Correct subject-verb agreement is essential for clear and effective communication. When a subject and verb do not agree in number, it can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. In the world of SEO, errors in subject-verb agreement can harm a website`s rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs). As a professional, it is important to identify and correct these errors to ensure that a website`s content is as effective as possible.
Here are a few examples of sentences with potential errors in subject-verb agreement:
1. “The group of employees are meeting in the conference room.”
2. “Neither the manager nor the employees were aware of the new policy.”
3. “Each of the students were given a different assignment.”
In sentence 1, the subject “group” is singular, but the verb “are meeting” is plural. The correct verb should be “is meeting”: “The group of employees is meeting in the conference room.”
In sentence 2, the subject is a compound subject consisting of “manager” and “employees.” The verb “were” is plural, which would be correct if both subjects were plural. However, “manager” is singular, so the correct verb is “was”: “Neither the manager nor the employees was aware of the new policy.”
In sentence 3, the subject “each” is singular, but the verb “were given” is plural. The correct verb should be “was given”: “Each of the students was given a different assignment.”
Identifying and correcting errors in subject-verb agreement is just one way that copy editors can improve the effectiveness of SEO content. By ensuring that the language used on a website is clear, concise, and grammatically correct, SEO professionals can help their clients achieve higher rankings in SERPs and drive more organic traffic to their websites.
