Transcript Subject – verb agreement

Subject – verb agreement
SUBJECT
VERB
“Why can’t we all just get along?” Rodney King.
Subject-verb agreement
Subject is the noun – the person, place, or
thing performing the verb
Verb is the action – it is what the subject
is doing . (If the verb is a linking verb,
the subject is the person or thing being
discussed.)
•The SUBJECT and VERB must agree in number.
•Plural SUBJECTS need a PLURAL verb.
•Singular SUBJECTS need a SINGULAR verb.
Subject-verb agreement
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SINGULAR verbs end in an “s”
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PLURAL verbs don’t …
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Mark walks, Susan drives, John is, Sally does
Mark and Susan walk; John and Sally are
You and I must have PLURAL verbs
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You are smart; I am happy;
Make the necessary corrections.
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Everyone is taking their entrance examination.
Nobody in the group have the answer to
question five.
Bob and Sue are going to the store.
One of the glasses were broken.
Each of the animals are in a cage.
Neither the boy nor his sister were at home.
Everyone are invited to the dance this weekend
SINGULAR
PLURAL
PLURAL OR SINGULAR
SOME
MOST
NOTHING
EITHER
YOU
NONE
I
EVERYBODY
SEVERAL
ALL
EITHER
FEW
ANY
NEITHER…NOR…
SOMEONE
YES (it is correct) !!
NO (it is incorrect) !!
The crowd of students are loud.
The group , in the next room, are also loud.
That group is the loudest of all !
The committee meet every Wednesday to discuss important issues.
Is everyone happy with their seat?
The instructors or Melanie are unhappy with the result.
Everyone, except for the instructors, love to work on grammar rules.
Parallel Structure
Parallel Structure
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All related words or phrases within a
sentence should be in similar form. When
a series of verbs, nouns, adjectives,
adverbs or phrases is joined with a linking
word, put all the items in parallel form
Now you can try some!
Click on the part of the sentence that needs to be changed
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The car is sleek, sturdy, and has a lot of room.
_______________________________
The Bill of Rights guarantees our freedom of
speech, our right to assemble peacefully and we
have the right to bear arms.
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Dangling & Misplaced Modifiers
Standing nervously on the platform, a barrage of tomatoes
suddenly pelted the Chairman.
Dangling Modifiers
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A modifying phrase just seems to be hanging there; it doesn’t
modify any word in the sentence
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Hurrying past the window, nothing could be seen inside.
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Who or what was hurrying past the window? No one? Nothing?
The introductory phrase “hurrying past the window” doesn’t seem to
modify ANYTHING
You can easily correct a dangling modifier by rewriting the sentence
to include a word that can be modified
Rewritten: Hurrying past the window, I could see nothing inside.
Try this one:
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Sliding downhill on the toboggan, his wrist was broken.
Click on the modifying PHRASE.
What needs to be changed? See if you are correct.
Rewrite this sentence so that it makes sense !!
Misplaced Modifiers
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Writers will use descriptive words or phrases to help the
reader understand an idea or visualize a scene more
easily.
However, if the modifier (the descriptive word) is placed
in the wrong section, it can lead to confusion
Example:
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A boy saw a cat riding a blue bicycle.
What? Was the cat riding the bicycle??
You need to put the phrase “riding the bicycle” next to the word
it modifies – the boy
Rewritten: A boy, riding a blue bicycle, saw a cat.
Avoid confusion by placing the modifier as closely as
possible to the word being modified
Try these Misplaced Modifiers
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The children showed off for Grandma
jumping on the trampoline.
Who was jumping on the trampoline?
children
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Grandma
Which sentence is rewritten correctly?
The children, jumping on the
trampoline, showed off
for Grandma.
Grandma, jumping on the trampoline,
showed off for the children.
Yes, you’ve got it!!
No, you’ll have to try
something else