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Verbs
2 Verb tenses
O Present Tense
O Use an –s or –es ending on the verb only
when the subject is he, she, or it.
O Past Tense
O For most verbs add –d or –ed
O If a verb ends, in e, just add d.
O If it ends in a consonant + y, change the y to i
and add -ed.
O Try = tried
Practice
Chapter 10,
Exercises 1-8
(pages 113119)
4 Main Forms of a Verb
1. Present Tense
O Use the present form
O TALK
2. Past Tense
O Use the past form
O TALKED
4 Main Forms of a Verb
O Present Participle
O Use present participle or –ing form w/
helping verbs
O TALKING (Were Talking, Should Be
Talking)
O Past Participle
O Use the past participle w/ helping verbs
have, has, or had
O TALKED (Have Talked, Has Talked, Had
Talked)
Practice
Chapter 10
Exercise 9
(page 120)
Subject-Verb Agreement
O Basically, a singular subject must have a
singular verb; and a plural subject must
have a plural verb.
O Examples
O Sue Ellen works in a grocery store during the
summer months.
O My brothers go fishing every Saturday.
O Problems occur when you have special
situations such as those that follow.
Subject and Verb Separated by
a Word Group
O Sometimes one or more words may come
between the subject and verb. When this
situation occurs, find your “true” subject and
ignore the words between it and your verb.
O Examples
O The box of books is missing from the work
room.
O Mr. Garrett, along with his sons, runs the
dairy.
Two Singular Verbs
O Two singular subjects joined by and need a
plural verb.
O Examples
O My cat and my dog are going to the vet this
afternoon.
O Sandra and Francis shop at Publix.
Subjects with each and every
O When each or every precedes a subject, the
subject is singular and requires a singular
verb.
O Examples
O Every plate and glass in the cupboard is
broken.
O Each of the plants needs water to survive.
Indefinite Pronouns
O Examples: anyone, everyone, nobody,
anybody, something, everything (see page
162 for complete list)
O Memorize these words! Some seem plural,
so common sense won’t cut it!
O Tip: they’re the -one, -thing, and -body words
+ each, either, neither
O Always take a singular verb
Subjects with or, either-or,
neither-nor
O Singular subjects joined by or, either-or, or
neither-nor take singular verbs.
O Examples
O Neither Betty nor Wilma understands the
problem.
O An orange or a grapefruit is a healthy snack.
One singular subject and one
plural subject
O When or, either-or, or neither-nor is used,
then the verb must agree with the subject
closer to it.
O Examples
O Either Mike or the Greens go to the church on
the corner.
O Either the Greens or Mike goes to the church
on the corner.
One singular subject and one
plural subject, cont.
O HINT: The sentence has a much smoother
flow if the plural subject is the one closer to
the verb.
Collective nouns as subjects
O A collective noun is
singular in form but
stands for groups or
collections of people
or things.
O My English class is
taking a test.
O Our family is going on
vacation.
Collective nouns, cont.
O Sometimes a collective noun is referring to
the individual members within a group. In
this case, then a plural noun may be used.
O The jury are undecided about the verdict.
O Since this format is often awkward, you may
want to change the sentence for better flow.
O The jury members are undecided about the
verdict.
Verbs preceding subjects
O Usually, sentences that fall into this category
will begin with here, there, how, what, and
where. With such sentences, the verb must
agree with the subject that follows it.
O Here is the house I told you about.
O Where are the children going in such a hurry?
Practice
Chapter 13
All Exercises