As a copy editor, ensuring proper grammar and sentence structure is a crucial part of your job. One common issue that arises is agreement. This refers to the agreement between the subject and the verb in a sentence. In other words, ensuring that the verb matches the subject in terms of tense and number.

Proper agreement not only improves the readability and clarity of your writing, but it can also positively impact search engine optimization (SEO). Search engines are designed to favor content that is well-written and grammatically correct.

Here are a few tips to help you register agreement in your writing:

1. Identify the subject and the verb: Before you start writing a sentence, identify the subject and the verb. This will help you ensure that the verb agrees with the subject. For example, in the sentence “The cat chases the mouse,” the subject is “cat,” and the verb is “chases.”

2. Match singular subjects with singular verbs, and plural subjects with plural verbs: This may seem obvious, but it’s important to remember. Singular subjects require singular verbs, and plural subjects require plural verbs. For example, “The dog barks” (singular subject and verb) versus “The dogs bark” (plural subject and verb).

3. Watch out for tricky subjects: Some subjects can be tricky to identify as singular or plural, such as collective nouns (e.g. team, family, group), indefinite pronouns (e.g. anyone, everyone, nobody), and compound subjects. For example, “The team is celebrating its victory” versus “The children were playing in the park” (compound subject with plural verb).

4. Pay attention to tense: The verb in a sentence should match the tense of the subject. For example, “She is singing” (present tense) versus “She was singing” (past tense).

5. Be consistent throughout your writing: Consistency is key in writing. Make sure you maintain agreement throughout your writing, especially if you’re working on a longer piece, such as an article or a blog post.

In summary, proper agreement is an important aspect of writing and can have an impact on your SEO efforts. By paying attention to the subject-verb relationship and maintaining consistency throughout your writing, you can ensure that your content is grammatically correct and optimized for search engines.