Subject-Verb agreement.

January 9, 2018 | Author: Anonymous | Category: Arts & Humanities, Writing, Grammar
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The Grammar Business Part Three 5. Subject Verb Agreement

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

The form of the verb • may change depending on the subject

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The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

So if the verb is SEE and the subject is SHE 

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• She sees him.

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

But if the verb is SEE and the subject is THEY 

• They see him.

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The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

And if the verb is SEE and the subject is SHE 

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• She has seen him.

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

But if the verb is • They have seen him.

SEE and the subject is THEY 

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The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

Some subjects are • singular (only one)

• She is seeing him.

• Others are plural (more than one)

• They are seeing him.

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The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

A common error is • to get subject-verb agreement wrong

• small children often do this

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• My mummy and daddy is very cross. • I lives in a big, big house. • They hasn’t got as much money as me

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

In some cases big people get it wrong too • For example, what’s wrong with 

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“I have three friends and each of them are completely trustworthy.”

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

The answer is • ‘Each’ is singular - it means literally ‘each one’ and so the sentence should read 

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“I have three friends and each of them is completely trustworthy.” The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

And what about • Using ‘both’ 

“I have two friends and both of them is completely trustworthy.”

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The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

Yes, that was wrong! • ‘Both’ is plural, so the sentence should read 

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“I have two friends and both of them are completely trustworthy.”

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

The word Neither can cause similar problems • Neither means ‘neither one’ - so it’s singular • And the following sentence is correct 

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Neither of them is very happy.

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

A difficulty is also caused by • Group nouns like 

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• • • • • • •

The Government The Labour Party The group The army The team The family The orchestra

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

Group nouns • can be regarded as either singular or plural • both of the following are correct  • [or either one of them is correct] 

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• The Government has announced a new tax on students. • The Government have announced a new tax on students.

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

When using group nouns • It is important to be consistent • If you decide the Government is plural, stick to that idea and refer to ‘their’ decisions • If you decide the Government is singular, refer to ‘its’ decisions

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The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

Pair nouns are different • A pair noun is a noun for one thing made of two parts which are the same • For example: jeans, scissors, glasses, binoculars • A pair noun is plural

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The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

So you say • My jeans are dirty their knees are quite black

• My jeans is dirty their knees are quite black

• My scissors are missing • and NOT 

• My scissors is missing

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The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

And you need to be careful with • people • police • cattle



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People, police and cattle are all nouns with a plural meaning and they need a plural verb

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

And so you have to say • The police have arrested one woman and they will question her later. • The cattle are lowing and their feet are very painful. • People have flocked to the country in hordes, bringing their families with them. 20

The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

Try a self-testing exercise to check your confidence on this • You’ll find one on Handout Four.

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The Grammar Business © 2001 Glenrothes College

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