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Problems With Subject / Verb Agreement

This document discusses problems with subject-verb agreement and provides examples and rules to ensure agreement is correct. The key points covered are: 1. The verb must agree with the subject in number - singular subjects take singular verbs and plural subjects take plural verbs. 2. When a prepositional phrase separates the subject and verb, the verb must still agree with the subject, not the object of the preposition. 3. Expressions of quantity like "all" or "some" can be singular or plural depending on what follows the preposition, and the verb must agree accordingly. 4. With inverted subjects and verbs, the verb agrees with the subject even though it follows. 5. Certain

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81 views13 pages

Problems With Subject / Verb Agreement

This document discusses problems with subject-verb agreement and provides examples and rules to ensure agreement is correct. The key points covered are: 1. The verb must agree with the subject in number - singular subjects take singular verbs and plural subjects take plural verbs. 2. When a prepositional phrase separates the subject and verb, the verb must still agree with the subject, not the object of the preposition. 3. Expressions of quantity like "all" or "some" can be singular or plural depending on what follows the preposition, and the verb must agree accordingly. 4. With inverted subjects and verbs, the verb agrees with the subject even though it follows. 5. Certain

Uploaded by

SangAnonim
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PROBLEMS WITH

SUBJECT / VERB
AGREEMENT

Subject-verb agreement

If the subject of a sentence is singular,


then the verb must be singular.
If the subject of the sentence is plural,
then the verb must be plural.
An s on a verb usually indicates that a
verb is singular, while an s on a noun
usually indicates that the noun is plural.
(Do not forget irregular plurals of nouns,
such as women, children, and people).

Examples:

The boy walks to school.

The boys walk to school.

He reads many books

They read many books

1. Make Verbs Agree after Prepositional Phrases

Prepositional phrases can come between


the subject and the verb.

If the object of the preposition is singular


and the subject is plural, or if the object
of the preposition is plural and the
subject is singular, be sure that the verb
agrees with the subject

Example:

The key
drawer.

to the doors

is in the

The keys
drawer.

to the door

are in the

The key information

Subject - Verb Agreement with the


Prepositional Phrases
S

( prepositional phrases )
V

When a prepositional phrases


comes between the subject and the
verb, be sure that the verb agrees
with the subject

2. Make Verbs Agree After

Expressions of Quantity

A particular agreement problem occurs when


the subject is an expression of quantity, such
as all, most, some, half, followed by the
preposition of.

In this situation, the subject (all, most, half


or some ) can be singular or plural,
depending on what follows the preposition
of.

Example:

All ( of the book) was interesting


Singular

All ( of the books ) were interesting


Plural

All (of the information) was interesting


uncountable

3. Make Inverted Verbs Agree

We have seen that sometimes in English


the subject comes after the verb

When the subject and verb are inverted,


it can be difficult to locate them, and it
can therefore be a problem to make
them agree

Example:
1. (Behind the houses) was the bicycle I
wanted.
2. what is the homework?
3. Not once did I miss a question
4. Here is the book that you lent me
5. If he had taken more time, the results
would have been better
6. Had he taken more time, the result
would have been better

The key information


Subject -verb Agreement After
Inverted Verbs:
1. question
2. negative
3. place
V
S
4. condition ( no if )
5. comparison

4. Make Verbs Agree after Certain Words

Certain words in English are always


grammatically singular, even though
they might have plural meanings.

Example :
Everybody is going to the theatre.

Subject -Verb Agreement After Certain Words

These words or expression are grammatically


singular, so they take singular verbs :
anybody
everybody nobody
somebody
anyone everyone
no one
someone
anything everything nothing
something
Each (+ noun)

every (+noun)

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