SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

1. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

2. OBJECTIVES • The students will be able to: • Apply subject-verb agreement rules with • Nouns compound in form but singular in meaning • Compound subjects • Compound subjects joined by correlative conjunctions • Indefinite pronouns • Compound subjects joined by coordinating conjunctions • Subjects plural in form but singular in meaning • Collective nouns

3. Subject and Verb… • Must agree in number • Number refers to whether a word is singular or plural

4. Singular Subjects • Singular subjects take singular verbs • A singular subject does not end in “s,” but a singular verb ends in “s” • My dogbarks loudly. (Correct) • My dogbark loudly. (Incorrect) • Ashley (play, plays) basketball.

5. Plural Subjects • Plural subjects take plural verbs • A plural subject may end in “s,” but the plural verb does not end in “s” • The studentsneed paper and pens from school. • Childrenrun down the street. (Correct) • Children runs down the street. (Incorrect)

6. Verb Phrases • In a verb phrase, the first helping verb must agree with the subject • A verb phrase is the combination of one or more helping verbs with a main verb. • will ride is going does not want

7. Verb Phrases • Maryhas ordered a new pair of shoes. • Weare going to the movies this weekend. • She (go shopping/goes shopping) every weekend. • I (is talking/am talking) on the phone. • You (is getting/are getting) on my nerves.

8. Contractions: Doesn’t & Don’t • Doesn’t = Does not (singular) • Don’t= Do not (plural) • She ______ know where she put her phone. • The boys ______ have their homework.

9. Practice Activity • A popular saying (is, are) “opposites attract.” • On the contrary, we (doesn’t, don’t) often seek relationships with people who hold different values than our own. • Personality clashes (spoil, spoils) relationships. • Differences (create, creates) tension. • Typically, a talkative person (prefers, prefer) the company of other sociable people.

10. Bell Ringer (4/7/10) • A quiet individual sometimes (feel, feels) more comfortable with fellow introverts. • Teens usually (select, selects) friends who are most like them. • They sometimes (form, forms) tight-knit groups called cliques. • Still friendships (has, have) developed among those with different personalities. • Open communication (helps, help) all kinds of friends to get along.

11. Compound Subjects • A compound subject is made up of two or more subjects joined by a conjunction such as and, or, or, nor.

12. Subjects Joined by And • A compound whose parts are joined by “and” usually takes a plural verb • Boys and girls make up the student population of the school. • The pencil and paper are on my desk.

13. Joined by And • Sometimes a compound subject joined by “and” refers to a single thing or idea; it needs a singular verb • The red beans and rice tastes delicious • Tasha and Alicia talk a lot during class. • Kyle and John (is, are) going to join the football team.

14. Subjects joined by Or or Nor • When the parts of a subject are joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the part closest to it • Neither outdoor worknor office taskssuit Matt very well. • Neither office tasksnor outdoor worksuits Matt very well.

15. Practice • Psychologists and guidance counselors have linked personality types to occupations. • For example, carpentry or engineering sometimes attract introverted people. • Paramedics and police officers seeks adventure and risk. • On the other hand, structure and order suits those with good organizational ability. • Bookkeepers or office managers typically has stable, practical personalities.

16. More Practice • Problem-solving skills and strong verbal communication is useful for judges and business people. • Generally, neither lawyers nor the head of a company like to be told what to do. • Logic or good spatial perception is needed for jobs in engineering and mechanics. • Trial and error are one way to find the right job. • Neither your teacher nor your parents want to see you in a job that doesn’t suit you.

17. On Your Own (to be turned in) • Complete the following exercise. Write the sentence with the correct verb form. • Compound Subjects

18. Agreement Problems in Sentences • Some sentences can be trick, such as those with subjects in unusual positions, those containing predicate nouns, or those in which prepositional phrases separate subjects and verbs.

19. Subjects in Unusual Positions • A subject can follow a verb or part of a verb phrase in a question, a sentence beginning with here or there, or a sentence in which an adjective, an adverb, or a phrase is placed first

20. Subjects in Unusual Positions

21. Tips to Help Find the Subject in these Kinds of Sentences • Choosing the Correct Verb • (Is, Are) last-borns more rebellious than middle children? • Turn the sentence around, putting the subject before the verb (answer the question) • Last-borns (is, are) more rebellious than middle children. • Determine whether the subject is singular or plural • Last-borns (plural) • Make the subject and verb agree • Last-bornsare more rebellious than middle children.

22. Predicate Nouns • In a sentence containing a predicate noun, the verb should agree with the subject, not the predicate noun • One interesting topic is dreams and their meanings. • Dreams are the voice of the subconscious.

23. Prepositional Phrases • The subject of a verb is never found in a prepositional phrase. Don’t be fooled by words that come between a subject and a verb. Mentally block out those words. Then, it will be easy to tell whether the subject is singular or plural.

24. Prepositional Phrases • This book by two psychologists describes personality traits. • Some theories of personality development are complex.

25. Prepositional Phrases • Writers often use prepositional phrases to paint visual pictures. When you use a prepositional phrase between a subject and a verb, make sure that the verb agrees with the subject, not the object of the preposition. • At one o’clock it he morning I walked down through the same section [of San Francisco]. Everything still stood intact. There was no fire. And yet there was a change. A rain [of ashes] was falling.

26. More Examples: • Question: • Is that book interesting? • That book is interesting. • Have & There: • Here are the new magazines. • The new magazines are here. • Beginning Phrase: • In the library are meeting rooms. • Meeting rooms are in the library.

