Subject-Verb Agreement TOEFL "Style" Part 10 Writing Skill

 

TOEFL MASTER

WRITING SKILL

“STYLE: SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT“

Gambar 1. Subject-Verb Agreement (Kesesuaian Subjek-Predikat) TOEFL Writing Skill

 

Hi, sobat!

Tahukah kamu apa itu subject-verb agreement?  Ya, subject-verb agreement secara bahasa diartikan “kesesuaian subjek dan predikat” dalam kalimat. Dalam bahasa Inggris, subject-verb agreement merupakan ketentuan gramatika pada subjek dan predikat dalam sebuah kalimat yang dipengaruhi oleh tense (pola waktu), singular-plural subject (subjek tunggal-jamak), part of speech (bagian-bagian penyusun kalimat), seperti adverb (kata keterangan), dan sebagainya.

 

Baca Juga: Part of Speech: Pengertian, Macam, Fungsi, dan Contohnya

 

Sebagai pembelajar EFL, kita harus mengetahui subject-verb agreement agar kita mampu menyusun kalimat lisan atau tertulis dengan padu, komunikatif, dan tidak ambigu (memiliki makna yang kabur). Selain itu, agar kita mampu menguasai dan memahami materi-materi yang berkaitan dengan subject-verb agreement di antaranya part of speech, tense, singularity & plurality, affixation, dan lain-lain. Hal ini dikarenakan dalam bahasa Inggris, sebuah kata dapat memiliki beberapa makna, dan fungsi atau kedudukan berdasarkan konteks sebuah kalimat.

Pada kesempatan kali ini, kita akan membahas “Subject-Verb Agreement”. Yuk simak penjelasannya berikut ini!

 

 

SUBJECT/VERB AGREEMENT

Subject-verb agreement berkaiatan dengan kesesuaian subjek dan predikat dalam sebuah kalimat. Hal dasar yang harus kita pahami adalah bahwa:

Singular subjects diikuti dengan singular verbs.

Plural subjects diikuti dengan plural verbs.

 

Baca Juga: Verb: Pengertian, Jenis, Fungsi, Kedudukan, dan Contohnya

 

Perhatikan beberapa contoh kalimat berikut ini!

• The secretary in this office comes to work at eight.
• The secretaries in this office come to work at eight.

 

Namun beberapa permasalahan yang seringkali kita temukan dalam subject-verb agreement pada sebuah kalimat di antaranya sebagai berikut.

1. Subjek tidak pernah ditemukan prepositional phrases. Perhatikan beberapa contoh kalimat berikut ini! (Subject + Prepositional Phrase + Verb …)

• The price of all these items is twenty dollars.
• The characters in this story are well developed.

*Prepositional phrase merupakan frasa yang didahului oleh preposition (kata depan), seperti of, in, to, with, on, dan lain-lain.

 

Baca Juga: Preposition: Pengertian, Jenis, Fungsi, Kedudukan, dan Contohnya

 

2. Kata “here” dan “there” bukan subjek. Subjek sebenarnya terletak sesudah verb pada kalimat tersebut. Perhatikan beberapa contoh berikut ini!

• Here comes the bus. (Here/There + Verb + Subject)
• There are many good reasons to study language.

 

Baca Juga: Primary Vs Modal Auxiliary Verb

 

3. Subjek juga mengikuti verb pada pola kalimat berikut ini. (Adverb + Verb + Subject)

• On the door was a wreath of flowers.
• Around the corner are several small shops.

 

Baca Juga: Adverb: Pengertian, Jenis, Fungsi, Kedudukan, dan Contohnya

 

4. Ungkapan yang disertai dengan kata-kata seperti along with, besides, like, as well as, and

including tidak mengubah jumlah dari subjek. Perhatikan beberapa kalimat berikut ini!

• Mr. Jones, along with his wife and six children, is going to Paris.
• The weather, as well as economic conditions, is a consideration.
• Several candidates, including John Baker, are going.

 

5. Ketika dua subjek digabungkan oleh correlative conjunction seperti “either … or” atau “neither … nor”, subjek yang lebih dekat dengan verb menentukan bentuk verb tersebut baik singular atau plural verb. Perhatikan beberapa kalimat berikut ini!

• Neither Mary nor her sisters are going to the party.
• Either my sisters or my mother is going to the wedding.

