basic S-V agreement pada simple present tense, terdapat akronim, suatu strategi untuk
memudahkan mengingat, yaitu Ayudewi tidak minum es (ay= I, u= you, de= they, wi= we). Akronim
tersebut berarti apabila subject-nya I, you, they, we maka verb-nya tidak diberi huruf s/es.

B. SUBJECT – VERB AGREEMENT WITH 3 IRREGULAR VERBS

1. Subject – Verb agreement untuk verb be.

(a) I am a student. Jika verb kalimat dalam bentuk be, gunakan am untuk subject
(b) I am not a student. I seperti pada contoh (a dan b). Untuk subject you, they, dan
(c) We are always happy. we, gunakan verb are seperti pada contoh (c dan d).
(d) We are not always happy. Sedangkan untuk subject he, she, dan it, gunakan verb is
(e) He is very tall. seperti pada contoh (e dan f).
(f) He is not very tall. Pada kalimat negatif, tambahkan not dibelakang be.

Bahan Pelatihan ProTEFL | P2B-LPPMP-UNY 2015 Untuk kalangan sendiri, tidak diperdagangkan 1
 ProTEFL | Grammar
UNIT 3 – Subject Verb Agreement

2. Subject – Verb agreement untuk kata kerja transitif.

(g) I do my homework every day. Jika verb kalimat dalam bentuk kata kerja, maka untuk kalimat
(h) I do not do my homework negatif, untuk subject I, you, they, dan we, gunakan do + not
every day. seperti pada contoh (h). Sedangkan untuk subject he, she, dan
(i) She likes rock music. it, gunakan does + not seperti pada contoh (i).
(j) She does not like rock music.
3. Subject – Verb agreement untuk kata kerja have.
(k) They have their own Jika verb kalimat dalam bentuk have, gunakan have seperti
computer. pada contoh (k) untuk subject I, you, they, dan we. Sedangkan
(l) They do not have their own untuk subject he, she, dan it, gunakan has seperti pada contoh
computer. (m).
(m) It has four legs. Pada kalimat negatif, kata kerja have berubah menjadi do not
(n) It does not have four legs. have (contoh l) dan has berubah menjadi does not have
(contoh n).

C. SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT: USING EXPRESSIONS OF QUANTITY

Pada kebanyakan kalimat yang subject-nya diawali expressions of quantity, verb-nya ditentukan
oleh noun atau pronoun yang mengikuti of.

SINGULAR VERB PLURAL VERB

(a) Some of the book looks good. (d) Some of the books look good.
(b) A lot of the equipment is new. (e) A lot of my friends are here.
(c) Two-thirds of the money is mine. (f) Two-thirds of the pennies are mine.

Perhatikan contoh (a) dan (d):

some of + singular noun + verb 1(-s/-es)
some of + plural noun + verb 1 (tanpa -s/-es)
Perlu diingat bahwa terdapat perbedaan antara headword (noun) dalam bentuk determiner +
noun + of + noun (lihat unit II halaman 7) dan dalam bentuk expression of quantity di atas.
Perhatikan tabel di bawah ini:

(Determiner) + Noun (Headword) + of + Noun Expression of Quantity

(g) The owners of the house look happy. (h) Some of the books look good.
Pada kalimat (g), headword-nya terdapat sebelum Pada kalimat (h), headword-nya terdapat setelah kata
kata depan of. depan of.

(i) One of my friends is here. EXCEPTIONS (Pengecualian):

(j) Each of my friends is here. One of, each of, dan every one of selalu diikuti
(k) Every one of my friends is here. singular verb.
one of
each of + plural noun + verb 1(-s/-es)
every one of

2 Bahan Pelatihan ProTEFL | P2B-LPPMP-UNY 2015 Untuk kalangan sendiri, tidak diperdagangkan
“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” ProTEFL | Grammar

D. AGREEMENT WITH INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

Berikut ini yang termasuk indefinite pronouns (kata ganti tidak tentu):
everyone someone anyone no one
everybody somebody anybody nobody
everything something anything nothing

(a) Nobody agrees with him. Pada kalimat yang ber-subject indefinite
(b) Everyone has his or her own ideas. pronoun, verb-nya selalu dalam bentuk verb 1 +
-s/-es jika tense-nya present.

E. AGREEMENT WITH NAME OF PLACES

Jika dalam suatu kalimat terdapat nama tempat (misal nama bangunan atau negara), nama
tempat tersebut dianggap sebagai it.

o Indonesia is my country = It is my country.

o The Independent Language Learning Center (ILLC) is on the first floor = It is on the first floor.

F. A PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE BETWEEN SUBJECT AND VERB

Jika dalam kalimat terdapat prepositional phrase (frasa kata depan) yang memisahkan subject dan
verb, prepositional phrase tersebut tidak mempengaruhi bentuk verb.
Sing.S Sing.V Plur.S Plur.V
(a) That book on education policies is (b) The wings of the plane are twenty feet
interesting. long.

Pada contoh (a), subject dan verb kalimat dipisahkan oleh prepositional phrase on education
policies. Meskipun demikian, verb kalimatnya tetap is, karena subject-nya singular, yaitu book.
Begitu pula pada contoh (b), prepositional phrase of the plane tidak mempengaruhi bentuk
verb, karena subject kalimatnya plural, yaitu wings, sehingga verb-nya are.

