Unit 1(Meeting 1)

Agreement
Subject Verb

The basic concept of subject verb agreement is that verbs must agree in person and in
number with their subjects.

Rules for Subject verb Agreement: Singular Subjects

1. When the following words are used as subjects, they are always singular. Some of these
words are plural in meaning, but they always require singular verbs.
Everyone Someone Anyone No one Each
Everybody Somebody Anybody Nobody Either
everything something anything nothing neither
Examples:
Neither of these books is very new.
Everyone is here.
Every man and woman is eligible to vote.

2. Introductory it is singular and always followed by a singular verb.

Examples:
It is his grades that worry him.
It was the dogs which awakened me.

3. Words that come between a subject and its verb do not change the number of the subject.
Prepositional phrases often have this position. Examples:
In addition to
Along with
The man together with his ten children is leaving soon.
As well as
4. There, here and where are never subjects (except in a sentence like this one!). When a
sentence begins with one of these words, the subject comes after the verb. Examples:
There are no dogs in this neighborhood.
Here is the money.

Rules for Subject verb Agreement: Plural Subjects

5. Subjects joined by and or both and take a plural verb (but see rule 2).
Examples:
A red Honda and a blue Ford are parked outside.
Both Tigers and elephants are becoming extinct.
6. Several, many, both, few are plural words and always take a plural verb.
Examples:
 Only a few have passed the exam.
Both are going to attend Dian Nuswantoro University.
7. Some nouns are always plural in form and always take plural verbs.
Clothes: trousers, pants, jeans, sunglasses
Abstract: riches, thanks, means
Tools: scissors, pliers, tweezers

Rules for Subject Verb Agreement: Alternatives

8. When subjects are joined by the following structures, the verb must agree with the closer
subject. Examples:
Neither the students nor the teacher is allowed to smoke.
Either the teacher or the students have your books.

9. When none, all, some any, majority, half, etc are followed by a prepositional phrase, the
number of the object of the preposition will determine whether the words are singular or
plural. Examples:
All of the book has been destroyed.
All of the books have been thrown away.

10. The expression a number of is plural, and the expression the number of is singular.
Examples:
A number of students were missing from class.
The number of Mexican students in class is small.

11. Expressions stating one amount of time, money, weight, volume, etc, are plural in form but
take a singular verb. Examples:
Two weeks is enough time for a nice vacation.
Ten extra pounds is a lot to lose in a week.

12. Some words are always plural in form but singular in meaning. These words require
singular verbs. Examples:
The news was very shocking.
Mathematics is a fun subject.

13. Titles of books and movies, even if plural in form, take singular verbs.
Examples:
Star Wars was a good movie.
The New York Times is a good newspaper.

14. Collective nouns are usually singular, but may be plural if the members are functioning
independently. Some of these words are class, team, police, committee, audience, family,
faculty, etc. Examples:
 That class has its final test on Friday.
The class are working on their individual projects today.

Rules for Subject Verb Agreement: Nationality

15. Nouns for nationality that end with ese, -ch or sh may be singular or plural depending
on their meaning. Some of these words are Chinese, French, English, etc. When the word
refers to a language, it takes a singular verb. When the word refers to the people of the
country, it takes a plural verb and is preceded by the article the. Examples:
French is a romance language.
The French are romantic.

Exercise 1

Directions: Put a check (V) beside correct sentences and an X beside incorrect
sentences, and correct the mistakes.

1. ( ) Every student want to pass the test.

