Subject Verb Arrangement

Sentence (minimal) = Subject + Verb

·        I work

·        She Works

Basic Rule / Principle :

Singular subjects membutuhkan singular verbs

Prural subjects membutuhkan prural verbs.

·        My brother is a nutritionist

·        My sisters are mathematicians

Rule 1 : Indefinite Pronouns (kata ganti yang tidak jelas)

Anyone everyone no one nobody adalah singular subjects jadi harus menggunakan singular verbs

·        Everyone has done his or her homework

·        Somebody has left her purse

Exception 1 : all & some

All & some kadang bisa menjadi singular atau plural tergantung pada dimana mereka merujuk, apakah merujuk pada benda countable atau uncountable.

·        Some of the books are missing

·        Some of tha water is gone

Exception 2 : none

None bias menjadi singular or plural tergantung pada noun yang diikuti.

·        None of the students are in the class

·        None of the food is fresh

Special case : each

Each selalu menjadi kata singular.

·        Each of the students is responsible for his/her homework

·        Each of the cars has different color

Rule 2 : together with, as well as, dan along with

together with, as well as, dan along with tidak sama dengan kata and. Tidak ditambahkan menjumlahkan subjectnya.

·        The mayor, as well as his brothers, is going to prison

·        Tha mayor and his brothers are going to jail

·        My friends together with Rani, are at school

Additional explanation

Kadangan subject terpisah dengan verbs melalui kata along with, as well as, besides, atau or. Tidak usah perdulikan kata tersebut.

·        The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly

·        Excitement, as well as nervousness, is cause of her shaking

Rule 3 : subject terpisah dengan verb (appositives)

·        The mayor, who has been convivted along with his four counts of various crimes but who also seems, like a cat, to have several political lives, is finally going to jail.

Rule 4 : pronoun of adjective clause (kata pengganti)

Kadang-kadang kata who, that, atau which menjadi subject sebuah kata kerja yang berada di tengah. Kata whit, that, which akan menjadi jamak atau tunggal tergantung dari kata benda (noun) sebelumnya.

·        Salma is the scientist who writes the reports.

·        He is one of the men who does work.

Rule 5 : either + or dan neither + nor

Kata benda yang paling dekat dengan kata kerja menentukan kata kerja jamak atau tunggal.

·        Either my father or my my brothers are going to sell the house.

·        Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell the house.

Pronouns : either and neither (without or / nor)

Kata pengganti either dan neither adalah singular, jadi membutuhkan kata singular verbs.

·        Neither of the two traffic lights is working

·        Either of us ic capable of doing the job

Dalam penulisan yang tidak formal, either dan neither biasanya diikuti plural verb maka berikan prepositioning phrase seperti kata of.

·        Have either of you two clowns read the assignment?

·        Are either of you taking this seriously?

Rule 6 : Pseudo subject (There and here)

Kata there dan here tidak pernah menjadi subject. Subject selalu berada setelah verbs.

·        There are two reasons for this

·        There is no reason for this

Rule 7 : third party singular (he, she, it, personal name)

Pada kalimat dalam present tense dan subjectnya adalah orang ketiga tunggal (she, he, it) maka verbs harus tunggal. ( + e / es / has )

·        She teaches English

·        The cat eats fish

·        He has good personality

Rule 8 : words end in –s

Singular

Ada kata yang berakhiran –s tapi kata itu memang kata singular

·        The news from the front is bad

·        Measles is a dangerous disease for pregnant women

Ada kata yang berakhiran –s tapi kata itu memang kata plural

·        My assets were wiped out in the depression

·        The average worker’s earnings have gone up dramatically

·        Our thanks go to the workers who supported the union

Kata-kata singular berakhiran -s

·        Diseases (penyakit) : measles, rabies

·        Occupation (pelajaran) : economics, ethics, linguistics, politics

·        Games: dominoes, darts, cards

·        Mathemathic is my favorite lesson

Kata-kata plural berakhiran –s (pada makna tertentu)

·        Customs (at the airport, not practices)

·        Guts (courage, not intestines)

·        Quarters (lodging, not 1/4s)

·        Clothes (garments, not fabrics)

·        Goods (merchandise, not the opposite of bad)

·        The goods are in the werehouse

Kata-kata benda yang selalu plural

·        Pants

·        Clothes

·        Binoculars

·        Jeans

·        Forceps

·        Trousers

·        Tongs

·        Shorts

·        Tweezers

·        Pajamas

·        Police

·        Shorts

·        Glasses

·        Scissors

·        Goggles

·        The scissors are on the table

Rule 9 : fractional expression (pecahan)

Half of, a part of, a percentage of

Lihat kata benda setelah kata of, jika singular maka verb menjadi singular, jika plural maka verbs menjadi plural

·        Fifty percent of the pie has disappeared

·        Pie is the object of the preposition of

·        One-third of the people are unemployed

Rule 10 : negative & positive subject

Jika kalimat terdapat positive dan negative subject maka yang digunakan adalah positive subject

·        The departemen members but not the chair have decided not to teach on Valentine’s Day

·        It is not the faculty members but the president who dicides this issue

Rule 11 : sum of money or periods

Jika berkaitan dengan uang dan periode maka selalu menjadi singular

·        Ten dollars is a high price to pay

·        Five years is the maximum sentence for that offense