Chapter 5 Flashcards
Subject-Verb Agreement
A singular subject needs a singular verb.
A plural subject needs a plural verb.
Conjunction
connects words, phrases, and clauses
And
connects two or more items in a subject and makes the verb plural.
exception is when the words are connected are part of a single thing
Or
connects two or more items in a subject and makes the verb singular unless one of the items is plural.
the verb should agree with the nearest noun or pronoun
not only…but also
the verb should agree with the nearer subject and there should be no comma before but also
if connecting a dependent and independent clause, the verb after but also should agree with the subject of the independent clause.
Collective Nouns
singular in form but plural in meaning
generally take singular verbs
the names of associations, boards, companies
Using Collective Nouns
singular verb when a single group works in agreement
plural verb if the noun is used to name a group operating as individuals or in disagreement
Couple
Often plural rather than singular.
Singular when referring to a unit.
Plural when referring to two individual people.
Uncountable Nouns
nouns that have no plural, although many of them look plural
some take singular and some take plural forms
Uncountable Nouns with Singular Verbs
advice, apparatus, athletics, civics, courage, economics, fun, health, information, jazz, kudos, linguistics, mathematics, measles, mumps, news, remainder, shambles, summons, and whereabouts
Uncountable Nouns with Plural Verbs
assets, barracks, earnings, goods, odds, pants, pliers, proceeds, remains, remain, riches, scissors, shears, tactics, thanks, tongs, wages
Uncountable Nouns that take both Singular and Plural Verbs depending on context
ethics, gross, headquarters, mechanics, politics, savings, series, species, and statistics.
Plural Nouns ending in on or um
Criteria, data, media are plural, not singular
Units of Measurement
take a singular verb even though they are plural
Number and Total
usually singular if preceded by the
plural if preceded by a
The number of people expected is small.
A total of 50 people are expected to attend.
Fractions and Percentages
are singular or plural depending on the noun or pronoun following them.
One-third of the book is a flashback.
One-third of the customers are regulars.
Indefinite Pronouns
both, few, many, others, several, another, anybody, anyone, anything, each one, either, everybody, everyone, everything, little, many a, more than one, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, other, somebody, someone, something, all, any, each, more, most, none, plenty, some, such
Both, few, many, others, several
plural
another, anybody, anyone, anything, each one, either, everybody, everyone, everything, little, many a, more than one, much, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, other, somebody, someone, something,
are singular, even though some of those words seem to refer to more than one
all, any, each, more, most, none, plenty, some, such
either singular or plural depending on the context
Each
singular
Either and Neither
singular pronouns
but if either…or then they are conjunctions, not pronouns
the verb following is singular or plural depending on whether the noun or pronoun following the or or nor is singular or plural
Intervening Nouns and Pronouns
a noun or pronoun that comes between the subject and verb
verb still agrees with the subject, not the noun or pronoun that intervenes
Prepositional Phrases Agreement
the noun or pronoun following the preposition is almost never the subject. the verb agrees with the noun or pronoun before the preposition.
One of the/One of these/One of those
if followed by a relative clause, the relative pronoun (who, which, that) is the subject of the dependent clause takes as its antecedent the noun or pronoun following of
one is preceded by only
one is usually the antecedent and the construction becomes singular
Subject and Predicate Nominative in Disagreement
the number of the verb should always agree with the number of the subject
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Corporations, associations, government, or businesses
don’t say they, their, or theirs!
use it or its
Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
Male or Female
do not use they, their, or theirs to refer to a singular antecedent that could be either male or female
ex. A reporter should check their facts.
–> A reporter should check his facts. (sexist)
–> A reporter should check his or her facts. (wordy)
–> Reporters should check their facts
(make it plural^)
Parallel Sentence Structure
ideas that are similarly written.
A series of items that should be alike whether all nouns, all gerunds, all infinitives, all phrases, or all clauses. Same tense, voice, and mood
Make Verbs Parallel
Verbs in a sentence or longer piece of writing should agree with each other in tense unless you have a reason to shift to a different time period.
Verbs should agree with each other in voice and not needlessly shift from active to passive.
The mood of the verbs should be as consistent as possible.
