Subject-verb agreement is an essential grammatical rule in any language, including Tagalog. This rule states that a verb must agree in number and person with its subject. In simpler terms, if the subject is singular, the verb must be singular; if the subject is plural, the verb must be plural as well.

In Tagalog, subject-verb agreement is not that complicated compared to English, which has irregular verbs. Below are some guidelines to follow when dealing with subject-verb agreement in Tagalog:

1. Singular subjects require singular verbs.

For instance:

Ang bata ay tumatawa. (The child is laughing.)

The subject ”bata” is singular, and the verb ”tumatawa” is singular as well.

2. Plural subjects require plural verbs.

For instance:

Ang mga bata ay tumatawa. (The children are laughing.)

The subject ”mga bata” is plural, and the verb ”tumatawa” is plural as well.

3. Collective nouns can either have singular or plural verbs.

Collective nouns are treated as singular in English, but in Tagalog, they can take either a singular or plural verb depending on the context.

For instance:

Ang pulutong ay dumating. (The crowd arrived.)

Here, ”pulutong” is a collective noun, and it takes a singular verb ”dumating.”

On the other hand:

Ang mga pulutong ay nag-aaway. (The crowds are fighting.)

In this sentence, ”pulutong” takes the plural verb ”nag-aaway” because it refers to multiple crowds.

4. Inverted sentences still follow the subject-verb agreement rule.

Inverted sentences are sentences that have the subject coming after the verb. In Tagalog, the verb is usually placed at the beginning of the sentence.

For instance:

Tumakbo si John. (John ran.)

In this sentence, ”tumakbo” is the verb, and ”John” is the subject. Even though the subject comes after the verb, the subject-verb agreement rule still applies.

In conclusion, subject-verb agreement is a basic rule that every Tagalog speaker or learner should know. By following these guidelines, you can easily determine whether a verb should be singular or plural, depending on the subject. With constant practice, you can master this rule and communicate effectively in Tagalog.