Article Verb Agreement

Article verb agreement is a crucial aspect of writing that is often overlooked by many authors. It refers to the proper matching of the verb form with the subject of the sentence. In other words, the verb should agree with the number and person of the subject.

The most common mistake when it comes to article verb agreement is using the wrong verb form with a plural subject. For example, “The apples on the tree is ripe” is incorrect. The correct sentence should be “The apples on the tree are ripe.” In this case, the plural subject “apples” requires the plural verb “are.”

Similarly, using the wrong verb form with a singular subject is also a common mistake. For instance, “The team of players are practicing” is incorrect. The correct sentence should be “The team of players is practicing.” In this case, even though “players” is plural, the subject of the sentence is “team,” which is singular, and should be matched with the singular verb “is.”

Another mistake to avoid is the use of singular or plural nouns as collective nouns. Collective nouns are a group of people or things that are treated as a single entity. Examples of collective nouns include “team,” “family,” “committee,” and “staff.” When using a collective noun, it is important to consider the context to determine whether the noun should be treated as singular or plural.

For example, “The committee is meeting today” is correct because the committee is being treated as a single entity. On the other hand, “The committee are divided on the issue” is also correct because the context implies that the members of the committee have different opinions.

Using the right verb form is important not only for grammatical correctness but also for search engine optimization (SEO). Search engines like Google prefer content that is grammatically correct and easy to read. If your content is full of grammatical errors, it may hurt your search engine rankings and decrease the chance of your article being ranked highly in search results.

In conclusion, article verb agreement is an essential aspect of writing that cannot be ignored. To ensure that your writing is grammatically correct and optimized for SEO, use the correct verb form that agrees with the number and person of the subject. Proofread your work carefully to catch any mistakes and make sure your content is easy to read and understand.