 

Baca Juga: Conjunction: Pengertian, Jenis, Fungsi, Kedudukan, dan Contohnya

 

6. Beberapa kata terlihat plural tetapi sebenarnya singular. Kata-kata tersebut biasanya berkaitan dengan bidang ilmu pengetahuan antara lain economics, mathematics, physics, news, dan politics. Perhatikan beberapa kalimat berikut ini!

• The news was good.
• Mathematics is a challenging field.

 

Baca Juga: Noun: Pengertian, Jenis, Fungsi, Kedudukan, dan Contohnya

 

7. Subjek dari relative clause, who, which, atau that, dapat berbentuk singular atau plural tergantung pada antecedent (noun yang mendahuluinya). Perhatikan beberapa kalimat berikut ini!

• The students who come to class every day generally progress rapidly.
• Bob is one of my friends who is helping me paint my house.
• Bob is the only one of my friends who is helping me paint my house.

 

Baca Juga: Kinds of Clause: Adjective Clause (Relative Pronoun)

 

Error Examples

Berikut ini terdapat beberapa kesalahan “subject-verb agreement” pada kalimat; serta, pembenarannya!

 

WRONG	RIGHT
His influence over the last ten years have grown considerably.	His influence over the last ten years has grown considerably.
Over the fireplace hangs several small paintings.	Over the fireplace hang several small paintings.
Neither the moon nor the stars is visible.	Neither the moon nor the stars are visible.
A study of all possible causes of these multiple fractures are in order.	A study of all possible causes of these multiple fractures is in order.
There occurs to me a few possible explanations for his behavior.	There occur to me a few possible explanations for his behavior.
His furniture, including a dining room table and six chairs, are being sold.	His furniture, including a dining room table and six chairs, is being sold.
I asked all the students who was willing to help to meet me at the school.	I asked all the students who were willing to help to meet me at the school.
The college newspaper prints only the news that are of interest to the students and faculty.	The college newspaper prints only the news that is of interest to the students and faculty.
Either the students or the teacher were mistaken.	Either the students or the teacher was mistaken.

 

Skill Builder 10: Subject/Verb Agreement

Directions: There is an error in subject-verb agreement at some of the sentences below. Decide whether the sentence is correct (C) or incorrect (I).

(___) 1. There are several jobs available.

(___) 2. Along the beach was several small boats that had been washed ashore.

(___) 3. Neither my sisters nor my brother is ready to begin college.

(___) 4. The lack of logic in his arguments never cease to surprise me.

(___) 5. She was determined to study nuclear physics, which was the most  difficult course offered at that school.

(___) 6. Students who have difficulty with this subject should try to find someone who is willing to tutor them.

(___) 7. Either her husband or her children is going to be upset no matter what decision she makes.

(___) 8. Betty is one of the women who is responsible for writing that.

(___) 9. My uncle, as well as my father, are going to Canada on business.

(___) 10. The only one of his friends who is upset with John is Bob.

 

Key Answer

1.      Correct 2.      Incorrect 3.      Correct 4.      Incorrect 5.      Correct

6.      Correct 7.      Incorrect 8.      Incorrect 9.      Incorrect 10.  Correct

 

Its Correction

1. There are several jobs available.

2. Along the beach were several small boats that had been washed ashore.

3. Neither my sisters nor my brother is ready to begin college.

4. The lack of logic in his arguments never ceases to surprise me.

5. She was determined to study nuclear physics, which was the most difficult course offered at that school.

6. Students who have difficulty with this subject should try to find someone who is willing to tutor them.

7. Either her husband or her children are going to be upset no matter what decision she makes.

8. Betty is one of the women who are responsible for writing that.

9. My uncle, as well as my father, is going to Canada on business.

10. The only one of his friends who is upset with John is Bob.

 

Next to >>> Style: Part of Speech

 

Source

Peterson`s (www.petersons.com). (2007). Peterson`s Master TOEFL Writing Skills. Peterson`s, a Nelnet Company

 

Demikian tadi sekilas Pembahasan TOEFL Writing Skills terkait “Style: Subject-Verb Agreement”. Semoga bermanfaat dan dapat menambah wawasan baru bagi kita dalam mempelajari bahasa Inggris; serta, terutama bagi kalian yang ingin atau akan mengikuti tes TOEFL.

Penulis mengharapkan saran dan kritik yang membangun dari para pembaca berkaitan dengan konteks atau isi tulisan sehingga nantinya hal tersebut dapat penulis jadikan inspirasi dan motivasi untuk melakukan perbaikan dan pengembangan tulisan berikutnya. Terima kasih 😊