Post on 11-Jan-2016
GRAMMAR:
Subject Verb Agreement
To determine the subject of a sentence, first separate the verb and then make a question by
placing "who?" or "what?" before it -- the answer is the subject.
Find the subject in each sentence. The audience littered the theatre floor.
The boy eats tacos.
The marching band won the competition.
The man with the mustache drives a BMW.
A singular subject demands a singular verb; a plural subject demands
a plural verb. But is it that simple? pg. 141 A- even number problems
In present tenses, nouns and verbs form plurals in opposite ways:
nouns ADD an s to the singular form, BUT verbs REMOVE an s from the singular form.
PLURAL Indefinite pronounsPlural indefinite pronoun subjects take plural verbs.
several, few, both, many
Some indefinite pronouns may be either singular or plural: some, any, none, all, most
with uncountable, use singular; with countable, use plural.
Sugar is uncountable; therefore, the sentence has a singular verb.
Marbles are countable; therefore, the sentence has a plural verb.
CHECK YOURSELF:Most of the socks ________ missing from the drier.
are? is?
CHECK YOURSELF:All of the sand ________ in my car.
are? is?
Compound subjects joined by and
are always plural.
With compound subjects joined by or/nor,
the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it.
In the above example, the plural verb are agrees with the nearer subject actors.
In this example, the singular verb is agrees with the nearer subject director.
CHECK YOURSELF:Neither the books nor the backpack ________ in sight.
are? is?
Titles of single entities (books, organizations, countries, etc.) are always singular.
CHECK YOURSELF:Lord of the Flies ________ the best book I’ve ever read!
are? is? The United Arab Emirates________ in the Middle East.
are? is?
Grammar Books
Pg. 111 Exercise 2 only #1-10
Pg. 141 A- ODD numbered problems
Did you learn?