Download Subject/Verb Agreement and Noun/Pronoun Agreement

Grammar Notes
I. Subject/Verb Agreement
A. When the Subject is made up of two or more
nouns connected by the word “AND”, use a
plural verb.

Susan and her friends are at the fair.
B. When two or more singular nouns are connected
by “OR” or “NOR”, use a singular verb.

Neither the book nor the pen is in the drawer.
C. When a singular and a plural noun are connected
by “OR” or “NOR”, the verb should agree with
the one CLOSEST to it.
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
My mom or my aunts call my grandma every day.
My aunts or my mom calls my grandma every day.
D.
Do not be misled by a phrase that comes between the
subject and the verb.
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E.
One of the boxes is open.
The people who listen to Madonna are few.
The teacher, unlike her students, likes grammar.
Tricky singular words: each, each one, neither, everyone,
everybody, anyone, anybody, nobody, somebody,
someone, no one. They require singular verbs.



Each of these hot dogs is juicy.
Everybody knows Mr. Jones.
Either is correct.
F.
Special Cases

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G.
Nouns like civics, mathematics, dollars, and news require
singular verbs.
Dollars: singular when referring to the amount of money,
plural when referring to the dollars themselves.
Nouns like scissors and trousers require plural verbs.
In sentences that begin with “There is…” or “There
are…”, the verb agrees with what follows the verb.


There are many questions.
There is a question.
II. Noun/Pronoun Agreement
A. Must agree in Number
1.
Singular noun needs a singular pronoun, plural noun
needs a plural pronoun


If a student parks in the parking lot, he or she needs a
parking permit hanging from his or her mirror.
If students park in the parking lot, they need a parking
permit hanging in their mirrors.
2. Tricky words: everybody, anybody, anyone, each,
neither, nobody, someone, a person, etc.—are
singular
3. If two singular nouns are joined with “or” or “nor”,
use a singular pronoun (Miles or Sally=he or she)
a.
If one is singular and one is plural, the pronoun agrees
with the one closer to it. (Miles or the children=they)
4. If two nouns are joined with “and,” use a plural
pronoun (Miles and Sally=they)
B. Must agree in gender
1.
If you don’t know gender, must use BOTH “he” and
“she” or “his” and “her”
III. Indefinite Pronoun Reference
A. Happens when it is not clear which word is being
referred to or replaced by the pronoun in a
sentence.
B. Examples
1.
As he drove his car up to the service window, it made a
strange rattling sound.
2. They moved the file cabinet out of the office so they
could wash it.
3. Jerry asked Jack if he needed a raincoat.
IV. Dangling and Misplaced
Modifiers
A. Misplaced Modifiers
1. Cause confusion because of their placement in a sentence
2. Seem to modify the wrong word or more than one word
3. Correct by moving the modifier closer to the word it’s
describing
4. Examples
a.
I heard that he got married to a countess with a vast fortune in a
small church in Italy.
b. My best friend is starting a weight-gaining regime in two weeks
of five meals a day.
B. Dangling Modifier
1. Word or phrase that modifies a word that’s not there
2. Fix by changing one of the words to something that the
modifier can modify
3. Examples
a.
Having finished the assignment, the TV was turned on.
i.
Having finished the assignment, I turned on the TV
b. Having arrived late for practice, a written excuse was needed.
i.
Having arrived late for practice, I needed a written excuse.
Misplaced Modifiers examples
 Flying over the African landscape, the elephant herd looked
magnificent.
 Covered with hot melted cheese, we ate the pizza.
 The smoke alarm went off while cooking my dinner.
 Smashed beyond repair, Bert saw his watch lying on the
court.
 We saw dinosaurs on a field trip to the natural history
museum.
 Being only five, the doctor did not know how to operate on
me.
Misplaced Modifiers examples
 While camping, I saw a bear in my pajamas.
 Tom comes across a turtle on his way home from spending
four years in prison.
 Standing on the dock, the boat didn’t look safe to the sailors.
 We could see corn growing from our car window.
 Dressed in a diaper and drooling, grandpa read a book to his
granddaughter.
 My parents bought a dog for my brother named Spot.
V. Sentence Errors
A. Sentence Structure
A. Simple sentences: communicate ONE main idea
A. Can contain compound subjects or predicates
B. Example:
A.
B.
C.
The teacher gave an assignment.
The teachers and the principle offered students a choice.
The students and their parents came to the financial aid
lecture and filled out forms.
V. Sentence Errors
B. Fragments – Do not express complete thought
(sub/verb)
1.
Incomplete Sentences
a.
b.
c.
d.
Lacks subject=Knocked for 5 minutes but got no answer.
Lacks verb=The restaurant with 300 items on the menu.
Lacks both=On my birthday.
Subordinate clause that can’t stand alone=Because the dog
was barking.
2. Fix by adding the missing part (S or V) or adding an
independent clause to the subordinate clause.
V. Sentence Errors
C. Run-On Sentences – 2 or more sentences joined without
adequate punctuation or a connecting word.
A. Example: I thought the ride would never end my eyes were
crossed and my fingers were numb.
V. Sentence Errors
C. Comma Splices – When 2 independent clauses are
connected (or spliced) with only a comma.
A. Need a period, semi-colon, or a conjunction w/ the comma
B. Example: The students had been waiting in the hot sun for
two hours, many were beginning to show impatience, they
even began chanting and hollering to open the door.