CSEC English
Hi there! Welcome to our August ‘brush-up’ course! This week, as promised, we’ll go into the question of ‘agreement’—making verbs and pronouns ‘agree’ with the subject. ‘Agreement’ can be a tricky business, so don’t be surprised if you get caught once or twice as you read through today’s discussion. Over the next two weeks we’ll be tackling some more common errors in English usage—so stay with us!
ONE OF… Look at these examples:
1. One of the mangoes has a bruise. 2. One of the teachers comes late. 3. One of the vendors was robbed.
All of them follow this pattern: One of the PLURAL NOUN ers, vendors) SINGULAR VERB (has, comes, was)
Are we breaking the rule of agreement here? (mangoes, teach
Not at all!! You see, the subject in Example 1 is NOT mangoes, but One. And the subject in Example 2 is NOT teachers, but One, and the example in Example 3 is NOT vendors, but One.
In each example, we are talking about ONE taken out of a group of MANY, so the verb is singular to agree with that ONE.
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD THIS MISTAKE? One of the TEACHER was late. One of the student gave the vote of thanks.×
The speaker has forgotten that the ONE is taken out of a group of MANY. It’s a very common mistake. And, of course, it should be: was late.
ONE OF THOSE WHO
When the sentence contains a phrase like ONE OF THOSE WHO, the follow ing verb should be plural, agreeing with ‘who’ and not singular, agreeing with ‘one’.
reporters
• My brother (sing.) is (sing.) one of the
regulations. • Mr Brocklehurst (sing.) is (sing.) one of
(pl.) in inflicting punishment. • Abortion (sing.) is (sing.) one of those
sial.
who object those educators topics that prove
EVERBODY, ANYONE, EACH, NO ONE, etc.
(pl.) (pl.)
(pl.) to the who delight (pl.) very controver
Strictly speaking, everybody, nobody, anyone, no one, someone and body should be followed by a singular verb and singular pronoun: • Somebody is in the kitchen. • Nobody listens to the preacher. • Anyone was permitted to borrow books. • Each of the boys has to tidy his own bed.
PROBLEM ALERT !!!! some
This last example is uncomplicated, but what if you replace ‘boys’ with ‘chil dren’? Which will you choose from the following? has his or her own bed. ??? has their own bed. ??? 1. Each of the children 2. Each of the children
The first sounds awkward and the second mixes singular and plural. My own feeling is that it’s best to avoid the construction:
• The children all have to tidy their own beds.
N.B. ‘None’ can be followed by either a singular or a plural verb: • None of the passengers has been hospitalized. • None of the passengers were seriously injured.
EITHER—OR/NEITHER NOR
This construction poses no problems if both items mentioned are singular:
• Either/Neither Sam or Pat is (sing.) available to come with you.
or if both items mentioned are plural: • Either/Neither oranges or cherries supply (pl.) all the Vitamin C you need.
PROBLEM ALERT !!!! to tidy to tidy
But what if one of your either—or items is singular, and one is plural? Or if two different forms of the verb are needed?
Either Sam or the twins IS/ARE??? available to come with you. Either he or I GO/GOES to visit her.
Grammar books will tell you to make the verb agree with whichever of the two subjects is nearer:
• Either Sam or the twins ARE available to come with you. • Either the twins or Sam IS available to come with you. • Either he or I go to visit her. • Either I or he goes to visit her.
Both forms are correct, but personally I prefer to avoid the construction in such situations:
• Sam is available to come with you—or the twins. • Either I go to visit her, or he does.
It’s preferable to be correct without sounding like a grammar book!!
FINDING THE REAL SUBJECT
Find the real subject in these sentences, and choose the correct form of the verb: A. A tin of sardines is/are on the shelf. B. Pockets of mist affect/affects visibility.
You probably noticed that in A, the real subject is TIN—A tin (of sardines) IS on the shelf. And in B, the real subject is POCKETS—Pockets (of mist) AFFECT visibility.
Those are easy examples. But sometimes it’s not quite so straightforward. Try these:
1. My father listened to reports of the missing aircraft that was/were coming over
the television at regular intervals. 2. His school report, notwithstanding his excellent performance in the chess cham pionships and his being a valuable centre forward for the school team, has/have not impressed his parents one bit. 3. Despite warnings of high seas and gale force winds in the area, the foolish
yachtsman—along with two companions—has/have just set out across the bay. 4. Fielding questions from disgruntled farmers in the flooded areas
demands/demand great patience and diplomacy from the politicians. 5. His magnifying glass and referee’s whistle—along with a half-eaten lollipop—
is/are all he has in his pocket. 6. Any violation of these strict tribal taboos brings/bring swift punishment to any
offender. 7. The police has/have been searching the area for clues. 8. Tonight’s newscast reported that the army has/have been put on high alert to
deal with the border situation. 9. A number of schoolgirls was/were abducted from their school in northern
Nigeria. 10. Latest reports from Korea are that the number of fatalities resulting from the
sinking of the ferry vessel has/have risen alarmingly.
Here are the answers: 1 Reports were, 2 school report has, 3 the yachtsman has, 4 Fielding questions demands, 5 His magnifying glass and referee’s whistle are… 6 Any violation brings, 7 The police have, 8 The army has, 9 A number of girls were, 10 The num ber has…
EXPLANATIONS
#1 It’s the reports that are coming over—not the aircraft.
#2 It’s important not to be distracted by the ‘interruption’ (notwithstanding… team); the subject is ‘report’ and the verb ‘has’.
#3 ‘the foolish yachtsman AND two companions’ would form a plural subject, but ‘ALONG WITH two companions’ or ‘ACCOMPANIED BY two com panions’ or ‘SURROUNDED BY team members’ does not create a plural subject; it remains singular: yachtsman.
#4 Don’t be distracted by all those plurals (questions, farmers, areas), the real subject is Fielding (questions) demands.
#5 Don’t be distracted by the lollipop (sing.), the real subject is plural: His mag nifying glass and referee’s whistle are…
#6 Don’t be distracted by the plural ‘rules’: the real subject is the word ‘viola tion’.
#7 and #8 It’s helpful to remember that we use a plural verb with POLICE and a singular verb with ARMY. (We use a singular verb with Police Force.) Hence, the police are combing the area. The army has been put on high alert.
#9 and #10 Use a singular verb after THE NUMBER OF (The number of suicides has been slowly increasing), but use a plural verb after A NUMBER OF (A num ber of girls have been abducted…)
Do join us again next week for another look at English usage.