Subject-verb agreement
“Clear thinking becomes clear writing; one can’t exist without the other.”
– William Zinsser
This week we are going to focus on grammar. In particular, we will explore concord, most commonly known as subject-verb agreement. I will be sharing TWELVE of the main concord rules that you should know and be able to apply.
SPOT THE ERRORS!
Before I do, spot the concord error in each sentence below.
1. Homework are given to students on a regular basis.
2. His decision to join the club seem genuine.
3. Nobody think he wants to go to the party.
4. My mother as well as my father plan to go to church tomorrow.
5. His actions towards my aunt is unforgivable.
CORRECTIONS
1. ‘Are’ should be replaced by ‘is’, since homework is a singular concept.
2. The word ‘decision’ is a singular abstract noun and, therefore, ‘seems’ is the correct verb form.
3. The indefinite pronoun ‘nobody’ is usually followed by a singular verb, so the correct answer is ‘thinks’.
4. Although the term ‘as well as’ joins mother and father, it does not function in a plural sense. Therefore, ‘plan’ should be ‘plans’.
5. Since the word ‘actions’ as the subject is in the plural form, the verb should be in agreement with it. Consequently, ‘is’ should be replaced by ‘are’.
RULES
■ Rule 1: A singular subject (she, Bill, car) takes a singular verb (is, goes, shines), whereas a plural subject (My parents, Mary and John) takes a plural verb (love, plan, enjoy).
■ Rule 2: Two singular subjects connected by ‘or’, ‘either/or’, or ‘neither/nor’ require a singular verb.
Example: Either the boy or the girl has the ball. Neither my aunt nor uncle considers him to be reliable.
■ Rule 3: As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected by ‘and’. However, there are exceptions.
EXCEPTIONS
Breaking and entering is against the law.
The bed and breakfast was charming.
■ Rule 4: The verb in an ‘or’, ‘either/ or’, or ‘neither/nor’ sentence agrees with the noun or pronoun closest to it. Example: Neither my parents nor my brother believes her story.
■ Rule 5: When phrases like ‘along with’, ‘as well as’, ‘together with’, ‘besides’ come after a singular subject, the verb should be in the singular form. These words and phrases do not function as ‘and’ in this case.
Example: The politician along with his bodyguard walks through the community.
■ Rule 6: Indefinite pronouns such as: everyone, everything, everybody, nobody, anyone, someone, somebody, something, etc, always attract singular verbs.
Example: Everybody considers her to be deserving of the award.
NOTE: ‘Few’, ‘many’, ‘several’, ‘both’, ‘all’ and ‘some’ always take the plural form.
Examples: 1. Both of the boys are going to be punished.
2. Some of the apples are rotting.
■ Rule 7: When gerunds are used as the subject of a sentence, they take the singular verb form of the verb. Examples: Participating in the marathon seems to be a good idea.
■ Rule 8: Titles of books, movies, novels, series, etc, are treated as singular and take a singular verb.
Example: Vampire Diaries is an interesting series.
■ Rule 9: Prepositional phrases between the subject and verb usually do not affect agreement.
Examples: 1. The list of groceries on the table is very long.
2. The cat sleeping between the flower pots loves to be petted.
■ Rule 10: If the sentence begins with ‘here’ or ‘there’, the subject follows the verb. Example: 1. Here are the bags you
asked for.
2. There goes the dog that destroyed my garden.
■ Rule 11: If one of the words ‘each’, ‘every’, or ‘no’ comes before the subject, the verb is singular.
Example: One of the men regrets working in the factory.
2. Every boy and girl is required to tell the truth.
■ Rule 12: Use a singular verb with distances, periods of time, sums of money, etc, when considered as a unit.
Examples:1. Ten miles is a far way to run.
2. Twenty dollars is not enough for the requested service.
Revise these rules often and if you sometimes make blunders, think about what you write as you write, and read over when you are finished. Also, practise to write often and seek the advice of your teachers or peers. Being good at applying subject-verb agreement is a continuous and deliberate process.
ACTIVITY ALERT!
Instruction: Read the passage below and correct the concord errors.
If Johnny want to be successful, then a great deal of time have to be spent expanding his knowledge and improving his skills. If he expect success to come easily to him, he will be surprised. Success in anything require hardwork. He needs to be disciplined and focussed. Avoiding distractions is a big part of claiming success and he have to be reminded about that. Everybody know that the journey towards success is not straightforward. There is many detours, roadblocks and potholes. However, he should not give up. Challenges are going to come, but his ability to rise above them promise transform his life.
We will compare answers next week. See you then!
Answers to last week’s multiple-choice activity: 1. D 2. C 3. B 4. D 5. A 6. B 7. C