Download SUBJECT – VERB AGREEMENT

Sentence of the Week
Presentation
English 11
Week #1
 What
did you notice?
 This week’s focus is subject-verb
agreement
 Parts of speech build sentences
 What is a sentence?
 Clause
 Phrase
SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
THE BASICS

A SINGULAR SUBJECT NEEDS A
SINGULAR VERB
 THE GIRL (SINGULAR SUBJECT) READS
(SINGULAR VERB) MYSTERY STORIES.
 A PLURAL SUBJECT NEEDS A PLURAL
VERB
 THE GIRLS (PLURAL SUBJECT) READ
(PLURAL VERB) MYSTERY STORIES.
 HE/THEY TRICK
LET’S BEGIN
 Do
a basic diagram
 The simple subject must match the
simple verb
 Singular subjects require singular verbs
 Plural subjects require plural verbs
 The dog is black. The dogs are black.
 Simple, right?
IF ONLY LIFE WERE THAT
SIMPLE
 DON’T
BE CONFUSED BY PLURAL
WORDS THAT COME AFTER THE
VERB
 MY BIGGEST PROBLEM (IS/ARE)
THE MANY INCOMPLETE
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS I NEED
TO FINISH.
MORE ISSUES
 DON’T
BE CONFUSED BY PLURAL
WORDS THAT COME BETWEEN A
SINGULAR SUBJECT AND THE VERB
 THE TOPIC OF THESE FOUR BOOKS
(IS/ARE) HORSES.
 EACH OF THE BIKES (HAS/HAVE)
NEW TIRES.
MORE ISSUES
 DON’T
BE CONFUSED BY SUBJECTS
THAT COME AT THE END OF THE
SENTENCE.
 STANDING AT THE BACK OF THE
ROOM (WAS/WERE) MY PARENTS.
 AT THE END OF MOST OF OUR
TEAM’S GAMES (COME/COMES)
VICTORY’S SWEETNESS.
MORE ISSUES
 DON’T
BE CONFUSED BY PHRASES
SUCH AS “ALONG WITH”,
“TOGETHER WITH”, “ACCOMPANIED
BY”, “AS WELL AS”, “INCLUDING”,
AND “IN ADDITION TO”
 TENITA, AS WELL AS MIKE,
(PLAY/PLAYS) BASKETBALL WELL.
MORE ISSUES
 DON’T
BE CONFUSED BY A “NOT”
PHRASE.
 I, NOT YOU, (AM/ARE) LATE.
MORE ISSUES
DON’T BE CONFUSED BY COLLECTIVE
NOUNS
 FAMILY, ORCHESTRA, GROUP,
COMMITTEE, JURY, CROWD, HERD,
AUDIENCE, PAIR, SQUAD
 WHETHER THE NOUN IS PLURAL OR
SINGULAR DEPENDS ON WHETHER THE
SENTENCE REFERS TO THE INDIVIDUAL
MEMBERS OR THE GROUP AS A WHOLE.

MORE ISSUES
DON’T BE CONFUSED BY NOUNS OF
AMOUNT
 THESE ARE LIKE COLLECTIVE NOUNS –
ARE THEY INDIVIDUAL OR THE WHOLE
 FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS IS A LOT OF
MONEY.
 WE HAVE A PROBLEM: FIVE HUNDREDDOLLAR BILLS ARE MISSING.

Let’s Practice
 The
family (live/lives) on Elm Street.
 The orchestra (tune/tunes) its
instruments.
 My pair of scissors (is/are) lost.
 Eight pounds of grapes (is/are) a lot of
grapes.
 One of the Martin twins (is/are) absent
today.
 (Do/Does) either of the Joneses live
here?
Recap Week #1
 Find
the simple subject and the simple
verb no matter where they are in the
sentence – do a simple diagram
 Nothing else in the sentence is relevant
 Reread the sentence to be sure you
understand the intent in collective nouns
or nouns of amount
 Match the subject (singular or plural)
with the verb (singular or plural)
 Practice
Week #2 and #3
MORE ISSUES
 DON’T
BE CONFUSED BY
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS.
 “I” AND “YOU” REFER TO SPECIFIC
PEOPLE. SOME OTHER PRONOUNS
POINT TO NON-SPECIFIC PEOPLE—
SOMEONE, ANYONE, NOBODY,
EVERYBODY(INDEFINITE
PRONOUNS)
MORE ISSUES
PRONOUNS BEGINNING WITH “ANY”,
“NO”, “EVERY”, AND “SOME” ARE ALWAYS
SINGULAR.
 EVERYBODY IS COMING.
 “EACH”, “ANOTHER”, “EITHER”, “NEITHER”,
“LITTLE”, “MUCH” ARE ALWAYS
SINGULAR.
 LITTLE IS HAPPENING BECAUSE NEITHER
OF MY FRIENDS IS HERE.

