Transcript File

Subject—Verb
Agreement
We has to know it or we sounds
like fools…
Number
Refers to the form a word takes to tell
whether it is singular or plural
 Verbs MUST agree in number with their
subjects
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Plural subjects get plural verbs
Singular subjects get singular verbs
Incidentally, it is the singular verbs that
usually end in an “s”…who knew?
IMPORTANT!!
WORDS BETWEEN THE SUBJECT AND THE
VERB DO NOT AFFECT THE NUMBER OF
THE VERB!!!
 Take out any clauses, phrases, adjectives
and adverbs that might be in the way
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Ex: The tent by that group of trees is mine.
Ex: All the books, including Pride and
Prejudice, belong to the library.
Indefinite Pronouns
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Are tricky because both singular and
plural forms of the verb will often sound
correct…bummer
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Some indefinite pronouns are always
singular, some are always plural, but
some can work either way depending on
the sentence.
Indefinite Pronouns
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SINGULAR
Anybody - Anyone
Anything - Each
One
- Somebody
Something
Someone
Either
- Everybody
Everyone - Everything
Neither - Nobody
No one - Nothing
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PLURAL
Both
- Few
Many
- Several
EITHER
All
- Most
Any
- None
More
- Some
Indefinite Pronouns
All I want for Christmas is my one front
tooth.
 All of my friends are going to the movies.
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Most of the lecture was interesting.
 Most of the books were still for sale.
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Backwards Sentences
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Even if sentences are backwards (i.e. the
verb comes before the subject), the same
agreement rules apply
Ex: Here are your assignments.
 Ex: Quiet! Here comes the teacher!
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Compound Subjects
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Subjects joined by “and” take plural verbs
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Basil and thyme are the only spices I use in
my spaghetti sauce.
Mike and Joe answer the phone at the office.
If a compound subject names ONE thing,
use a singular verb
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Spaghetti and meat sauce is my favorite
dinner.
However, I’m tired tonight, so peanut butter
and jelly is for dinner.
Compound Subjects
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Subjects joined by “or” or “nor” take
singular verbs
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Either Mike or Joe answers the phone at the
office.
If a singular subject and a plural subject
are joined by “or” or “nor”, the verb
agrees with the closest subject.
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Neither the teacher nor the students want to
have homework today.
Neither the students nor the teacher wants to
have homework today.
Collective Nouns
Collective nouns, like some indefinite
pronouns, can be either singular or plural
depending on the sentence.
 Singular forms of collective nouns name a
group AS A UNIT
 Plural forms of collective nouns name
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS of the group
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Common Collective Nouns
Army
 Assembly
 Audience
 Band
 Club
 Congregation
 Fleet
 Flock
Ex: A number of
students are taking
the AP English test.
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Family
 Group
 Herd
 Number
 Squadron
 Staff
 Team
 Troop
Ex: The number of
students enrolling in
AP English is rising.
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Expressions of Amount
Expressions of amount (percentages,
measurements, fractions, etc) may be
singular or plural depending on how they
are used.
 Singular when:
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The amount is thought of as a unit
Refers to a singular word
Plural when:
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The amount is thought of as separate parts
Refers to a plural word
Expressions of Amount
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Singular
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Ten pencils is plenty and should last English
11B students through the trimester.
Twenty minutes is enough time to finish the
assignment.
Plural
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Five of my ten pencils are gone!
Twenty computers are required to complete
the assignment.
Practice Makes Perfect
Pg 580-586
 Ex 1, Ex 2, Ex 3
 Write only the correct subject and verb.
You do not need to copy the whole
sentence!
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Nitty Gritty
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The titles of creative works, names of countries
and cities, and names of organizations generally
take singular verbs
Subjects preceded by “every” take singular verbs
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Every freshman and sophomore takes the PLAN
test.
The contractions “don’t” and “doesn’t” should
agree with their subjects
When the relative pronoun that, which, or who is
the subject of an adjective clause, the verb within
the clause agrees with the word to which the
pronoun refers.
