Download Singular Plural - Voorhees Township Public Schools

Mr.Hassall
Language Arts
Class Notes/Study Guide
Verb and Subject Agreement
A verb should agree in number (singular or plural) WITH its subject.
A. Singular subjects take singular verbs.
Ex. Leah breaks her toe often.
B. Plural subjects take plural verbs.
Ex. Dolphins leap at Sea World.
Ex.
C. To make sure, replace the subject with a pronoun.
Leah breaks her toe often.
She breaks her toe often.
D. A phrase that follows a subject does not change the number.
Ex. The lights on a Christmas tree make the season bright.
2. Most indefinite pronouns are singular.
A. Someone, somebody, anyone anybody, either, everyone
everybody, each, something, anything, everything.
Ex. Each of the answers is correct.
singular
singular
3. Some indefinite pronouns are plural.
A. Both, few, many, several,
Ex. Both movies are great.
plural
plural
4. Some indefinite pronouns may be singular or plural.
A. All, any, more. Most, none,
B. And some.
Ex. All of the fruit looks good.
singular
All of the pears look good.
Plural
5.Compound subjects joined by and are usually plural.
Ex. Jack and Jill went up the hill. They fell down.
Careful because there are exceptions:
Ex. The secretary and the treasurer of the club is Jill.
6. When a subject follows a verb, find the subject and make sure the
verb agrees with it.
WATCH!!! There is / are or
here is / are
For example: There is my book.
There are my books.
7. Don’t and Doesn’t
Don’t =do not used with plural subjects
Doesn’t = does not used with singular subjects
EX.
She doesn’t like me.
They don’t like we.
8. A collective noun may be either singular or plural, depending on
its meaning in a sentence.
A singular form of a collective noun names groups of
persons, animals, or things.
Ex. Army, club, public, crowd, family assembly, class, troop, audience
A collective noun is
 Singular when it refers to a group or unit
 Plural when it refers to individual parts or members of the
group.
9. Expressions of amount can be either singular or plural.
Ex. Fourteen years seems like a long time.
This is an example of singular because it is an example of one stretch of time.
The last two years of high school are the hardest.
This is an example of plural because it is two different parts of time.
10. Some nouns that look plural take singular verbs.
Ex: civics, measles, news, gymnastics
11. Names of works of art or places are singular.
Ex: The Netherlands is also known as Holland.
12. A verb agrees with its subject but not necessarily with a predicate
nominative.
Ex: The best time to go to the movies is the weeknights.
Pronoun Antecedent Agreement
Pronoun takes the place of a noun
Antecedent is the noun or pronoun that the original pronoun refers
to.
A pronoun must agree in both number and gender to the antecedent.
Singular
First person
Second person
Third Person
I, my
you, your
he, she, it his, her, its
Plural
we, our
you, your
they, their
Example: Bryan lost his shoe.
The shoe was missing its lace.
4. Pronouns like someone, somebody, anyone, anybody, each
neither,…. They are all singular.
Example: Each player brought his own cleats.
5. Subjects joined by “or” or “nor” are singular.
Example: Either Bob or Bill stole my sandwich and said it was his.
6. Subjects joined by “and” are plural.
Example: My cat and dog never share their food.
7. Some indefinite pronouns are plural.
Both, few, many, several,
Example: Several of the birds lost their way.
****** 8. Some indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural,
depending on the meaning of the sentence.
All, any, more, most, none, some
Example: Some of the test is hard, isn’t it?
Some of the questions have hints in their wording.
9. The meaning of the sentence tells whether a collective noun is
singular or plural.
Ex: The first group will give its presentation.
The group discussed their opinions.
10. Expressions of amount can be singular or plural.
Ex: Two dollars is all I need. I can use it for lunch.
11. Some nouns are always singular; some are plural. (See rules ten,
eleven, and twelve in verb agreement).
Ex: Economics is my best class. It’s fun!