MORE ISSUES
 “BOTH”,
“SEVERAL”, “FEW”, “MANY”,
“MOST”, “OTHERS” ARE PLURAL
 “ANY”, “MORE”, “SOME”, “ENOUGH”,
“ALL”, “MOST”, “WHO”, “HALF”,
“NONE” ARE EITHER SINGULAR OR
PLURAL.
EITHER/OR
NEITHER/NOR

THESE DEPEND UPON THE REST OF THE
SENTENCE FOR DETERMINATION.
 IF BOTH PARTS ARE SINGULAR – USE A
SINGULAR VERB (EITHER RYAN OR
WESLEY IS HERE.)
 IF BOTH PARTS ARE PLURAL- USE A
PLURAL VERB (NEITHER THE BOYS NOR
THE GIRLS ARE HERE.)
EITHER AND NEITHER
 IF
ONE PART IS SINGULAR AND ONE
IS PLURAL TAKE THE NOUN
CLOSEST TO THE VERB AND MAKE
THE VERB AGREE.
 NEITHER THE BOYS NOR THEIR
MOTHER (IS/ARE) HERE.
 NEITHER THE MOTHER NOR HER
SONS (IS/ARE) HERE.
MORE ISSUES
 DON’T
BE CONFUSED BY NOUN
PHRASES REFERRING TO A SINGLE
UNIT.
 SINGULAR PHRASE = SINGULAR
VERB
 SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS
(IS/ARE) MY FAVORITE DINNER.
MORE ISSUES
 DON’T
BE CONFUSED BY NOUNS
THAT LOOK PLURAL BUT ARE
ACTUALLY SINGULAR.
 THE NEWS (IS/ARE) BAD.
 MEASLES (IS/ARE) CONTAGIOUS.
 MATHEMATICS (IS/ARE) MY EASIEST
CLASS.
MORE ISSUES
 DON’T
BE CONFUSED BY SOME
“-ICS” NOUNS THAT CAN BE EITHER
SINGULAR OR PLURAL.
 POLITICS (IS/ARE) AN INTERESTING
CAREER.
 THE POLITICS IN THE
PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
(WAS/WERE) MIGHTY DIRTY.
MORE ISSUES
 DON’T
BE CONFUSED BY THE
PLURAL FORMS OF FOREIGN
WORDS.
 THE DATA (SHOW/SHOWS) THAT
BOYS WATCH MORE SPORTS ON TV
THAN GIRLS WATCH.
 DATUM IS SINGULAR – DATA IS
PLURAL
MORE ISSUES
 DON’T
BE CONFUSED BY
MATHEMATICAL PHRASES.
 ONE AND ONE (IS/ARE) TWO.
 FIVE TIMES SIX (IS/ARE) THIRTY.
Recap Week #2 And #3
 Memorize
the “inconsistent” rules
 Simple subject singular (at least in
meaning) = singular verb
 Plural subject (at least in meaning) =
plural verb
 Multiple nouns – work with the one
closest to the verb
 Any-, every-, no-, some- always singular
Practice Week #2
 Macaroni
and Cheese are Emily’s
favorite do-it-yourself dinner.
 The only problem we 500 campers have
are the hundreds of wasps swarming
around our ten campsites.
 Standing there looking happy was
Wesley and Austin.
 Only one out of four kids in America eat
a healthy diet.
Practice Week #2
I
can’t find my catcher’s glove; I hope
either David or the Joneses has it.
 The company Video Games Galore are
holding their annual picnic on Thursday.
Practice Week #3
 There
has been many child prodigies in
music.
 Few, however, has been able to sustain
a career as Midori has done.
 Concerts and recitals seems to leaver
her little time for other activities.
 Nevertheless, neither practice nor a
busy professional calendar has kept her
from fulfilling other commitments.
Practice Week #3
 To
expose children to classical music
are one of her important goals.
 Her foundation, Midori and Friends,
concentrate on bringing music to
schools all over New York City.
 Her group travel all over the city,
delighting students with the beauty of
her classical tradition.
Practice Week #3
 Works
by composers of many
nationalities and from several centuries
makes her concerts interesting.
 The arts boasts of few individuals who
have contributed more in so short a
time.
 Here, indeed, are an amazing artist and
individual.
Week #4

