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Subject - Verb Agreement

Subject - Verb Agreement. _________________________________________________________________ California Estate University East Bay * ENGL1002–College Writing II * Prof. Georgie Ovenden. CONTENTS. 1. Singular and Plural Subjects 2. What is Subject-Verb Agreement?

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Subject - Verb Agreement

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  1. Subject-VerbAgreement _________________________________________________________________ California Estate University East Bay * ENGL1002–College Writing II * Prof. GeorgieOvenden

  2. CONTENTS • 1. Singular and Plural Subjects • 2. What is Subject-Verb Agreement? • 3. When does lack of Subject-Verb Agreement happen? • 4. Buried Subjects • 5. Compound Subjects • 6. Or and Either/Or Subjects • 7. Clauses and Phrases as Subjects • 8. Indefinites as Subjects • 9. Collective Nouns and Amounts as Subjects • 10. Plural Words as Subjects • 11. Titles, Company Names, Words, and Quotations as Subjects • 12. Linking Verbs • 13. There (is/are), Here (is/are), and It • 14. Who, Which, That and One of as Subjects

  3. 1. Singular and Plural Subjects1 • In any sentence, look for the subject. Is it singular or plural? That will help you determine the verb ending. • SINGULAR • For singular nouns, pronouns, and nounsthat cannot be counted (i.e. news, time, happiness), use verbs in singular. I chew. Water drips. Time flies. You laugh. • PLURAL • For plural nouns and pronouns, use verbs in plural. We know. The cups are clean. They stretch. • 1. (Harris, 53)

  4. HINT Finding The Subject and Verb 1. Identify verb By changing the time of the sentence (present, past, future), you can easily find the verb in a sentence because the verb is the word that changes with time. Lauramemorizespoetry. Jeanmemorizedverses last night. Jimwill memorizethe play next weekend.

  5. HINT Finding • The Subject • and Verb2 2. Beware of distracters 2. Beware of the following words at the beginning of some phrases. They distract us from the main subject. These are: including in addition to along with together with accompanied by with as well as except no less than All of usin the class, except for Greg, havea disability. SUBJECT VERB • 2. (Harris, 54)

  6. 2. What is Subject-Verb Agreement? • “Subject-Verb Agreement is a grammatical rule that requires a verb to agree in number with the subject” (Carlin, n.p.). • For example, a singular subject must take a singular verb and if the subject is plural its verb must be in plural form. Image: NIU - Northern Illinois University . Web.

  7. 2. What is Subject-Verb Agreement? - Continued... • The subject and verb have to match in number to each other. When the subject is singular then the verb must become singular. If the subject is plural, then the verb must become plural.  •  When you make a verb into a plural or singular it all has to do with the letter “s”. If the subject is singular, add an “s” to the end of the word. When the subject is plural then don’t add the “s” at the end of the verb. This is where the common mistakes come in.  Tony works at the mall. They work at the mall.

  8. In present tense sentences. It is incorrect to have an –s ending in the verb when you have one an –s ending on the subject (such as plural subject nouns) and vice versa. Also, many third person, present tense, and singular verbs use an –s ending. In other words, don’t use a singular verb with a plural subject, nor a plural verb witha singular subject3. Cars pollute. The factory pollutes. HINT Subject-Verb Agreement • 3. (Harris, 53)

  9. 3. When does lack of Subject- Verb Agreement happen? • Subject-Verb Agreement can be rather difficult to identify due to the variation of subjects and verbs used in a sentence. • If we mistakenly pair a singular subject with a verb that is in plural form then we lack Subject-Verb Agreement. Image: Kansas.com Blogs. Web.

