agreement: agreement: subject-verb agreement pronoun antecedent agreement
TRANSCRIPT
Agreement:Agreement:Subject-Verb Agreement
Pronoun Antecedent Agreement
Pronoun- Antecedent Agreement
FILL IN THE BLANK:
1. The student should put _____binder on the desk.
A) his or her
B) their
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2. The clerk is on the way to ______house.
A) his or her
B) their
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3. The teacher is eating _______lunch.
A) his or her
B) their
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4. The doctor is examining ______patient.
A) his or her
B) their
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5. The lawyer is reviewing _______case.
A) his or her
B) their
The following pronouns are SINGULAR:
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6. Each of the students _____ purchased new books.
A) has
B) have
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7. Each of the boys tore up_____ old notes.
A) his
B) their
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8. Neither of the girls _____going to the party.
A) is
B) are
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9. Either of the girls can bring _____IPOD to the gym.
A) her
B) their
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10. Nobody here is going to _____ house after school today.
A) his or her
B) their
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11. One of the students left ______history book in my class.
A) his or her
B) their
Answers
1-11: A12: B13: A
SINGULAR OR PLURAL?
SINGULAR: each, either, neither, one, no one, nobody, nothing, anyone, anybody, anything, someone, somebody, everyone, everybody, everything, every
PLURAL: several, few, both, many
EITHER SINGULAR OR PLURAL: some, any, none, all, most
EITHER SINGULAR OR PLURAL: some, any, none, all, most
All of the jewelry is in the safe. singular
All of the necklaces are in the safe. plural
None of the chocolate is here. singular
None of the books are here. plural
Two subjects joined by AND
Compound subjects joined by and always take a plural referent.
Example:
Two Subjects Joined by Or/Nor
With compound subjects joined by or/nor, the referent pronoun agrees with the antecedent closer to the pronoun.
Example #1 (plural antecedent closer to pronoun):
With compound subjects joined by or/nor, the referent pronoun
agrees with the antecedent closer to the pronoun.
Example #2 (singular antecedent closer to pronoun):
12. Neither the president nor the senators ___
on vacation.A) isB) are
13. Neither the senators nor the president ___on vacation.
A) isB) are
Collective Nouns
Collective Nouns may be singular oror plural, depending on their meaning in a sentence.
Singular—Function as a unit
Plural—Function as separate entities
Army
Assembly
Audience
Class
Club
Family
Fleet
Flock
Group
Herd
Jury
Public
Swarm
Faculty
Staff
In this example, the jurythe jury is acting as one unit; therefore, the referent pronoun is singular.
In this example, the jury members act as individual members rather than as a unit; therefore, the referent pronoun is plural.
EXAMPLE: The jury are still arguing among themselves.
plural plural
Jury is a collective noun.
Single or Plural?
Amounts
An expression of an amount (a measurement, a percentage, or a fraction, for example) may be singular or plural depending on how it’s used in the sentence.
Thirty dollars is too much for a concert ticket. (A word or phrase stating an amount is singular when the amount is thought of as a unit.)
Five dollars are scattered all over the floor. (Sometimes, however, the amount is thought of as individual pieces or parts. If so, )
Amounts (continued)
Three fourths of the pizza isis gone.Of these songs, three fourths areare new.
Two hours isis a long time to wait.Two hours—one before school and one
after—areare all I have for practice.
When the Subject Follows the Verb
Here is a list of addresses.Here are two lists of addresses.
There is my notebook.There are my notebooks.
Where is Heather? Where is Chris?Where are Heather and Chris?
Words that End in ‘S”
SINGULAR:Politics is a controversial topic.The news of the nominee was a surprise.Rickets is a serious health problem in
some countries. PLURAL:The scissors need to be sharpened.They Olympics are on television.
TitlesTitles Of Creative Works, Names Of Organizations, Names Of Cities And Countries Are Usually SINGULARSINGULAR
The Souls of Black Folk is often cited as a classic of African American literature.
“Greensleeves” is an old English folk song.
The United Nations was founded in 1945.
White Plains is home to several colleges.
Subjects preceded by “every” or “many a” take a singularsingular verb
Every homeowner and storekeeper has joined the cleanup drive sponsored by the town council.
Many a litterbug was surprised by the stiff fines.