V angleščini je obstaja splošno pravilo, ki ga imenujemo Subject-Verb Agreement, ki pravi, da se morata osebek in glagol vedno ujemati.
Obstaja kar nekaj točk tega pravila, pa si jih oglejmo.
PRAVILO 1
(osnovno pravilo)
Osebek in povedek (glagol) se morata vedno ujemati v številu. Edninski osebek bo zahteval edninsko obliko povedka, množinski osebek pa množinsko.
- A good medicine tastes bitter.
- He goes to work by bus.
- They visit us every other week.
PRAVILO 2
Osebek, ki je ločen od povedka z besedami oziroma sklopi, kot so with, as well as, together with, along with, le-teh nima kot svoj sestavni del. Povedek se mora v številu še vedno ujemati z osebkom.
- The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly.
PRAVILO 3
Dva osebka, ki sta združena z veznikom and sta množinska.
- Mary and Joan are quite different.
Izjema:
- Bacon and eggs is my favourite dish.
V tem stavku je bacon and eggs zložen samostalnik.
PRAVILO 4
Dva osebka, ki ju združujejo or/not, either…or/neither…nor, not only…but also, se vežeta na povedek, ki je tem osebkom najbližje.
- Neither my mother nor my father goes to university.
- Either my father or my brothers are coming.
- Not only you but also I am planning to go.
PRAVILO 5
Pri skupnih samostalnikih je povedek lahko v edninski ali množinski obliki, odvisno od pomena.
- The audience was clearly enchanted by her performance.
- The audience are strangely subdued, clapping politely after each song.
PRAVILO 6
V stavkih, ki se začnejo z here or there, pravi osebek sledi povedku.
- There is a bush near the school playground.
- Here are the keys.
PRAVILO 7
Povedek bo edninske oblike, če je osebek edninski nedoločni zaimek, kot so each, either, neither, one, no one, every one, someone, anyone, nobody, somebody, anybody, everybody, one, no.
- Nobody gets rich from writing nowadays.
- Either of the plans is equally dangerous.
Povedek bo množinske oblike, če je osebek množinski nedoločni zaimek, kot so several, few, both, many.
- Several villages have been isolated by the heavy snowfall.
Nekaj nedoločnih zaimkov (some, any, all, most) je lahko ednisnkih ali mnozinskih, odvisno od njihove rabe v stavku: z neštevnimi uporabimo edninsko obliko, s števnimi uporabimo množinsko.
- Some of the books are out of place. Please put them in right order. (Books are countable.)
- Some of the music was weird. (Music is uncountable.)
PRAVILO 8
Edninsko obliko povedka uporabimo za merske ter časovne izraze ter izraze povezane s težo, ko je znesek uporabljen kot ena sama enota.
- Fifty dollars seems a reasonable price.
- Three miles is too far to walk.
TODA:
- Five dollars were scattered on the on the ground.
PRAVILO 9
Množinske oblike osebkov z edninskim pomenom se vežejo na edninski povedek (mumps, home economics, social studies economics, measles, calisthenics, statistics, civics, physics, gymnastics, phonics, news, acrobatics, aesthetics, thesis, mathematics, …).
- Gymnastics is his favourite sport.
- Mathematics is the science of pure quantity.
PRAVILO 10
Naslovi posameznih enot (knjige, organizacije, države itd) so vedno uporabljeni z edninskim povedkov.
- Harry Potter is an interesting novel.