subject/verb agreement

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Subject/Verb Agreement

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Subject/Verb Agreement. Singular subjects take singular verbs. Singular verbs have an “s” on the end of them. Think about the word “singular”—it has an –s in it, so the verb that goes with it ends in an –s. Plural subjects take plural verbs Plural verbs are “s”-less on the end of them. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: Subject/Verb Agreement

Subject/Verb Agreement

Page 2: Subject/Verb Agreement

Singular subjects take singular verbs. Singular verbs have an “s” on the end of them. Think about the word “singular”—it has an –s in

it, so the verb that goes with it ends in an –s.

Plural subjects take plural verbs Plural verbs are “s”-less on the end of them. “Plural” has no –s in it, so keep away from –s

on the verb.

Page 3: Subject/Verb Agreement

There are certain words that will ALWAYS be considered singular subjects

Page 4: Subject/Verb Agreement

Any way you connect these, the verb is singular!

Any

EveryNoSome

BodyOneThing

Page 5: Subject/Verb Agreement

Any

EveryNoSome

BodyOneThing

Page 6: Subject/Verb Agreement

Any

EveryNoSome

BodyOneThing

Page 7: Subject/Verb Agreement

Any

EveryNoSome

BodyOneThing

Page 8: Subject/Verb Agreement

Any

EveryNoSome

BodyOneThing

Page 9: Subject/Verb Agreement

Any

EveryNoSome

BodyOneThing

Page 10: Subject/Verb Agreement

Some Additional Singular Subjects:

Each

Either

Neither

One

Page 11: Subject/Verb Agreement

There are certain words that will ALWAYS be considered plural subjects

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The Following are ALWAYS Plural

Both

Many

Few

Several

Page 13: Subject/Verb Agreement

Some subjects can be either singular or plural

AllAnyMoreMostNoneSome

Page 14: Subject/Verb Agreement

How do you know which is which?

Look at the sentence to see what it refers to.

Some of the test (is/are) hard.Some of the questions (is/are) hard.Even though questions cannot be your

subject (because it is in a prepositional phrase), it can help you determine which verb to pick.

Page 15: Subject/Verb Agreement

Some of the test is hard. Some refers to the singular noun test. So,

because you are talking about how one particular test is hard, you use a singular verb.

Some of the questions are hard. Some refers to the plural noun questions. So,

because you are talking about how multiple questions are hard, you use a plural verb (-s less)

Page 16: Subject/Verb Agreement

Compound subjects

A compound subject consists of two or more subjects that are joined by a conjunction (FANBOYS) and have the same verb.

Page 17: Subject/Verb Agreement

“and”

When you have two subjects that are joined by “and”, generally you have a plural verb (-s less).

Example: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg make

movies. Rhyme, rhythm, and imagery help poets

express their feelings.

Page 18: Subject/Verb Agreement

“or” and “nor”

When subjects are joined by “or” or “nor” they take a singular verb.

Plural subjects joined by “or” or “nor” take plural verbs.

Example: After dinner, either Anne or Tony loads the dishwasher. Neither dogs nor cats love the rain.

Page 19: Subject/Verb Agreement

What to do when it is a singular and plural subject?

When you have a singular subject and a plural subject AND you are trying to connect the two with “or” or “nor,” then you use the subject that is closest to the verb to determine whether it is singular or plural.

Page 20: Subject/Verb Agreement

Examples

Neither the children nor their mother was ready for the trip. Since mother is closest to the verb (and there is only

one mother), the verb is singular

Neither the mother nor her children were ready for the trip. Since children is closest to the verb (and there are

multiple children), the verb is plural.

Page 21: Subject/Verb Agreement

Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement

Page 22: Subject/Verb Agreement

Definition

Antecedent: The word that the pronoun usually refers to is

called an antecedent.

Page 23: Subject/Verb Agreement

What must it do?

A pronoun should agree in number and gender with its antecedent

A pronoun that refers to one person, place or thing is singular Daniel Defoe wrote his first book at age fifty-

nine. The elephant is a long-lived animal. It grows its

tusks at maturity.

Page 24: Subject/Verb Agreement

A pronoun that refers to multiple people, places and things are plural. Reliable cars make their owners happy. We walk our dogs daily.

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Gender of pronouns

Masculine Feminine Neuter

He She It

Him Her It

His Hers Its

Himself Herself itself

Page 26: Subject/Verb Agreement

Often, when the antecedent of a personal pronoun is ANOTHER pronoun, the rest of the sentence will help figure out what the gender is.

One of the women designs her own costumes. Her is the pronoun, one is the antecedent, and

woman helps us know it is feminine.

Page 27: Subject/Verb Agreement

Remember the diagram for subject verb agreement?

Page 28: Subject/Verb Agreement

BodyOneThing

Any

EveryNoSome

Page 29: Subject/Verb Agreement

The rule for subject/verb agreement is the same for pronoun antecedent agreement.

If one of these pronouns is the antecedent, the pronoun is always singular.

Page 30: Subject/Verb Agreement

Either of the girls can bring her CD player.Neither of the workmen forgot his tool belt.Someone left his or her hat on the field.

Page 31: Subject/Verb Agreement

Both, few, many, and several are always plural.

Both of the sisters recited their lines.Few of the animals willingly leave their

natural habitat.

Page 32: Subject/Verb Agreement

All, any, more, most, none, and some are singular and plural depending on their meaning.

All of the water has melted; it is a puddle on the table. (Singular)

All of the streams are full; they are overflowing. (Plural)

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Two or more antecedents connected by “or” or “nor” are singular.

Neither Richard nor Bob distinguished himself in the finals

Paula or Janet will present her views on the subject.

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Use a plural pronoun to refer to two or more antecedents joined by “and.”

Mona and Janet left early because they had a curfew.

Mom and dad celebrated their anniversary yesterday.

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Practice!

Ahmad read mystery stories every night. Ahmad's read Ahmad reads Ahmads' read Ahmad reading

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Which is correct? Standing at the front of the room was my

friends. Standing at the front of the room were my

friends.

Page 37: Subject/Verb Agreement

The adults in our neighborhood had a meeting to ____ on a sidewalk design. decide decides

Page 38: Subject/Verb Agreement

Anyone can get __ name in the news. None of the checks were cashed;___ finally

expired. The chef cut ___ on the thumb while he was

peeling carrots. A person should insure ____ valuables. The family has ___ eye on a new house. The code breakers shared ___ secrets

Page 39: Subject/Verb Agreement

My mother and her sister took ___ vacation together.

Either Mike or John wears a patch over ___ eye.

All are welcome: ___ just need to call for directions to the party.

Neither documentaries nor the news is given enough money by ___ network.

San Diego and San Jose get ___ names from Spanish.