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What is “subject/verb agreement”?: Difference between revisions
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→Verb Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns
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For the subject and verb to agree in singular or plural subjects, they must have a singular or plural verb <ref>Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell., ''The Concise Wadsworth Handbook''. Instructor's Ed. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2005, p.240. [http://www.amazon.com/Concise-Wadsworth-Handbook-Laurie-Kirszner/dp/142829192X]</ref> | For the subject and verb to agree in singular or plural subjects, they must have a singular or plural verb.<ref>Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell., ''The Concise Wadsworth Handbook''. Instructor's Ed. Australia: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2005, p.240. [http://www.amazon.com/Concise-Wadsworth-Handbook-Laurie-Kirszner/dp/142829192X]</ref> The subject takes the base form of the verb in all but the third person singular to make the subject and verb agree in person. The subject and verb must comply in number. In third person singular add an ''s'' or ''es'' to the base form of the verb to make both the subject and verb agree. | ||
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Eugenia Butler states in her book ''Correct Writing'', "Compound subjects joined by "and" normally require a plural verb" <ref>Butler, Eugenia, et al., ''Correct Writing''. 6th Ed. Lexington: D.C. Hath and Company, 1995, p.143-145. [http://www.amazon.com/Correct-Writing-Eugenia-Butler/dp/0669340731]</ref> | Eugenia Butler states in her book ''Correct Writing'', "Compound subjects joined by "and" normally require a plural verb."<ref>Butler, Eugenia, et al., ''Correct Writing''. 6th Ed. Lexington: D.C. Hath and Company, 1995, p.143-145. [http://www.amazon.com/Correct-Writing-Eugenia-Butler/dp/0669340731]</ref> The only instance when this is not applicable and the subjects are considered singular is when the subjects refer to the same individual or object. | ||
'''Remember:''' "Nouns joined by '''"and"''' are thought of as a unit or actually refer to the same person or thing, the verb is normally singular". | '''Remember:''' "Nouns joined by '''"and"''' are thought of as a unit or actually refer to the same person or thing, the verb is normally singular". | ||
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An intervening expression is an expression that describes the subject and should not affect the verb. These expressions are often mistaken for being the subject of the sentence. Verbs are sometimes separated by words that describe the subject. This can make it difficult to make sure that the subject and verb agree. The key is to make sure that the verb agrees with the subject and not with the word in the modifying phrase. | An intervening expression is an expression that describes the subject and should not affect the verb. These expressions are often mistaken for being the subject of the sentence. Verbs are sometimes separated by words that describe the subject. This can make it difficult to make sure that the subject and verb agree. The key is to make sure that the verb agrees with the subject and not with the word in the modifying phrase. With intervening words ending in "s", such as sometimes and always, the "s" ending still must appear on a present tense verb if the subject is singular. | ||
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The singularity of a subject is not changed by the introduction of phrases or clauses that appear to change the number of the subject. | The singularity of a subject is not changed by the introduction of phrases or clauses that appear to change the number of the subject. | ||
Sentence structure and formation are key elements of the English language, certain rules exist that when applied correctly give the writer a powerful tool of communication. <ref name="Evelyn"> ''Rothstein, Evelyn, and Andrew Rothstein. English Grammar Instruction That Works! : Developing Language Skills For All Learners''. Thousand Oaks, Calif: Corwin Press, 2009. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 25 Apr. 2014 </ref> | |||
In her work ''Grammar: A friendly Approach'', author '''Christine Sinclair''', reminds the reader of the dangers of intervening expressions and phrases, and how they can make the reader forget "who" or "what" the sentence is about. <ref name="christine"> ''Sinclair, Christine. Grammar : A Friendly Approach''. Berkshire, England: McGraw-Hill, 2010. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 24 Apr. 2014</ref> | |||
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Other Common expressions that sometimes appear to change the number of the subject and verb include but are not limited to : | |||
* '''In addition to''' | |||
* '''Plus''' | |||
* '''As well as''' | |||
* '''Together with''' | |||
The author '''Jarvie Gordon,''' describes common grammatical errors of English language sentence formation in the work ''Bloomsbury Grammar Guide'', by providing examples of common subject/verb agreement sentences and how the reader can recognize the number of the subject and verb when an intervening expression or phrase is introduced into the sentence. <ref name="Jarvie"> ''Jarvie, Gordon. Bloomsbury Grammar Guide''. London: A. & C. Black, 2007. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 25 Apr. 2014.</ref> | |||
==Verb Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns== | ==Verb Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns== | ||
Some pronouns are definite in the fact that they can replace a specific noun or another pronoun. But sometimes things aren’t so clear-cut. So what do we do for a pronoun when we find ourselves in this predicament? We will use indefinite pronouns. "Indefinite pronouns refer to nonspecific persons or things" <ref>Hacker, Diana. ''A Writer's Reference''. New York, Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2003. [http://books.google.com/books?id=g489u9j0XAMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Hacker,+Diana.+A+Writer%E2%80%99s+Reference&hl=en&sa=X&ei=U_1GU4yDO6vnsASEoIHQDw&ved=0CEQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Hacker%2C%20Diana.%20A%20Writer%E2%80%99s%20Reference&f=false]</ref> | Some pronouns are definite in the fact that they can replace a specific noun or another pronoun. But sometimes things aren’t so clear-cut. So what do we do for a pronoun when we find ourselves in this predicament? We will use indefinite pronouns. "Indefinite pronouns refer to nonspecific persons or things."<ref>Hacker, Diana. ''A Writer's Reference''. New York, Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2003. [http://books.google.com/books?id=g489u9j0XAMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Hacker,+Diana.+A+Writer%E2%80%99s+Reference&hl=en&sa=X&ei=U_1GU4yDO6vnsASEoIHQDw&ved=0CEQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Hacker%2C%20Diana.%20A%20Writer%E2%80%99s%20Reference&f=false]</ref> Some of these indefinite pronouns are always singular or always plural. But some can change their number—they can be either singular or plural, depending on the context. | ||
There are two categories of indefinite pronouns. The first category includes pronouns that refer to a nonspecific noun. These pronouns are: | There are two categories of indefinite pronouns. The first category includes pronouns that refer to a nonspecific noun. These pronouns are: | ||
''anything'',''somebody'', ''no one'', and ''something''. An example sentence using the first category of indefinite pronouns is: | ''anything'',''somebody'', ''no one'', and ''something''. An example sentence using the first category of indefinite pronouns is: | ||
*Somebody is at the door | *Somebody is at the door. | ||
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*Both do well at taking tests. | *Both do well at taking tests. | ||
==References== | |||
<references/> | |||
==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
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*[http://www.towson.edu/ows/moduleSVAGR.htm Self Teaching Unit: Subject Verb Agreement]. | *[http://www.towson.edu/ows/moduleSVAGR.htm Self Teaching Unit: Subject Verb Agreement]. | ||
*[https://sites.google.com/a/jeffcoschools.us/rosado-grammar-expert-site/subject-verb-agreement-1--indefinite-pronouns Rosado Grammar Expert Site]. | *[https://sites.google.com/a/jeffcoschools.us/rosado-grammar-expert-site/subject-verb-agreement-1--indefinite-pronouns Rosado Grammar Expert Site]. | ||