* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Singular Indefinite Pronouns
Ukrainian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Comparison (grammar) wikipedia , lookup
Zulu grammar wikipedia , lookup
Modern Hebrew grammar wikipedia , lookup
Portuguese grammar wikipedia , lookup
Malay grammar wikipedia , lookup
Old Norse morphology wikipedia , lookup
Kannada grammar wikipedia , lookup
Latin syntax wikipedia , lookup
Esperanto grammar wikipedia , lookup
Modern Greek grammar wikipedia , lookup
Arabic grammar wikipedia , lookup
Ojibwe grammar wikipedia , lookup
Swedish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Literary Welsh morphology wikipedia , lookup
Yiddish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Russian declension wikipedia , lookup
Ancient Greek grammar wikipedia , lookup
Romanian nouns wikipedia , lookup
Old Irish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Old English grammar wikipedia , lookup
Lithuanian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Turkish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Latvian declension wikipedia , lookup
Udmurt grammar wikipedia , lookup
English plurals wikipedia , lookup
Pipil grammar wikipedia , lookup
Serbo-Croatian grammar wikipedia , lookup
Scottish Gaelic grammar wikipedia , lookup
Spanish grammar wikipedia , lookup
Subject-Verb Agreement When you use a verb, you must conjugate the verb in the correct form so that it agrees with the subject of the sentence. The subject is the thing that does the action. Generally, this means determining if the subject doing the action is Singular or Plural and then determining the correct form of the verb that agrees with the subject. To Run Singular: He/she runs Singular (I): I run Plural: They run To Be Singular: He/she is Singular (I): I am Plural: They are Determining the “Count” When determining whether a subject is singular or plural, you must first determine whether the object can be counted. Some things CAN and some items CANNOT. Noncount items are always SINGULAR. Noncount items would be include “rudeness” (which is always singular) because you cannot have multiple “rudes.” Countable items that contain more than one item OR are linked with the conjunction AND creates a plural subject that needs a verb conjugated in the plural. Example: The dogs and the cat are very friendly with one another. Be careful however, as there are exceptions to this rule as well as normal singular/plural conventions that we use in everyday speech. DO NOT use your ear when trying to determine whether the subject is Singular/Plural as your ear can often mislead you. Instead, use the following rules to help guide your decision. 1. Prepositional Phrase Rule A subject will NEVER be located in a prepositional phrase (a phrase beginning with a preposition). If you see a prepositional phrase, IGNORE IT when determining which form of the verb to use. Example: The Scottish Fold cat, along with the Maltese Puppies, runs along the sidewalk. *Prepositions are words that indicate location or the relationship between objects. Typically, anything that an airplane could do to a cloud is a preposition. (along, in addition to, beside, over, under, between, across, with, through, without, etc.) Subject-Verb Agreement 2. Singular Indefinite Pronouns Certain words are always singular. These subjects must use the singular form of a verb despite the fact that the plural may sound better. Again, if these are the subject the verb must ALWAYS be singular (even if there is more than one subject!) Singular Indefinite Pronouns each, either, neither anybody, anyone, anything every, everybody, everyone, everything nobody, no one, nothing somebody, someone, something Example: Everyone in the park is anticipating the snail race later on. 3. Correlative Conjunctions Correlative Conjunctions like neither… nor, either… or, not only… but contain TWO subjects because there are two parts to the sentence. When using a correlative conjunction, use the CLOSER of the two antecedents Example: Neither the dogs nor the cat is eating its meal. 4. Collective Nouns Collective Nouns are groups of things composed of members. Depending on how the members are acting, these can either be Singular or Plural. When working TOGETHER and IN UNISON, a collective noun is SINGULAR When the members are working INDEPENDENTLY, the collective noun is PLURAL 5. Quantity Rule Quantities representing a total amount (including money) are always SINGULAR. Example: Fifteen gallons of milk is all I want from the store. Fifty dollars is all I will pay for that amount of milk.