  10. 4. Buried Subjects • More complex phrases have several other words besides the main subject, which separates the subject and verb. Sometimes in between the subject and the verb there is a phrase, but the verb still has to agree with the subject. When you find this, ignore “prepositional phrases; modifiers; who, which, and that clauses;” and those other words that do not belong to the main idea (Harris, 53). The ceiling, as well as the wooden floors and the wall, needrepair.  The ceiling, as well as the wooden floors and the wall, needs repair. [As the subject is the ceiling and not the floors, the writer must make the verb singular not plural.] VERB SUBJECT SUBJECT VERB

  11. HINT The “It” and “They” Technique Whenever you are confused about whether you have to add the letter “s”or not, add in the word “it” if the subject is singular, or “they” if the subject is plural, and try the verb with an “s” and without it. Then, decide if they should make their verb singular or plural.

  12. EXERCISE | The“It” and “They” Technique “IT” “THEY” Which verb sounds correct? • Mary (makes, make) a great sandwich. • It (makes, make) a great sandwich Which verb sounds correct? • Mary and Tom (walks, walk) to the park.  • They (walks, walk) to the park.

  13. EXERCISE| The“It” and “They”Technique “IT” “THEY” • CORRECT: Mary makesa great sandwich  [Mary is singular so you must make the verb singular which means adding an "s" to the end of the verb.] • CORRECT: Mary and Tom walk to the park. [Mary and Tom are plural so you must make the verb plural.]

  14. 5. Compound Subjects: • When two or more words, or phrases are joined together by“and” or “nor.” If you use “and” to connect two or more nouns or pronouns, use a plural verb. (B and C = plural.) The motherand daughtersharea close friendship. • However, do not use plural if the compound subjects are used as one element, use instead a singular verb. The garden and the flowersiswhat I care about most. SUBJECT VERB

  15. 6. Or and Either/Or in Subjects • Use a singular verbwhen two singular subjects are joined by the words orornor. The teacher orthe girl wantsto write on the board. • Use a verb that agrees with the closer subject word when the subjects are a plural and a singular noun and are joined by “ororeither...or, neither...nor, or not only...but also” (Harris, 54). Neitherred bulbs norablack screen wasallowed in this room. Not only the kid butalsohis toys areback in the yard.

  16. 7. Clauses and Phrases as Subjects • Use a singular verb if the subject is built by the whole phrase/clause. The book I want to buy istoo expensive. • Use a plural verbif the verb is a form of the verb be and its complement or the noun after the verb is also plural. What they wanted weremillions of cushions of color. [What they wanted = millions of cushions]

  17. 8. Indefinites as Subjects • Use a singular verb for “indefinite words with singular meanings, such as each, every and any” that are used as the subject word or when they precede it (Harris, 55). Eachwantssomething different. Eachkind of animal hasan interesting biology. • Sometimes, other indefinite words such as none, some, most or all, are used as the subject word (55). In these cases, Use a verb according to the meaning of the subject. Noneof the students isaskingquestions. [None of the students is the subject of the sentence. It is used here as one unit, so you have to use a singular verb.] Mostof the studentsaretired now. [Most of the students refers to multiple persons, so you have to think of it as plural subject with a plural verb (55).]

  18. DefinitionCollective Nouns When the writer is talking about a collection of something (a group of people, team, family, committee, etc.). With collective nouns, it is easy to believe that because there are several involved, it takes a plural verb, but a group is one unit. The staff feel the policy is wrong. The staff feels the policy is wrong.

  19. 9. Collective Nouns and Amounts as Subjects • Although it is less common, you can use of the collective noun referring to members/items as separate individuals. Use a plural verb in these cases. The family aredisagreeingwith each other’s ideas. • Use a singular verbwhen you name an amount in the subject. Hundred dollarsis enough. Two stacksis plenty. Usually 12 milesis what I run every day.

  20. 10. Plural Words as Subjects • A sentence can have both a singular subject and also a plural subject when it is joined by and or nor. This is where it can get confusing, how do you know which verb to use? In such case, make the verb agree to the nearest subject. The dirt and dust particlesposea threat to your new furnace. • When words are considered a single unit they take on a singular verb. Subjects like physics and news end with –s but are considered a single subject. The news isinteresting.

