SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

Transcription

1 SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

2 Plurals in English Grammar To make a noun plural, we add s Singular: girl Plural: girls To make a verb plural, we take away the s. Singular: he talks Plural: they talk

3 Watch the Verb Endings! Singular I walk You walk He/She/It walk s Joe walk s The girl walk s Plural We walk You walk They walk Joe and Maria walk The girls walk

4 Remember there are irregular verbs: DO Singular He does HAVE She has BE He is She was Plural They do They have They are They were

5 Tip for Subject/verb Agreement Generally, if the subject doesn t end in S, the verb will. If the subject does end in S, the verb won t.

6 No S on subject -S on verb The girl dances.

7 -S on subject The girls dance. No S on verb

8 Multiple subjects joined by and If there are two or more subjects joined by and, the subject must be plural, so the verb will not get an s. Example The boy and the girl dance. (= They dance.) No S on verb

9 Multiple subjects joined by or If there are two or more subjects joined by or, the verb agrees with the part of the subject closest to it. Examples: The professor or the students walk the halls. The students or the professor walks the halls.

10 Indefinite Pronouns Some indefinite pronouns are always singular. Here are some examples: anyone, everyone, someone, no one, nobody Others can be either singular or plural (all, some) Everybody loves grammar! Some people love grammar.

11 Some subjects always take a singular verb even though the meaning may seem plural. These subjects always take singular verbs: each someone either anyone neither nobody one somebody no one anybody everyone everybody Someone in the game was (not were) hurt. Neither of the men is (not are) working.

12 The following words may be singular or plural, depending upon their use in a sentence: some, any, all, most. Most of the news is good. (singular) Most of the flowers were yellow. (plural) All of the pizza was gone. (singular) All of the children were late. (plural)

13 Collective nouns may be singular or plural, depending on their use in the sentence. A collective noun is a noun used to name a whole group. Following are some common examples: Army, crowd, orchestra Audience, flock, public Class, group, swarm Club, herd, team Committee, jury, troop United States

14 Collective Noun Examples The orchestra is playing a hit song. (Orchestra is considered as one unit singular.) The orchestra were asked to give their musical backgrounds. (Orchestra is considered as separate individuals plural)

15 Some nouns, while plural in form, are actually singular in meaning. Mathematics is (not are) an easy subject for some people. Physics is (not are) taught by Prof, Baldwin. Examples: mumps home economics, social studies, economics Measles, calisthenics, statistics, civics Physics, gymnastics, phonics. news Acrobatics, aesthetics, thesis, mathematics

16 Expressions of time, money, measurement, and weight are usually singular when the amount is considered one unit. Five dollars is (not are) too much to ask. Ten days is (not are) not nearly enough time. On occasion, however these terms are used in the plural sense: There were thirty minutes to countdown.

17 Relative Pronouns Relative Pronouns (who/which/that) can be either singular or plural, depending on the word they refer to. The student who works hard will succeed. The students who work hard will succeed.

18 Helpful hints Sometimes, several words come between the subject and the verb. Just take out the phrase in the middle to see whether or not the subject and verb agree. The student, though she had lots of problems in other schools, finds/find (?) her new class easy. The student, though she had lots of problems in other schools, finds her new class easy. The student finds her new class easy.

19 Prepositional phrases The subject can never be part of a prepositional phrase. Example The students in my class study / studies X hard.

20 In the sentences below, do the subjects & verbs agree? They goes to the gym after class to work out. Harry and his friends wants to see the new movie coming out this weekend. The cat who is meowing at my door wants in. Neither the cat nor the dogs likes the new food. The mayor as well as his brothers are going to jail. Nobody wants to dance. The paper or the ruler are in the desk.