Verb Tenses
 three simple tenses
 three perfect tenses
 Demonstrate sequence of events; help to
understand cause/effect
 Present tense
 I talk, you talk, he talks, we talk
 Use to describe an action or state of being,
one regularly occurring, future if modifying
adverb/adverbial phrase
Week #4

Past tense
 Add –ed to present (regular verbs only)
 I talked, you talked, he talked, we talked
 Use when action or being began and ended in past
 Future tense
 Add “will” or “shall” to the present
 I will/shall talk, you will/shall talk, we will/shall talk
 Use when action or being will take place after present
moment
Week #4
 Present
perfect tense
 Add “has” or “have” to past participle
 I have talked, we have talked
 Use to express an action or being
completed at an indefinite time in the
past or one that started in the past and
continues into the present
Week #4
 Past
perfect tense
 Add “had” to the past participle
 I had talked, we had talked
 Use to express a past action or being
that occurred before another in the past
 Gandhi had embraced the principles of
nonviolent protest long before he
organized a demonstration against an
unfair tax.
Week #4

Future perfect tense
 Add “will have” or “shall have” to past
participle
 I will/shall have talked; we will/shall have
talked
 Use to express a future action or being that
will take place before another in the future
 By the year 2010, Gandhi’s reforms will have
been in practice for more than 60 years.
Week #4
 When
Graham swimmed in Amsterdam,
he rammed into a dam.
 Past tense
 Wellington has recently sang a bouncy
song about Ping-Pong.
 Past participle (completed action)
 Last night Otis dreamt about croaking
toads.
 Past
Week #4
 Instead
of eating his tomatoes for
supper, Tupper drunk a bottle of
ketchup.
 Past
 Cousin Nell, who always pretends she’s
a pail, has fell into the well.
 Perfect present
 Hank’s bloated goldfish has sank to the
bottom of the tank.
 Past participle
Week #5

Phrases
 Verbal phrases
 Participial Phrases
 Verb that functions as an adjective
 Present participle - -ing
 The falling prices were good news for wouldbe buyers.
 Past participle - -ed or –d
 The improved designs made the automobile
cheaper and more reliable.
Week #5

Participial Phrases as Adjectives
 Launching the first moving assembly line,
Henry Ford revolutionized the automobile
industry.
 Absolute Phrase
 No grammatical connection to the rest of the
sentence. Usually relates by providing details
about circumstances or time.
 Its popularity waning, the Model T was retired
from production in 1927.
Week #5
 Gerunds
that ends in –ing and functions
as a noun.
 Skiing is a winter sport.
 Gerunds and present participles end in
–ing. Look for function to determine
type.
 What does a blinking cursor mean?
 Blinking can be a sign of eye strain.
 Verbal
Week #5

Infinitive Phrases
 Usually begins with the word “to” and
functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb
 In 1995, Eileen Collins became the first
female pilot to command a space mission.
 Try not to split infinitives.
 Astronauts need to rigorously train for space
missions.
 Astronauts need to train rigorously for space
missions.
Week #6
 Review
of phrases, quiz issues
 Active and Passive Voice

THE BALL WAS HIT. (BY WHOM)
 PASSIVE
 TUCKER HIT THE BALL.
 ACTIVE
 CIGARETTE TAXES WILL BE RAISED.
 PASSIVE
 CONGRESS WILL RAISE TAXES ON
CIGARETTES.
 ACTIVE
Week #6
Practice
 Identify
as active or passive voice
 War was declared because of the
terrorist attack on 9-11.
 Your request for a promotion was
approved.
 George W. Bush’s tax cuts were not
renewed.
Week #7
Sentence Structure
 CLAUSES
AND PHRASES PUT
TOGETHER LOGICALLY
 INDEPENDENT CLAUSES VERSUS
DEPENDENT CLAUSES
 SINGLE WORDS CAN MAKE
DEPENDENT CLAUSES,
INDEPENDENT
 AS HE RAN ACROSS THE ROOM
(LOSE THE “AS”)
Sentence Structure
Punctuation

