Chopped Agreement: What It Is and How to Avoid It
As a professional, one of the most common problems I see in written content is “chopped agreement.” Chopped agreement occurs when the subject and verb in a sentence do not agree in number or tense. This mistake can make your writing appear sloppy and unprofessional, and it can hurt your SEO rankings.
What Is Chopped Agreement?
Chopped agreement is a grammatical error that occurs when the subject and verb in a sentence do not agree in number or tense. For example, “The team are playing their best game” is a sentence with chopped agreement. “The team” is a singular subject, but “are playing” is a plural verb. The correct sentence would be “The team is playing its best game.”
Chopped agreement can also occur with tense. For example, “She was walking along the beach when he comes up to her” is a sentence with chopped agreement. “She was walking” is in the past tense, but “comes up” is in the present tense. The correct sentence would be “She was walking along the beach when he came up to her.”
Why Is Chopped Agreement a Problem?
Chopped agreement can make your writing appear unprofessional and sloppy. It can also confuse your readers and make it difficult for them to understand your message. In addition, chopped agreement can hurt your SEO rankings. Google`s algorithm takes into account the quality of your writing when ranking your website. If your content is full of grammatical errors, your rankings will suffer.
How to Avoid Chopped Agreement
The best way to avoid chopped agreement is to pay attention to the subject and verb in your sentences. Make sure they agree in number and tense. Here are some tips:
– Identify the subject of your sentence and make sure the verb agrees with it in number and tense.
– Use singular verbs with singular subjects and plural verbs with plural subjects.
– Use past tense verbs with past tense subjects and present tense verbs with present tense subjects.
– If you`re not sure if a subject is singular or plural, look for clues in the sentence. For example, if the subject is a group of people, it`s likely plural.
In addition, it`s always a good idea to have someone else read your writing before you publish it. A fresh set of eyes can often spot errors that you may have missed.
Conclusion
Chopped agreement is a common grammatical error that can make your writing appear unprofessional and hurt your SEO rankings. By paying attention to the subject and verb in your sentences, you can avoid chopped agreement and improve the quality of your writing. Remember, quality content is key to a successful SEO strategy.