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Ex: Billy and Jenny, who are class clowns, never do
their homework.
Ex: Michael, who is very studious, always does his
homework.
Practice Makes Perfect
Pg 588-591
 Ex 4, Rev B, Rev C
 Just write the SUBJECTS and correct
VERBS. You do not need to copy the
whole sentence!
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Pronoun—Antecedent
Agreement
A student must apply his/herself to
learn about pronouns and
antecedents, and must study his/her
notes in order to be successful on
his/her quiz.
Pronouns and Antecedents
A pronoun usually refers to another noun
or pronoun, called the pronoun’s
antecedent.
 A pronoun must agree number, gender,
and person with its antecedent
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Number: That student aced his/her test!
Gender: That student was Mary; she aced her
test!
Person: (1st ) I hope I ace my test!
Person: (2nd ) I hope you ace your test!
Person: (3rd ) I hope they ace their tests!
Indefinite pronouns, being indefinite, can be
either singular OR plural
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Use singular pronouns
with:
Anybody - Anyone
Anything - Each
One
- Somebody
Something - Someone
Either
- Everybody
Everyone - Everything
Neither
- Nobody
No one
- Nothing
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Use plural pronouns
with:
Both
- Few
Many
- Several
Determine usage with:
All
- Most
Any
- None
More
- Some
These groupings should
look familiar…
Compound Antecedents
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Use a plural pronoun (their, them, they,
etc) to refer to two or more antecedents
joined by “AND”
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Ex: When Jack and Jill get here, tell them I
went up the hill to fetch a pail of water.
Use a singular pronoun (him, her, it, etc)
to refer to two or more antecedents joined
by “OR” or “NOR”
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Ex: Neither Jack nor Jill was able to meet me,
as he fell down and broke his crown, requiring
Jill to care for him.
Compound Antecedents
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Be clear when using a pronoun to refer to
antecedents of different number or gender
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Ex: Either Paul or Mary will sing his or her
part with Peter.
Ex: Neither Ms. VanderMeer nor the students
want their test on Friday.
Ex: Neither the students nor Ms. VanderMeer
wants her test on Friday.
It’s best to simply re-write the sentence to
avoid confusion and awkwardness!
Collective Nouns and Antecedents
A collective noun takes a singular form
when the noun refers to the group as a
UNIT.
 A collective noun take a plural form when
then noun refers to the INDIVIDUAL
MEMBERS or PARTS of the group.
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Common Collective Nouns
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That take singular
pronouns
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Civics - Gymnastics
Mumps - Economics
Mathematics
News
Electronics
Measles
Physics
Genetics
Molasses
Summons
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That take plural
pronouns
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Binoculars
Pants
Shears
Eyeglasses
Pliers
Shorts
Olympics
Slacks
Scissors
Common Collective Nouns
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That could be either singular or plural are words
that end in –ics (athletics, acoustics, ethics, etc)
“-ics” are singular when an –ics names a science,
system, or skill
“-ics” are plural when naming a quality,
operation, activity, or individual item
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Ex: Ethics is the study of moral principles of the
individual and the collective, and it is my favorite
subject to study.
Ex: Your ethics are questionable, and you should reevaluate them.
Nitty Gritty
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Even when plural, titles of creative works and
names of cities or countries take singular
pronouns
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The gender and number of a relative pronoun
(who, which, that) is determined by the
antecedent
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Ex: Los Angeles is a beautiful city; it has many beautiful
parks.
Ex: My pot roast, which gets its flavor from my secret
spice, won the cooking contest.
An expression of amount can be either singular
or plural depending on the sentence
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Ex: You have twenty minutes to complete the
assignment; it is plenty of time.
Ex: The ten pencils are apparently a hot commodity;
they have disappeared!
Practice Makes Perfect!
Exercise 5 (pg 596)
 Exercise 6 (pg 599)
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Test Review
Pg 601: Review A, B, C
 Packet
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