2. ( ) It was the children who broke the windows.
3. ( ) Each fruit and vegetable were organically grown.
4. ( ) The president together with his assistants has left for Washington.
5. ( ) A box of books as well as a large suitcase are under the bed.
6. ( ) When the bell rang, a few were still working on the test.
7. ( ) All the cookies is gone.
8. ( ) That pair of Dior Sunglasses must have cost a lot of money.
9. ( ) there were extra copies of The New York Times in all the offices.
10. ( ) German measles cause red spots on the chest and arms .
11. ( ) Two thousand dollars is a lot for him to pay for tuition.
12. ( ) The family is fighting among themselves constantly.
13. ( ) The committee is ready to make its recommendations public.
14. ( ) These bacteria is being studied by university scientists.
15. ( ) English is spoken all over the world.
16. ( ) A grey and white car are parked outside the building.
17. ( ) Outside the door stands several rosebushes.
18. ( ) From time to time even the healthiest individual need to have a
complete physical examination.
19. ( ) Sound and Sense were written for college students just beginning
serious study of poetry.
20. ( ) It is still the women who bears the burden of household chores.

Exercise 2

Choose the letter of the word or group of words that best completes the sentence.

1. Mark Twain ___________ the years after the Civil War the Gilded Age.
A. called
B. calling
C. he called
D. his calls
2. Early ___________ toes instead of hooves on their feet.
A. horses
B. had horses
C. horses had
D. horses having
3. _____________ grow close to the ground in the short Arctic summer.
A. Above tundra plants
B. Tundra plants
C. Tundra plants are found
D. For Tundra plants
4. In 1867, __________ Alaska from the Russians for $ 7,2 million.
A. purchased the United States
B. to purchase the United States
C. the United States purchase of
D. the United States purchased
5. The large carotid artery _______________ to the main parts of the brain.
A. carrying blood
B. blood is carried
C. carries blood
D. blood carries
 Unit 2 (Meeting 1)
Agreement
Pronoun and Possessive Adjective

Pronouns and possessive adjectives must agree with their antecedents, the nouns they refer
to.

Remember!
1. Use plural verbs with both and, and not only but also.
2. Use singular or plural verbs with either or, and neither nor, depending on the nouns
nearer the verbs.
3. The verb should agree with the subject, not with phrases such as together with, in addition
to, including, as well as that come between the subject and the verb.

Exercise 1
Directions: Put a check (V) beside correct sentences and an X beside incorrect sentences, and
correct the mistakes.
1. ______ In the U.S. Federal government, having a number of representatives depends on
the population of each state.
2. ______ Both his house and his ranch have to be rebuilt.
3. ______ Both mountains and hills covers most of Japan, making it a country of great
beauty.
4. ______ Either excessive production of bilirubin or reduced discharge of bile result in
jaundice.
5. ______ The hotel rate for a double room, including complementary breakfast, is $75.
6. _______ The clarinet, as well as the saxophone, are one of the principle reed instruments of
jazz.
7. _______ Many boys admit that he is reluctant to tidy their rooms.
8. _______ Since the monumental buildings in Greece are so solidly built, they can only be
destroyed by fire, earthquake, or an enemy attack.
9. _______ Longshore drift, as well as wave damage, is the primary problem of beach and
shore erosion.
10. _______ Crime statistics, although it is often incomplete and may be misleading, give an
indication of the extent of juvenile crime
Exercise 2
Choose the letter of the underlined word or group of words that is not correct.

_____ 1. Nobody know when the process of glass-making was invented.

A B C D
_____ 2. Sugars like glucose is made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms.
A B C D
_____ 3. Part of the electricity used in the United States today come from
A B C
hydroelectric sources.
D
_____ 4. The languages of the world presents a vast array of structural similarities
A B C
and differences.
D
_____ 5. The rise of multinationals have resulted in agreat deal of legal ambiguity
A B
because multinationals can operate in so many jurisdictions.
C D
_____ 6. All of the east-west interstate highways in the United States has even
A
numbers, while north-south interstate highways are odd-numbered.
B C D
_____ 7. When a massive star in the large Magellanic Cloud exploded in 1987, a
A B
wave of neutrinos were detected on Earth.
C D
_____ 8. Some of the agricultural practices used today is responsible for fostering
A B C D
cerrtification.
_____ 9. Every open space in the targeted area that has grass and a few bushes are
A B C
occupied by the with-crowned sparrow.
D
_____ 10. Krakatoa is remembered as the volcano that put so much ash into the air
A B
that sunsets around the world was effected for two years afterward.
C D