4.3 Agreement Patterns

Find the matching pieces

Agreement means one word changes its form because of another word. In English, he runs versus they run is subject-verb agreement: the verb shifts with the subject. In artificial-language drills the link can be less familiar. A modifier might change with the noun, a verb might change with the object, or a particle might match a noun class.

The master clue is covariation: two forms that change together across examples are probably linked. Suppose a drill gives lom-a naka-a for red stone and lom-i naka-i for red stones. Both the noun and the modifier swap a for i when the meaning goes plural. That points to number agreement between noun and modifier.

Do not stop at the first ending you notice. If only the noun changes, the rule may be plain plural marking with no agreement. If both noun and modifier change, agreement is likely. If the verb changes too, you may also have subject-verb agreement. The count of changing elements is the evidence.

Class-based and role-based agreement

Agreement can use categories English barely marks. A system might split nouns into a sun class and a water class: sun-class nouns force a modifier ending -ka, water-class nouns force -mi. The labels are invented; the skill is noticing that the modifier ending depends on the noun group, not on the modifier's meaning.

Role agreement is trickier still. A verb might agree with the actor in one drill and with the object in another. Compare:

• dak-a tor-a miv = soldier sees map; nal-i tor-i miv = pilots see map. The verb ending tracks the subject (singular -a, plural -i).
• But if dak tor-a miv-a changes the verb with the object, the agreement target is different.

Always gather several examples before naming the target. One example can never distinguish subject agreement from object agreement.

Tools and traps

During study, draw an arrow from the controlling word to the word that changes with it: noun to adjective, subject to verb, object to verb, class word to particle. The habit trains your eye to link dependent pieces fast.

Watch the trap of inventing agreement that is not there. If a modifier fails to change beside a plural noun in even one example, the ending may be optional, lexical, or governed by a different feature. An exception in a drill should make you pause and look for more evidence, not patch over it.

Agreement also interacts with word order. If the subject is not always first, endings may be the only way to find what the verb agrees with. Do not lean on position; ask which noun changes when the verb changes.

Review misses by naming both sides: write modifier failed to match plural noun or verb matched object, not subject. A vague note like agreement mistake teaches you nothing for the next item.

Person agreement and chains

Beyond number, a system may show person agreement, where the verb changes for I, you, or they. If lo tor-mi is I see, ka tor-su is you see, and ne tor-na is they see, the verb ending is selected by the pronoun. Notice this is still covariation: the pronoun and the verb ending move together. The same arrow-drawing habit applies, pronoun to verb ending.

Agreement can also chain. In a single sentence a plural subject might force a plural verb ending and a plural modifier on the subject noun at once. dak-i pelu-i tor-i could mean big soldiers see, with -i echoing through noun, modifier, and verb. Items built on chains punish you for fixing one link and missing another, so once you suspect agreement, scan the whole sentence for every form that carries the same feature.

A diagnosis table for two endings

When two endings change together, decide what is actually agreeing:

This table turns a vague "something agrees" hunch into a testable claim you can confirm with one more example.

Why the services care about this skill

Agreement is dense, multi-element bookkeeping done quickly, exactly the cognitive load of acquiring a Category III or IV language such as Russian, Arabic, or Korean, which mark agreement far more heavily than English. The score thresholds (105 for Category III, 110 for Category IV) screen for the working memory and pattern discipline that agreement items stress. Treat every agreement drill as a rehearsal for tracking two or three linked forms under time pressure, because that is the real-world demand the test predicts.

Agreement checklist

• Identify the feature being matched: number, person, class, or role.
• Check whether the marker appears on noun, verb, modifier, or several words.
• Scan the whole sentence for every form carrying the same feature (chains).
• Confirm the pattern with more than one example before naming it.
• Never add agreement the examples did not actually show.