Subject Verb Agreement Number & Person

1. Subject Verb Agreement Number & Person

2. Subject Verb Agreement A subject names what or whom a sentence is about. The subject ordinarily performs the action described by the verb in a sentence. Captain Kirkdanced a tango.

3. Subject Verb Agreement A verb describes the action of a sentence or expresses a state of being. Mr. Spock is a nice vulcan. Mr. Scott works on his homework. A verb must agree with its subject in number (singular or plural) and person (first, second, or third.)

4. Singular and Plural Nouns Singular nouns refer to only one person or thing. Words such as dog, kite, car, president, expert, and proper nouns like Alfred and Thuy are all singular nouns. A group of things that act together as a whole are also considered singular, such as Congress.

5. Singular and Plural Nouns A plural noun refers to more than one thing. Words like dogs, kites, cars, presidents, and experts are all plural nouns. Proper nouns like Alfred and Thuy are not generally pluralized.

6. Person Person is a term that indicates whether the subject or object of the verb is • firstperson “I” - the speaker. • secondperson “you”- person being spoken to. • third person “he, she, it” -person, place, or thing being spoken about.

7. Person First Person = Iam going. Second Person = Youare going. Third Person = Alfredis going. The verbs in these examples are all “be” verbs that shifted in person to agree with the subject of the sentence.

8. Person Third-person singular subjects include nouns; the personal pronouns he, she, it and one; and many indefinite pronouns, such as everyone, someone, each, either, anything, everything, something, somebody, and nobody.

9. Person Note: When writing essays please avoid the second person. This often causes the writer to shift in person, write wordy sentences, and sentences that are awkward.

10. Subject Verb Agreement The Magic “S” Plural subjects often end in “s” while singular subjects often do not end in “s.” Singular verbs often end in “s” while plural verbs often do not end in “s.” There are many exceptions to this rule!

11. Subject Verb Agreement Captain Kirklikes to give dramatic speeches. Mr. Spockbuys his salad at Mc Donald’s. A studentis responsible for his or her grade. Studentsare responsible for their grade. Captainslike to give dramatic speeches. Vulcansbuy their salads at Mc Donald’s.

12. Subject Verb Agreement This rule does not apply to all cases. Theysay that English is an easy subject. Ihate to have a headache.

13. Subject Verb Agreement When other words come between the subject and verb, those words have no impact on subject verb agreement. Education despite all its problems and difficulties is still the best way to protect democracy.

14. Subject Verb Agreement Students who do all the assigned reading and study each quiz are likely to do well in class. Shrek, along with Donkey, Puss-in-Boots, and three blind mice, rescues Fiona.

15. Subject Verb Agreement Compound subjects joined by “and” usually take plural verbs. Kirk and Spockare Starfleet Officers. Missy and Iare going to Mc Donald’s.

16. Subject Verb Agreement One exception to this rule is that in English, nouns can become bound together so that they sound like two things, but they have become so closely related that they are considered to be one thing, for example: franks and beans; peanut-butter and jelly; rhythm and blues; and politics and corruption.

17. Subject Verb Agreement Peanut-butter and Jellyis good. Ham and eggsis a common breakfast. Peace and quietis what everyone wants.

18. Subject Verb Agreement When “each” or “every” precedes a compound subject the verb is singular. Members of the group are being considered individually. Each senator and representativehas to vote on the issues, not along party lines.

19. Subject Verb Agreement Compound subjects joined by “or” may take either plural or singular verbs depending upon the subjects. If both subjects are singular, then the verb is singular. If both subjects are plural, then the verb is plural.

20. Subject Verb Agreement If one subject is singular and the other plural, the verb agrees with the subject closest to the verb. Missy or her friendsare responsible. Her friends or Missyis responsible.

21. Subject Verb Agreement Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that don’t refer to specific persons or things. Anyonecan do it. Feware expected to survive. Everythingis going to explode.

22. Subject Verb Agreement Some indefinite nouns are plural: Both students made an “A” on the test. Many students passed the class. Several students read their homework. All of these are plural because they refer to more than one person or thing.

23. Subject Verb Agreement Some indefinite nouns are singular: Everyone is going to make an “A” today. Nobody is going home early tonight. One student will write a long essay. These are singular because they refer to one person or one group of people or things.

24. Subject Verb Agreement Some indefinite pronouns can be both singular or plural depending upon the noun they refer to. None of the proposals is easy to dismiss. None but the brave are on the streets.

25. Subject Verb Agreement A collective noun is a group of people or things that act as a single unit. When the group is referred to as a whole, the collective noun is singular. When the group is referred to as individuals, it is plural.

26. Subject Verb Agreement The committeeis confident that it has reached the right decision. Members of the committee admit that they could be wrong.

27. Subject Verb Agreement Phrases that name fixed amounts- a minority, fifty-percent, ten-dollars, are treated like collective nouns. When the amount denotes a unit, it takes a singular verb. When the amount denotes parts of the whole, it takes a plural verb.

28. Subject Verb Agreement Ten dollarsis a good tip for a five dollar meal. Ten dollars is a unit of currency, so it is singular. Seventy-five percent of the people who visit EPCOT are disappointed when they leave. 75% is part of a whole, so it is plural.

29. Subject Verb Agreement Sometimes nouns can end in “s” and appear to be plural, but are actually singular. Physicsis a fun class if you enjoy math. Linguisticsis a worthwhile hobby.

30. Subject Verb Agreement The subject and verb must agree even when the normal word order is inverted. IsMr. Spock slapping Captain Kirk? There areklingons in the house. Disturbed by the proposal were many parents.

31. Subject Verb Agreement A linking verb is a verb that has no physical action and acts like an equals sign “=“ in a sentence. Missyseemed happy, or Missy = happy In this case the linking verb is “seemed” because the verb has no action.

32. Subject Verb Agreement A subject compliment is a descriptive word that follows the linking verb. It renames or describes the subject. Missyseemed happy, or Missy = happy. In this case, happy is the subject compliment. It describes what Missy is.

33. Subject Verb Agreement A linking verb should agree with its subject not its subject compliment. The problemwas termites. Termiteswere the problem.

34. Pronoun Antecedent Agreement A pronoun antecedent is the noun that comes before the pronoun. It is the noun that defines the pronoun in the sentence. Alfred wrote a story, but he didn’t like the ending.

35. Pronoun Antecedent Agreement Pronouns and their antecedents must agree in person, gender, and number. Mr. Spock fired his phaser at a klingon. Mr. Spock is a third person, masculine, singular antecedent, and his is the third person, masculine, singular pronoun that agrees with the antecedent.

36. Pronoun Antecedent Agreement Compound antecedents take plural pronouns. Kirk and Spock fired their phasers. Since more than one person is firing a phaser, the pronoun is plural.

37. Pronoun Antecedent Agreement If a compound antecedent denotes a single person or thing, it is singular. Often we will use more than one pronoun to describe the same person. In 2004, a gentleman and a scholar, wrote a book about his adventures. The author is both a gentleman and scholar.

38. Pronoun Antecedent Agreement If a pronoun antecedent is a collective noun, then use a singular pronoun if the meaning is singular, a plural pronoun if the meaning is plural. The jury members took their seats. The Jury took its time to deliver a verdict.

39. Pronoun Antecedent Agreement Most indefinite pronouns are singular and take singular pronouns. Words like each, every, either, neither, one, and anyone all refer to one person or object so they take singular pronouns. Indefinite pronouns like both, many, and few refer to more than one person, so they take plural pronouns.