G. COMPOUND SUBJECTS JOINED BY “AND” & “OR”

(a) The boy and the girl dance. (b) The professor or the students walk the
hall.
They
(c) The students or the professor walks the
hall.

Dua atau lebih subject yang dihubungkan dengan conjunction and, maka bentuk verb-nya tanpa
–s/-es, seperti pada contoh (a).
Sedangkan dua atau lebih subject yang dihubungkan dengan conjunction or, bentuk verb-nya
mengikuti bentuk subject yang paling dekat. Pada contoh (b), subject yang paling dekat dengan verb,
adalah students (plural), sehingga bentuk verb-nya walk (tanpa –s/-es).
Sebaliknya, pada contoh (c), subject yang paling dekat dengan verb, adalah professor (singular),
sehingga bentuk verb-nya walks (verb 1 + -s/-es).

Bahan Pelatihan ProTEFL | P2B-LPPMP-UNY 2015 Untuk kalangan sendiri, tidak diperdagangkan 3
 ProTEFL | Grammar
UNIT 3 – Subject Verb Agreement

EXCEPTIONS (Pengecualian):
Every dan each selalu diikuti oleh singular noun (kata benda tunggal). Dalam hal ini, meskipun ada
dua atau lebih noun yang dihubungkan oleh and, verb-nya tetap verb 1 + -s/-es. (lihat Indefinite
Pronoun hal. 19)

(d) Every man, woman, and child needs love. (e) Each book and magazine is listed here.

H. COMPOUND SUBJECTS JOINED BY “NEITHER…NOR” & “EITHER…OR”

Dua atau lebih subject yang dihubungkan dengan paired conjunction neither … nor atau either
… or, bentuk verb-nya mengikuti bentuk subject yang paling dekat dengannya.

Pada contoh (a), subject yang paling

(a) Neither the coach nor the players are going to dekat dengan verb, adalah players (plural),
the game. sehingga bentuk verb-nya are.
Sebaliknya, pada contoh (b), subject
(b) Either the players or the coach is going to the yang paling dekat dengan verb, adalah coach
game. (singular), sehingga bentuk verb-nya is.

4 Bahan Pelatihan ProTEFL | P2B-LPPMP-UNY 2015 Untuk kalangan sendiri, tidak diperdagangkan
“The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” ProTEFL | Grammar

Each sentence has four underlined words or phrases. The four underlined parts of the
Review sentence are marked A, B, C, or D. Identify the underlined word or phrase that
contains an error. Then circle the letter that corresponds to the answer you have
chosen, and reconstruct the sentence to make it correct.

1. He try hard to get good grade on the test.

A B C D

2. The doctors has to go to school for many years to complete their education.
A B C D

3. He is no going on vacation this summer.

A B C D

4. Raisa is one of Harry’s friend but she does not like him.
A B C D

5. I and my sister usually donates some money for the poor neighbours every week.
A B C D

6. The owner of the houses are from Spain.

A B C D

7. The children remains silent every time their mother asks them about their scores.
A B C D

8. The United States have imported all carpet wools in recent years because domestic wools are too fine
A B C D
and soft for carpets.

9. The baby showed a noticeable distaste for these kind of prepared baby food.
A B C D

10. Neither the students nor the teacher are going to the international seminar on science.
A B C D

Complete the sentences below by filling in the blank spaces.

11. The heart ... the blood flow.

(A) controls
(B) being controlled
(C) controlled
(D) is controlled
12. Not all birds ….
(A) fly
(B) flying
(C) to fly
(D) flown

Bahan Pelatihan ProTEFL | P2B-LPPMP-UNY 2015 Untuk kalangan sendiri, tidak diperdagangkan 5
ProTEFL | Grammar
UNIT 3 – Subject Verb Agreement

13. Nowadays, people … cafes as meeting places by literary figures.

(A) using
(B) use
(C) uses
(D) is used

14. … of the Stamp Act in 1765 provoked strong opposition among the American colonists.
(A) The passage was
(B) It was the passage
(C) Before the passage
(D) The passage

15. One purpose … to decide if there is sufficient evidence to try a person for a crime.
(A) of a grand jury is
(B) of a grand jury are
(C) for a grand jury
(D) of a grand jury

16. Projective tests … no right or wrong answers.

(A) has
(B) having
(C) have
(D) does not have

17. Overexposure to the sun … various health problems.

(A) cause
(B) are causing
(C) causes
(D) were causing

18. …, the outer layer of skin, contains pigments, pores, and ducts.
(A) That the epidermis
(B) The epidermis is
(C) The epidermis
(D) The epidermis which

19. … once every ten hours.

(A) The rotation of Jupiter
(B) The occurrence of Jupiter’s rotation
(C) Jupiter rotates
(D) Jupiter’s rotating

20. Neither the mother nor …here.

(A) the children is
(B) the childrens are
(C) the children are
(D) the childs are

6 Bahan Pelatihan ProTEFL | P2B-LPPMP-UNY 2015 Untuk kalangan sendiri, tidak diperdagangkan