LECTURER : REV. PATRICK GODFRED APPIAH TOPIC : CONCORD GROUP : GROUP EIGHT (8) LEVEL : 100 DATE : 27TH SEPTEMBER, 2016.
GROUP MEMBERS Name Parbi Bram Amponsah Alfreda Quartey Beatrice Asamoah Bright Charles Amoadu Odai Sarpong Atta Kena SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT(CONCORD) The subject and the verb in a sentence must agree in number and person. This means that a singular subject must take the singular form of the verb, and a plural subject must take the plural form of the verb. If a verb is regular, the need for agreement is not always obvious because the form of the verb does not vary greatly. Consider the following.
SINGULAR PLURAL One person speaks. Two people speak. One person does. Two people do. One person was. Two people were.
Eg. 1. The woman takes a cab. 2. The men take a cab.
Words between the Subject and the Verb
Words that come between the subject and the verb do not change subject-verb agreement. In the following sentence The breakfast cereals in the pantry are made mostly of sugar. Note: The subject (cereals) is plural, so the verb (are) is plural. The words in the pantry that come between the subject and the verb do not affect subject-verb agreement.
Verb before the Subject
A verb agrees with its subject even when the verb comes before the subject. Words that may precede the subject include there, here, and, in questions, who, which, what, and where. 1. Inside the storage shed are the garden tools. 2. At the street corner were two panhandlers. 3. There are times when I’m ready to quit my job. 4. Where are the instructions for assembling the bed? Compound Subject-Verb Agreement A. In a sentence there may be more than one subject (compound subject), and the verb form chosen must agree in tense and number with the subjects as shown in the examples below. If the compound subjects are connected by and, the verb is usually plural. Fredric and Elise are working together on the project.
B. If the compound subject is connected with the either/or, neither/nor, not only/but also correlative conjunctions, the verb must agree with the following. Rules. If both are singular, the verb is singular. Either Fredrick or Elise is going to turn in the project to the boss.
If both subjects are plural the verb is plural
Neither the Soldiers nor the city counsellors have addressed the recent rise in crime.
Either the restaurant manager or his assistants deserve to be fired.
Explanation: The nearer subject, assistants, is plural, and so the verb is plural. Examples. 1. The Pilates and spinning classes (seem, seems) to help me stay in shape, but the key to fitness is a sensible diet. 2. Either the tongue ring or dragon tattoo (is, are) responsible for Zack’s appeal.
Indefinite Pronouns The following words, known as indefinite pronouns, always take singular verbs. Both always takes a plural verb. (-one words) (-body words) (-thing words) one nobody nothing each anyone anybody anything either everyone everybody everything neither someone somebody something Examples: Everyone in this room is capable of achieving his or her goals. One of the reasons people stay away from this area is the high crime rate. Something always keeps me from getting to bed on time.
Note: Both always takes a plural verb. Both of the speakers told us more than we care to know about the dangers of water pollution.
Collective Nouns Collective nouns are usually singular and therefore takes singular verbs. Examples of collective nouns are; Audience - Group - council - group Class - Family - crowd - team
Examples: The class organizes a party at the end of each semester My group is submitting the assignment.
More about auxiliary verbs
When a sentence contains a verb group with a form of the auxiliary verbs ‘be’, ‘have’ or ‘do’, only the auxiliary verb changes its form, particularly when the present tense form of the auxiliary verb is used. Consider the following. This view is becoming more popular. – singular These views are becoming more popular. – plural This view was becoming more popular. – singular These views were becoming more popular. – plural Modal auxiliary verbs Modal auxiliary verbs (‘can’, ‘could’, ‘may’, ‘might’, ‘must’, ‘ought’, ‘shall’, ‘should’, ‘will’ and ‘would’) have only one form, and they cannot be used as main verbs; instead, they will always appear as the first word in a verb group. When a sentence contains a verb group with a modal auxiliary verb, the verb group is the same irrespective of the number of the subject. Consider the following. He might find a solution. – singular subject They might find a solution. – plural subject She ought to finish the experiment soon. – singular subject They ought to finish the experiment soon. – plural subject
Note that ‘ought’ must always be followed by the infinitive. The infinitive is formed by placing ‘to’ in front of the form of the verb that appears in a dictionary.
Trial examples 1. There (is, are) a scratching noise coming from behind this wall. 2. On the bottom of the jar of preserves (is, are) the berries.
Sentences involving ‘Who, Which, And That’
When who, which, and that are used as subjects of verbs, they take singular verbs if the word they stand for is singular, and they take plural verbs if the word they stand for is plural.
For example, in the sentence
Gary is one of those people who are very private. the verb is plural because who stands for people, which is plural. On the other hand, in the sentence Gary is a person who is very private. the verb is singular because who stands for person, which is singular Who stands for a singular subject and requires a singular verb. 1. The young man who (has, have) mowed my grass for years just left for college. 2. The jacket that (goes, go) with those pants is at the cleaners. 3. Women who (becomes, become) police officers often have to prove themselves more capable than do their male coworkers.
Special Singular Subjects
Some nouns are singular even though they end in -s. Despite the plural form, they require a singular verb because we think of them as a single thing. Most of the nouns in the following list are singular. Some can be either singular or plural, depending on their use in the sentence.
Examples of such words
measles mathematics mumps civics news athletics checkers sports marbles (the game) politics physics statistics economics Plural Pronouns These pronouns are always plural and require a plural verb. Eg. both many few several
Singular/Plural Pronouns The following pronouns can be either singular or plural. The words or prepositional phrases following them determine whether they are singular or plural. If the phrase following the pronoun contains a plural noun or pronoun, the verb must be plural. If the phrase following the pronoun contains a singular noun or pronoun, the verb must be singular. See how this is done in the sentences following the list of pronouns. The keywords are highlighted.
SINGULAR PLURAL All of the work is finished. All of the jobs are finished. Is any of the pizza left? Are any of the pieces of pizza left? Most of the grass has turned red. Most of the blades of grass have turned red. None of the time was wasted. None of the minutes were wasted. Some of the fruit was spoiled. Some of the apples were spoiled.
To help find the subject of certain sentences, cross out prepositional phrases. One of the crooked politicians was jailed for a month. The boxes in my grandmother’s attic contained old family photos and long- forgotten toys. Following is a list of common prepositions.
COMMON PREPOSITIONS about before by inside over above behind during into through across below except of to among beneath for off toward around beside from on under at between in onto with
When you are looking for the subject of a sentence, it is helpful to cross out prepositional phrases. The magazines on the table belong in the garage. Before the opening kickoff, a brass band marched onto the field.
1. A trail of bloodstains ( leads , lead) to the spot where the murder was committed. 2. The winter clothes in the hall closet (takes, take) up too much room. 3. A basket of fancy fruit and nuts (was, were) delivered to my house. REFERENCES Langan, J. Exploring writing: Sentences and Paragraphs (2nd ed). Atlantic Cape Community College. Page 231-234.
Checkett, G.F & Checkett, L. (ed)The write start: sentences to paragraphs with professional and student reading (4th ed), pages 341-343
Yarber, M. L. & Yarber R. E. (eds). Reviewing Basic Grammar: A guide to writing
sentences and paragraphs (8th ed). Emeritus: San Diego Mesa College. Page 70 -86
Belmont, W. and Sharkey M. (eds). The Easy Writer: Formal writing for academic purposes (3rd ed), page 52-57
Writing skills success in 20 minutes a day (4th Edition) page 97-100
