📚 Understanding Subject-Verb Agreement
Subject-verb agreement simply means that the verb in a sentence must agree in number with its subject. If the subject is singular, the verb must be singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural.
- 🧍 Singular Subject: The cat sits on the mat. (Cat is singular, sits is singular)
- 👯 Plural Subject: The cats sit on the mat. (Cats is plural, sit is plural)
- ⚠️ Tricky Situations: Sometimes, phrases can come between the subject and the verb, making it harder to identify the correct form. For example: The bag of apples is heavy. (The subject is bag, not apples)
🗓️ Understanding Verb Tense
Verb tense indicates when an action takes place – in the past, present, or future. The form of the verb changes to show the tense.
- گذشتهPast Tense: I walked to school yesterday.
- حالPresent Tense: I walk to school every day.
- آیندهFuture Tense: I will walk to school tomorrow.
- ⏳ Perfect Tenses: There are also perfect tenses (present perfect, past perfect, future perfect) that show actions completed at a specific time. For example: I have walked to school many times.
🆚 Subject-Verb Agreement vs. Verb Tense: A Comparison
| Feature |
Subject-Verb Agreement |
Verb Tense |
| Focus |
Matching the verb to the subject's number. |
Indicating when the action happened. |
| What it changes |
The form of the verb (e.g., sits vs. sit). |
The form of the verb to show time (e.g., walk, walked, will walk). |
| Example |
The dog barks. The dogs bark. |
I walk. I walked. I will walk. |
| Why it matters |
Ensures grammatical correctness and clarity. |
Provides context about when events occurred. |
💡 Key Takeaways
- 🎯 Agreement is about matching: Subject-verb agreement is all about making sure the verb "agrees" with the subject.
- ⏱️ Tense is about time: Verb tense tells you when something happened.
- 🧩 Both are important: Both are crucial for writing clear and grammatically correct sentences!