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (PERIOD)
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (PERIOD)
 INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (COMMA) AND,
BUT, OR, SO, INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
(PERIOD)
 INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (SEMICOLON)
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (PERIOD)
 INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (COMMA)
DEPENDENT CLAUSE (PERIOD)
 DEPENDENT CLAUSE (COMMA)
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (PERIOD)
SENTENCE STRUCTURE
EXAMPLES
 Week
7 examples
 Mimic the examples
SOW #7 Examples
 Brutus
missed his bus he had to ride a
drooling mule to school.
 Darlene needs dental work she eats ice
she also chews on broomsticks and
marbles.
 Some self-conscious warthogs get nose
jobs they think that good looks will gain
them more friends.
#7 Comma Rules
Comma in a Series

IN A SERIES OF THREE OR MORE ITEMS,
USE A COMMA AFTER EVERY ITEM (LAST
ONE OPTIONAL)
 ROCKS, SNAGS, AND SHOALS CAN BE
HAZARDOUS TO BOATS.
 NO COMMAS ARE NEEDED IF THE ITEMS
IN A SERIES ARE JOINED BY AND, OR, OR
NOR.
 SEMI-COLONS AND COMMA SERIES
#7 Examples
 Aunt
Tallulah talks to her tulips she also
puts party hats on her petunias.
 My bus driver who acts like she’s crazy.
Such as when she playfully drives
towards pedestrians.
 Trace thinks that space aliens hide in
many places. For example, inside of
the small intestines of hamsters.
#8
Comma Rules

USE A COMMA AFTER AN
INTRODUCTORY WORD OR MILD
INTERJECTION AT THE BEGINNING OF A
SENTENCE: (NO, OUR CREW WAS
UNABLE TO CALL FOR HELP.)
 USE A COMMA AFTER AN
INTRODUCTORY PREPOSITIONAL
PHRASE THAT CONTAINS ONE OR MORE
ADDITIONAL PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES:
(IN THE SPRING OF 1930, MARINE
SCIENCE TOOK A GIANT STEP
FORWARD.)
#8 Comma Rules

USE A COMMA AFTER A VERBAL PHRASE
AT THE BEGINNING OF A SENTENCE. (TO
MAKE THE HALF-MILE DIVE, SCIENTISTS
AND ENGINEERS DESIGNED A DEEP-SEA
VEHICLE.)
 USE A COMMA AFTER AN
INTRODUCTORY ADVERB OR ADVERB
CLAUSE AT THE BEGINNING UNLESS IT IS
THE SUBJECT. (FORTUNATELY, THE
VEHICLE WORKED WELL.)
#8 Comma Rules
 USE
COMMAS TO SET OFF A
PARENTHETICAL EXPRESSION.
(BEEBE DID, OF COURSE, KEEP A
JOURNAL.)
 USE COMMAS TO SET OFF WORDS
OF DIRECT ADDRESS. (THANK YOU,
CAPTAIN LOWRY, FOR A JOB WELL
DONE.)
#8 Comma Rules
 USE
COMMAS TO SET OFF
NONESSENTIAL PARTS OF THE
SENTENCE. (ADVANCED
LIFESAVING, WHICH IS AN
EXCELLENT COURSE, PREPARES
STUDENTS TO BE LIFEGUARDS.
SCIENTISTS TRANSFORMED THE
H.M.S. CHALLENGER, A BRITISH
WARSHIP, INTO A FLOATING LAB.
Colons
 USED
AFTER A COMPLETE
STATEMENT TO INTRODUCE A LIST
OF RELATED DETAILS
 MARIA JUST PURCHASED ALL THE
CAMPING SUPPLIES FOR OUR TRIP:
A BACKPACK, A SLEEPING BAG,
AND A PAIR OF HIKING BOOTS.
 IT MUST BE AFTER AN
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE
Semicolons
 PUT
TWO OR MORE INDEPENDENT
CLAUSES TOGETHER TO FORM
ONE BIG SENTENCE
 THE CLAUSES MUST BE RELATED
 ON ACT YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO
CHOOSE BETWEEN A SEMICOLON
AND PERIOD