Agreement: subject-verb Pronoun-antecedent

1. Agreement: subject-verb Pronoun-antecedent

2. Rules for subject-verb agreement • A phrase or clause between subject and verb does not change the number of the subject. • Ex: The women were bored.  The women who went to the meeting were bored. • The women were bored, not the meeting. • Ex: The can sits on the shelf.  The can of green beans sits on the shelf. • The can sits on the shelf, not the green beans.

3. Rules for subject-verb agreement 2. Indefinite Pronouns as subjects: • Singular indefinite pronoun subjects take singular verbs. • Singular indefinite pronouns include: each either neither none no one nobody nothing anyone anybody anything someone somebody something everyone everybody everything • Ex: Each worker does a good job.

4. Rules for subject-verb agreement • Plural indefinite pronouns take plural verbs • Plural indefinite pronouns include: both many few several • Ex: Both workers do a good job. • Some indefinite pronouns may be either singular or plural: with uncountable, use singular; with countable, use plural. • These pronouns include: some any none all most • Ex: Some of the sugar is on the floor. (uncountable) • Ex: Some of the marbles are on the floor. (countable)

5. Rules for subject-verb agreement Compound Subjects: • Joined by and are ALWAYS plural: • Ex: A pencil and an eraser make writing easier. • Joined by or/nor – the verb agrees with the subject CLOSEST to it: • Ex: Neither the director nor the actorsare following the lines closely.

6. Rules for subject-verb agreement • Collective Nouns may be singular or plural, depending on the meaning. • Collective nouns include such words as: group crowd Senate jury team • Ex: The jury has awarded custody to the grandmother. • The jury is acting as one unit; therefore it is singular. Jury – singular; has – singular. • Ex: The jury (members) have been arguing for five days. • The jury members are acting as twelve individuals; therefore the verb is plural.

7. What is a pronoun? • A pronoun is a word that stands in the place of a noun. • A word can refer to an earlier noun or pronoun in the sentence. • Ex: President Lincoln delivered Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address in 1863. • We do not talk or write this way.  Automatically, we replace the noun Lincoln's with a pronoun.  More naturally, we say: • President Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address in 1863. • The pronoun his refers to President Lincoln.

8. What is an antecedent? • In the previous example, the pronoun his is called the REFERENT because it "refers back.“ • It refers back to President Lincoln, the ANTECEDENT.  An antecedent is a word for which a pronoun stands.  (ante = "before") • The pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number.

9. Pronoun-antecedent agreement • Rule: A singular pronoun must replace a singular noun; a plural pronoun must replace a plural noun • Thus, the mechanics of the sentence above look like this:

10. Pronoun-antecedent agreement

11. Pronoun-antecedent agreement • A phrase or clause between the subject and verb does not change the number of the antecedent. • Ex: The can of green beans sits on its shelf. (The can sits on its shelf.) • Singular indefinite pronoun antecedents take singular pronoun referents. • Ex: Each of the workers does a good job making a profit with his or her projects. • Plural indefinite pronoun antecedents require plural referents. • Ex: Both of the workers do a good job making a profit with their projects.

12. Pronoun-antecedent agreement • Remember those pronouns that could take either singular OR plural verbs? (some, any none, all, most) • If they are modified by a prepositional phrase, they may be either singular or plural.  • When the object of the phrase is uncountable use a singular referent pronoun. • Ex: Some of the sugar fell out of its bag. • When the object of the phrase is countable, use a plural referent pronoun: • Ex: Some of the marbles fell out of their bag.

13. Pronoun-antecedent agreement Compound Subjects: • Joined by and always take a plural referent: • Ex: Mark and Tim did their presentation. • Joined by or/nor – the referent pronoun agrees with the antecedent closer to the pronoun: • Ex: Neither the director nor the actors did their jobs. • Ex: Neither the actors nor the director did his or her job.

14. Pronoun-antecedent agreement • Collective Nouns  (group, jury, crowd, team, etc.) may be singular or plural, depending on meaning. • Ex:The jury read its verdict. • In this example, the jury is acting as one unit; therefore, the referent pronoun is singular. • Ex: The jury (members) gave their individual opinions. • The jury members are acting as twelve individuals; therefore the verb is plural.

15. Pronoun-antecedent agreement • Everyor Many a before a noun or a series of nouns requires a singular referent. • Ex: Every cow, pig, and sheep had lost its life in the fire. • Ex: Many a girl wishes she could dance like Lady Gaga. • The number of vs. A number of  before a subject: • The number of is singular. • Ex: The number of volunteers increases its ranks daily. • A number of is plural. • Ex: A number of volunteers are offering their help.

16. Let’s practice! • Emily and Greg (come) (comes) to my house for lunch every Friday. • There (is) (are) time to watch the movie. • My friends who are in the band (want) (wants) me to play a musical instrument. • My dad or my brothers (is) (are) coming with me to the baseball game. • Everyone (need) (needs) time to relax. • That bag of grapes (look) (looks) moldy. • The HCHS girls’ track team (hopes) (hope) to win the state tournament again next year. • Some of the books on the shelf (is) (are) dusty.

17. Let’s practice! • During early rehearsals, an actor may forget (his or her) (their) lines. • Some of the money fell out of(its) (their) bag during the robbery. • A person needs to see (his or her) (their) dentist twice a year. • The committee put (its) (their) signature/s on the document. • If any one of the sisters needs a ride, (she) (they) can call me. • When someone has been drinking, (he or she) (they) may get into an accident.

18. Thanks to… • http://www.towson.edu/ows/sub-verb.htm#rules • http://www.towson.edu/ows/pro_antagree.htm • http://www.towson.edu/ows/exercisep-aagr.htm • http://wwwnew.towson.edu/ows/exercisesub-verb.htm