27. More Examples • Predicate Nouns: • My favorite reading material is mysteries. • Mysteries are my favorite reading material. • Prepositional Phrases: • Books about baseball entertain fans. • Baseball on the field or in books entertains fans.

28. REVIEW • Agreement in number • Compound subjects • Agreement problems in sentences

29. 1. Agreement in Number • Remember: • Singular subjects take singular verbs • Mariaworks well with her classmates. • Plural subjects take plural verbs • The playersrun around the field. • Doesn’t and Don’t • Use doesn’t with singular subjects • Use don’t with plural subjects • Use don’t with the pronoun you

30. 2. Compound Subjects • The subject can be compound when it is joined by the conjunctions and, or, or nor • Joined by “and” • The subject takes the plural verb • Lionsandtigersroam in the jungle. • Joined by “or” or “nor” • The verb will agree with the closest subject • Either the studentsor the teacher will create the next test.

31. 3. Agreement Problems in Sentences • Subjects in unusual positions • Sentences with predicate nouns • Sentences in which prepositional phrases separate subjects and verbs **Remember you can easily solve these problems by switching the order of the subject and verb.

32. Review Exercise: the following paragraph contains four errors in subject-verb agreement Does you know any identical twins? Then you can probably observe their obvious physical similarities. Although people commonly believe that identical twins raised apart will develop different personalities, the opposite appears to be true. From studies at a college have been gathered information comparing the personality traits of twins separated at birth. There are evidence that separated twins still develop similar traits. Apparently, genes is an important factor in personality development.

33. Doyou know any identical twins? Then you can probably observe their obvious physical similarities. Although people commonly believe that identical twins raised apart will develop different personalities, the opposite appears to be true. From studies at a college has been gathered information comparing the personality traits of twins separated at birth. There isevidence that separated twins still develop similar traits. Apparently, genesare an important factor in personality development.

34. For each sentence, write the verb that agrees with the subject. This will be turned in. • Personality types (have, has) been studied for centuries. • (Has, Have) you seen the movie Twilight? • There (is, are) usually a dominant personality. • Fear and anger (is, are) experienced by most athletes. • Even school or work (demand, demands) a degree of self-control. • A Type A person (seem, seems) competitive and aggressive. • These skills and techniques (help, helps) others besides athletes. • (Does, Do) different personalities know about one another? • Multiple personality disorder (are, is) caused by severe traumas. • The challenge of sports sometimes (affect, affects) an athlete’s confidence.

35. Indefinite Pronouns as Subjects • Some pronouns do not refer to a definite, or specific, person, place, thing, or idea. They are called indefinite pronouns. **When used as subjects, some indefinite pronouns are always singular, some are always plural, and others can be singular or plural, depending on how they are used

36. Indefinite Pronouns

37. Singular & Plural • Singular indefinite pronouns take singular verbs • Everyonewonders how twins get along. • Anything about twins fascinates me. • Plural indefinite pronouns take plural verbs • Many of my friends know a pair of twins. • Severalare friends themselves.

38. Singular or Plural? • All, any, most, none, and some can be either singular or plural. When you use one of these words as a subject, think about the noun it refers to. If the noun is singular, use a singular verb, if it is plural, use a plural verb

39. Singular or Plural? • Most of this bookdeals with twin research. • All of the studieshave been conducted by scientists *Sometimes an indefinite pronoun refers to a noun in a previous sentence. • Sometimes Myla and Melissa coincidentally buy the same outfit. Bothare surprised to find out.

40. Indefinite Pronouns as Subjects Exercise

41. Singular Indefinite Pronouns • Another • Anybody • Anyone • Anything • Each • Either • Everybody • Everyone • Everything • Much • Neither • Nobody • No one • Nothing • One • Somebody • Someone • Something

42. Plural Indefinite Pronouns • Both • Few • Many • Others • Several

43. Either Plural or Singular Indefinite Pronouns • All • Any • Most • None • Some

44. Examples • Nobodylives without air. (singular) • Manystudy the process of photosynthesis. (plural)

45. A prepositional phrase can follow the indefinite pronouns that can be either singular or plural. The object of the preposition will determine whether the pronoun is singular or plural. • Some of the buildingis brick. (singular) • Some of the sunflowersare large. (plural)

46. Write the correct verb in the sentence. • Another (wants, want) to look at the bike. • Anybody (study, studies) French before taking a trip to France. • Anyone (understand, understands) the importance of this issue. • One (tell, tells) us about his days in baseball. • Each of the members (speak, speaks) for three minutes. • Either of these books (convey, conveys) the mood of the 1980s. • Everybody (want, wants) a copy of that videotape. • Both of these schools (is, are) outstanding. • Everyone who participates (receives, receive) an award. • Everything in this room (appears, appear) to be an antique.

47. Collective Nouns and Other Special Subjects • A collective noun names a group. • It has a singular meaning when the group acts as a unit • It has a plural meaning when showing that each member of the group acts as an individual • The teamwants to buy the coach a gift. (one group, singular) • The teamagree to purchase their own jerseys. (individuals, plural)

48. The meaning of the noun in the sentence determines whether the singular or plural form of the verb is needed • You can determine whether a collective noun takes a singular or plural verb by substituting the pronoun it or they

49. Certain nouns, such as mathematics and mumps, end in –s but use a singular verb form. • Nouns such as jeans and scissors also end in –s and take plural verb, yet they are single objects • The newsis on the radio now. (singular) • These jeansare torn. (plural)

50. When the subject refers to an amount as a single unit, it is considered singular • When it refers to more than one unit, it is plural • Two weeksseems like a long time to wait. (single unit, singular verb) • Two weekshave passed since you called. (several units, plural verb)