Subject Verb Agreement in a Question

Subject-verb agreement is an important aspect of English grammar and can often cause confusion, especially when it comes to constructing questions.

In a question, the subject and verb must agree in number. This means that if the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular, and if the subject is plural, the verb must also be plural.

For example, in the question “Does he like pizza?”, the singular subject “he” is followed by the singular verb “does”. On the other hand, in the question “Do they like pizza?”, the plural subject “they” is followed by the plural verb “do”.

It is also important to note that when the subject of a question is a collective noun, such as “team” or “group”, the verb used can depend on whether the group is acting as a unit or as separate individuals.

For instance, in the question “Is the team going to the playoffs?”, the singular verb “is” is used because the team is acting as a single unit. However, in the question “Do the group members agree on the decision?”, the plural verb “do” is used because the group members are acting as separate individuals.

Furthermore, when forming questions in the past tense, the auxiliary verb “did” is used to indicate that the sentence is a question, while the main verb remains in its base form without any inflections.

For instance, in the question “Did she go to the party?”, the auxiliary verb “did” is followed by the base form of the verb “go”, without any inflections such as -ed or -ing.

In conclusion, subject-verb agreement is an essential component of constructing grammatically correct questions. When constructing a question, ensure that the subject and verb agree in number, and take note of special cases such as collective nouns and questions in the past tense. By applying these principles, you can create clear and accurate questions that convey your intended meaning.