high school mrs. fontana english 9 / 10 agreement

High School

Mrs. Fontana

English 9 / 10

Agreement

Subject-Verb Agreement

The verb of a sentence must agree with its subject in number.– Singular subjects = singular verbs

Nouns with –s = plural girls play Verbs with –s = singular girl plays

– Number not usually affected by phrases between subject and verb

The boats in the harbor are beautiful.– Exception: amounts

May be singular or plural May depend on phrase between subject and verb


Verb agrees with subject NOT predicate nominative– The steaks were the biggest expense.– The biggest expense was the steaks.

Errors may be avoided by rewording sentencePut the verb in the active voice to avoid

errors.


Be Careful!!If a sentence begins with there or here,

or asks a question:

First locate the subject THEN

make sure the verb agrees.

Here is my missing book!

What are you doing?


Titles are usually considered as singular nouns and treated as one subject.

The Canterbury Tales is a classic novel.

Barnes & Noble is my favorite store.


The following items are treated as singular nouns although they appear plural in form.

measles, mumps, rickets,

molasses, news, stamina

Rickets is caused by Vitamin C deficiency.


Collective nouns may be either singular or plural, depending on their use in the sentence or clause.

The jury was dismissed.

The jury were unable to reach

a unanimous decision.


Amounts may be either singular or plural, depending on their use in the sentence.

fractions, measurements, money, time

Four dollars was lying on the ground.

Four dollars is expensive for a soda.


Words that end in –ics may be singular or plural, depending on their meaning.– Course of study or science = singular– Otherwise = plural

Economics was my worst subject.

The country’s economics are in trouble.


Compound subjects joined by and are plural.

John and Scott are coming to dinner.

Compound subjects joined by or, nor, either or, neither-nor = the verb agrees with the nearest subject.

Neither John nor his brothers are coming to dinner.Neither his brothers nor John is coming to dinner.


Singular indefinite pronouns always = singular verb– each, either, neither; one, anyone, everyone, someone,

no one; anybody, everybody, somebody, nobody

Plural indefinite pronouns always = plural verb– both, few, several, many

Other indefinite pronouns = singular OR plural– Depends on context of the sentence– some, any, all, none, most

Some of the land was harvested. Some of the students were absent.


Doesn’t, isn’t, wasn’t = singularDon’t, aren’t, weren’t = plural

*Exception* = I and You take plural forms:

I don’t have a pencil.You weren’t at the party.


One of those who One of those which

One of those that

For these expressions, the relatives who, which, and that do not refer to one. Instead, they refer to the plural object of of.

She is one of those people who go to sleep early.

Clue! = those

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement

Pronouns must agree with their antecedents in number, gender, and person.

Agreement in Number

A plural antecedent takes a plural pronoun.

Marla and Denise played their instruments.

Our teachers posted their grades.

A singular antecedent takes a singular pronoun.

Jaden will bring his books.

Abigail dislikes her math class.

Collective Nouns

Use a singular pronoun to refer to a collective noun whose parts act as a single unit.

The orchestra will give its final show.

Use a plural pronoun to refer to a collective noun whose parts act individually.

The orchestra have tuned up their instruments.

Pronouns Joined by Or or Nor

A plural pronoun is used to refer to nouns and pronouns joined by and. James and Denise went to their houses.

A pronoun that refers to nouns or pronouns joined by or or nor should agree with the noun or pronoun nearest to it. Neither the conductor nor the musicians have taken their places on stage.

Agreement in Gender

The gender of a pronoun must be the same as the gender of its antecedent

Feminine Masculine Neuter

she, her, hers he, him, his it, its

Common (unknown)

he, him, his

Agreement in Person

A pronoun must agree with its antecedent in person.

First person We can have our party on Friday.Second Person You can bring your board games.Third Person Mike will have his camera.

high school mrs. fontana english 9 / 10 agreement

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