Subject verb agreement

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

A.    Pengertian

Verb harus sesuai dengan subjeknya, baik dalam hal number maupun person. Satu-satunya verb dalam bahasa Inggris yang mengalami infleksi atau perubahan bentuk dengan berubahnya number dan person adalah ‘to be’.

Verb-subject agreement (to be)

	1st person	2nd person	3rd person
PRESENT Singular : Plural :	I am We are	You are You are	He is They are
PAST Singular : Plural :	I was We were	You were You were	He was They were
FUTURE Singular : Plural :	I shall be We shall be	You will be You will be	He will be They will be

Verb lain hanya mengalami perubahan bagi orang ketiga tunggal dalam present tense.

Verb-subject agreement (write/walk)

	1ST PERSON	2ND PERSON	3RD PERSON
PRESENT Singular : Plural :	I write/walk We write/walk	You write/walk You write/walk	He writes/walks They write/walk
PAST Singular : Plural :	I wrote/walked We wrote/walked	You wrote/walked You wrote/walked	He wrote/walked They wrote/walked
FUTURE Singular : Plural :	I shall write/walk We shall write/walk	You will write/walk You will write/walk	He will write/walk They will write/walk

Akhiran –s atau –es pada verbs untuk orang ketiga tunggal dalam present tense menunjukkan bahwa subjeknya singular, sedangkan akhiran –s atau –es pada nouns menunjukkan plural.

Example :

1.      The dog bargs. (singular noun)

2.      The dogs bark. (plural noun)

3.      The axe does cut. (singular noun)

4.      The axes do cut. (plural noun)

Subyek majemuk dengan and. Dua atau lebih subyek yang dihubungkan oleh co-ordinating conjunction dinamakan subyek majemuk. Verb untuk subyek ini haruslah dalam bentuk plural.

Example :

1.      Work and play are good for every college student during vacation.

2.      Baseball and chess are my favorite summer sports.

3.      Fire and water do not agree.

Pengecualian :

Subyek majemuk yang dihubungkan oleh and, tetapi menyatakan satu kesatuan atau satu pengertian menggunakan singular verbs.

Example :

1.      The orator and statesman is dead.

2.      The secretary and treasurer of the corporation plans to spend his vacation in Europe.

3.      Bread and milk is his only food.

4.      Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy and wise.

Subyek majemuk yang dihubungkan oleh :

Or    nor

Either...nor   neither...nor   not...but

Menggunakan verb yang sesuai, baik dalam hal number maupun person, dengan bagian subyek yang lebih dekat pada verb tersebut.

a.       Number

Example :

1.      Neither the farmer nor the businessman is pleased by higher taxes.

2.      Either the marbles or the knife is first prize.

3.      Either the knife or the marbles are first prize.

4.      Neither food nor water was to be found there.

b.      Person

Example :

1.      Neither you or I am mistaken.

2.      Neither you nor your successor is affected by the new regulation.

Oleh karena susunan kalimat pada contoh kedua terakhir dirasakan kaku, maka biasnya digunakan cara lain untuk menyatakan pengertian tersebut.

Example :

1.      One of us is mistaken.

2.      You and your successor are not affected by the new regulation.

Phrase atau clause yang digabungkan dengan subyek tidak mempengaruhi verb.

Example :

1.      The engine as well as the fuselage and the wings was destroyed in the crash.

2.      The pilot along with all his passengers was rescued from the sea by helicopter.

3.      The chief, with all his men, was masacred.

Phrase lainnya yang serupa dimulai dengan : in addition to, together with, including accompanied, etc.

Collective nouns menggunakan singular verbs bila dianggap sebagai satu pengertian, akan tetapi menggunakan plural verbs bila dianggap terpisah-pisah.

            Example :

1.      The family is going on its vacation to Rome, Paris, and London. (all go together)

2.      The family are going on their vacations to Rome, Paris, and London. (separate vacation)

Noun yang bentuknya plural, namun artinya singlar memakai singular verb. Noun yang termasuk kategori diantaranya :

a.       Kata-kata seperti

Physics, economics, mathematics, mumps, news, politics

1.      Physics is a difficult subject.

2.      Economics is often thought of as a science.

3.      The news of the defeat is disappointing.

b.      Kata-kata yang menunjukkan jumlah atau angka :

1.      Thirty dollars is as much as I will pay.

2.      Ten from forty leaves thirty.

c.       Judul buku, sandiwara, lukisan, komposisi musik, dll.

1.      The reapers is the name of a painting.

Kata-kata seperti trousers, scissors, dsb. Adalah plural, kecuali bila digunakan setelah kata pair.

            Example :

1.      His trousers were unpressed and frayed about the cuffs.

2.      An old pair of trousers is a prime essential for the do-it-yourself artist.

3.      The scissors she had were so dull they wouldn’t cut better.

4.      If a better pair of scissors is what you want, take these.

Indefinite pronouns seperti : each, either, neither, one, no one, everyone, someone, anyone, everybody, nobody umumnya menggunakan singular verbs.

Kata-kata seperti : none, some, part, all, half (dan bilangan pecehan lainnya) menggunakan singular atau plural verbs, bergantung pada nouns atau pronouns yang mengikutinya.

            Example :

1.      Some of the sugar was spilled on the floor.

2.      Some of the apples were spilled on the floor.

3.      Half of the money is yours.

4.      Half of the students are looking out the window.

None kadang-kadang dianggap sebagai singular (not one), dan sebagai plural (not any of a number).

Kalimat yang dimulai dengan the number of umumnya memiliki singular verbs, sedangkan kalimat yang dimulai dengan a number of, karena dianggap sama dengan adjective some, menggunakan verb yang sesuai dengan noun ataau pronounnya.

Example :

1.      The number of questions on the exam was twice as large as I expected.

2.      A number of the guests were whispering together.

3.      A number of well-qualified people have recently left the company.

Pada kalimat yang dimulai dengan there atau here yang diikuti oleh verb dan subyek, maka verb dapat berupa singular atau verb tergantung pada subyeknya.

Example :

1.      There is a large number of boys in the class.

2.      There were thirten blackbirds perched on the fence.

3.      Here is a thing to remember.

4.      Here are two things to remember.

Sedangkan pada kalimat yang dimulai dengan it, maka digunakan bentuk singular verb.

Example :

1.      It was many years ago.

2.      It is the boys who are the blame.

Verb harus sesuai dengan subyek, bukan dengan subyektive complement.

Example :

1.      Television and radio are his main source of pleasure.

2.      His main source of pleasure is television and radio.

Bila subyek merupakan suatu relative pronoun, maka verb memilikiperson dan number yang sama dengan antecedent dari pronoun.

Example :

1.      I, who am old, must soon face death.

2.      He, who is my friend, should stand by me.

3.      She is the one of the best mothers that have ever lived.

Tetapi :

She is the only one of the best mothers that has ever lived.[1]

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[1] Sukma setiabudhi, complete grammar of the English language, (Bandung : alfabeta 2013 ), hal 111