  21. 11. Titles, Company Names, Words, and Quotations as Subjects • Another common mistake is when talking about a company. People will try to refer to a company as “they”, when they should be referring to it as “it”. A company is considered singular and not plural. Use a singular verb. Safeway has a strong team. It treatsthe employees like family. • When the subject is a title, company, term, or quote the verb should be singular even though the subject ends with an –s. All the King’s Men is a good book. Lowesis open today. “Apples for the teacher!”is what the boy said. SUBJECT

  22. 12. Linking Verbs • When a sentence has a linking verb, the verb agrees with the subject and not the words that follow the verb. Her solution is to fix the papers. Big words are hard to pronounce.

  23. 13. There (is/are), Here (is/are), and It • When a sentence begins with thereor here, the verb will agree with the subject that follows the verb or the complement. Thereisan exciting new book to read. Therearetoo many books to read. Herewalksthe evil spirit.Herewalkthe ghosts. • When it is the subject it always takes a singular verb even when a plural verb follows. Itwasducks in the pond that quacked at my friends.

  24. 14. Who, Which, That and Oneof as Subjects • When the subject iswho, which, or that, the verb agrees with the antecedent or the word before the verb. This is the tree that has more limes. Those are the girls who have emphysema.

  25. 14. Who, Which, That and Oneof as Subjects –Continued... • You must decide if a verb should be singular or plural when dealing with phases like one of those who/which/that. First you decide if the who, which, or that refers to a group or just one person, then make the verb agree with that subject. Betty is one of those singers whosing only on the weekends. [In this sentence, Betty is part of a large group, singers who sing only on the weekends acts like others in that group. Therefore, who takes a plural verb because it refers to singers.] Sour dough bread is one of the breads that smells good. [Sour dough bread is part of a group of breads; but in this case, the this bread smells good and the other breads may. Therefore, that refers to that one bread and takes a singular verb.]

  26. 15. Don’t vs. Doesn’t • The word doesn’t should be used with a singular subject. The boy doesn’t talk to his friend. • The word don’t should be used with a plural subject. Girlsdon’t like boys.

  27. 16. Someone, somebody… • The words someone, somebody, anybody, nobody, anyone, everyone, either, each, each one, no one, andneither should be used with a singular verb. Everyoneneed time to play. Everyoneneeds time to play.

  28. Remember… • Subject-Verb Agreementoccurs when the subject and verb endings agree in numberand person (Harris, 52). Image: JoseCarrillo’sEnglishForum. Web.

  29. Works Cited • Carlin, Susan E. “Subject-verb Explanation.” Electronic Educational Environment. UC Irvine. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. <https://eee.uci.edu/programs/esl/svlink.html>. • Harris, Muriel. “3 - Revising Sentences for Accuracy, Clarity, and Variety.” Prentice Hall Reference Guide. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson | Prentice Hall, 2006. 52-59. Print. • Marshall, Pam. "Subject Verb Agreement." K12 Reader: Reading Instruction Resources for Teachers and Parents. n.p., 2011. Web. 21 Nov 2011. <http://www.k12reader.com/subject-verb-agreement / >.

  30. Works Cited • IMAGES: • “Effective Writing Practices Tutorial - Subject – Verb Agreement.” NIU - Northern Illinois University - Learning Today, Leading Tomorrow. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. <http://www.niu.edu/writingtutorial/grammar/agreement01. h tml> • McLendon, Lisa. "Agreement | Grammar Monkeys | Wichita Eagle Blogs." Kansas.com Blogs » An Index to Wichita Eagle Blogs, plus a Feed of All Blog Posts. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. http://blogs.kansas.com/grammar/tag/agreement/ • "Subject-Verb Agreement?" Jose Carillo's English Forum. Web. 29 Nov. 2011. http://josecarilloforum.com/forum/index.php?topic =240.30

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