THE verbal agreement it represents another one of those many subjects that grammar reveals to us and about which we need to know, in order to express them correctly, whenever necessary. So, so that you don't think that this subject is too complicated, know that it is only the agreement in person (I, you, he...) and number (singular or plural) between the verb and its respective subject.
It's simple, note:
I likeof chocolate.
We love to stroll.
Pedro andan excellent friend.
Did you realize that what we said before has become true through these examples? That is, grammatical person (I...) in the singular – verb in the singular (like) / grammatical person in the plural (we...) – verb also in the plural (we adore).
But, as you know, these knowledge that we acquire with grammar and that are part of the language we speak are sometimes made up of a few rules and a few exceptions... Therefore, we can say that the examples above represent a basic idea, but that there are cases that we call specific. Shall we learn them then?
Verbal agreement is one of the important issues related to grammar.
# When the subject is represented by a collective noun, the verb is in the third person singular:
the crowd applauded the presentation of the artists.
# In cases where the subject is represented by a treatment pronoun, the verb remains in the third person singular or in the third plural:
Your Excellency has arrived late.
Your Lordships accept the invitation?
# When the subject is represented by the relative pronoun “that”, the verb agrees with the element that appears before this pronoun:
Was he who brought the gift.
# In cases where the subject is represented by the pronoun "who", the verb can either remain in the third person singular or agree with the term that precedes this pronoun:
Went me who won the competition.
OR
Went I won the competitions.
So far we have learned the cases related to the simple subject, that is, one that has only one nucleus. From now on, we will know the cases related to the compound subject:
# When the compound subject appears before the verb, our little friend (the verb) is always in the plural:
Beatriz and Julia were to the movies.
# When the opposite happens, that is, when the compound subject appears after the verb, this verb must agree with the element that is closest to it or must remain in the plural:
Were to the movies Julia and Beatriz.
Or
Was to the movies Julia and Beatriz.
# In cases where the compound subject is made up of different grammatical persons, the verb is in the plural. In this case, we must be aware of two main cases:
- If there is the first person (me/we), it must prevail over all others:
me, you and himwe will do a tasty snack.
- When there is the second person (you/you), the verb can remain in the second or third person plural:
you and heyou are my friends.
Or
you and hethey are my friends.
