AGREEMENTCan’t we all just get along?

TODAY’S AGENDAAim: How can we make our subjects agree with their verbs and our pronouns agree with their antecedents?

Homework: Look through your Into the Wild essay and correct any errors of subject-verb agreement and pronoun-antecedent agreement.

At the end of this grammar unit, after revising your essay for particular grammatical errors each night as homework, you will resubmit your essays on turnitin.com for a 50-point quiz grade. You will be graded only on these grammar rules. I will deduct one point per error.

A true story from Ms. Gallin’s life

With my goggles tightly fastened and my feet secure in giant flippers, I plunge into the turquoise waters of Key West. I flash Mom a smile, my teeth reflecting the sun’s rays. Surrounded by small, speckled fish, I skim the surface until I come across a huge, scary-looking barracuda, apparently sound asleep. How wonderful, I marvel, to be so close to a sea monster and yet without fear. Suddenly, the creature’s eyes open. Within seconds, I am standing upright on the sand, trying to jump into Mom’s arms as she simultaneously tries to jump into mine.

Now you try it!Write your own narrative (a

paragraph) about something that happened to you. Use the first-person point of view (I or we).

AgreementSome words in English have

matching forms to show grammatical relationships. Forms that match in this way are said to agree.

We’re going to look at two types of agreement today:◦Subject-verb agreement◦Pronoun-antecedent agreement

Agreement of Subject and Verb(adapted from Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition)The subject (the person or thing

doing the action) can be singular or plural.◦SINGULAR – book, child, this, either,

he, she, it◦PLURAL – books, children, these,

both, they

The verb (the action) agrees with its subject in number.◦SINGULAR – A young woman lives

next door.◦PLURAL – Young women live next

door.

Agreement of Subject and Verb(adapted from Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition)Don’t let intervening phrases fool

you!◦The performance was very funny.◦The performance of the first three clowns

was very funny.Singular subjects followed by

phrases beginning with together with, as well as, in addition to, and accompanied by take singular verbs. ◦The captain, as well as the coaches, was

proud of the team.

Agreement of Subject and Verb(adapted from Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition)Underline the subject and verb in each sentence; then decide whether they agree. If not, change the verb to make it agree with the subject.1. The cause of heartbeats has been a subject of

continuous inquiry in the medical community.2. The heartbeat, as well as other factors, cause

blood to flow throughout the body.3. Alan and others has shown that the control of

the nervous system is not linked to the beating of the heart.

4. All strips of muscle in the heart is capable of rhythmic action.

5. The power to trigger contractions differs from part to part of the heart, however.

A true story from Ms. Gallin’s life

What do you notice about the snorkeling passage? Who was the subject in most of

the sentences? What were the endings of the

verbs in those sentences?

My story: take twoWith her goggles tightly fastened and her feet secure in giant flippers, she plunges into the turquoise waters of Key West. She flashes her mother a smile, her teeth reflecting the sun’s rays. Surrounded by small, speckled fish, she skims the surface until she comes across a huge, scary-looking barracuda, apparently sound asleep. How wonderful, she marvels, to be so close to a sea monster and yet without fear. Suddenly, the creature’s eyes open. Within seconds, she is standing upright on the sand, trying to jump into her mother’s arms as she simultaneously tries to jump into hers.

Now you try it!Rewrite your own narrative using

the third-person point of view (he, she, it, or they).

Agreement of Subject and Verb(adapted from Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition)Indefinite pronouns can be tricky

to match to a verb.◦SINGULAR – each, either, neither,

one, no one, every one, anyone, someone, everyone, anybody, somebody, everybody

◦PLURAL – both, few, several, many◦SOMETIMES SINGULAR, SOMETIMES

PLURAL – some, any, none, all

Agreement of Subject and Verb(adapted from Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition)Underline the subject and verb in each sentence; then decide whether they agree. If not, change the verb to make it agree with the subject.1. Each of the pictures were in a silver frame.2. Everyone wants to be happy.3. One of my friends plays the tuba.4. Both of your excuses sound plausible.5. All of the fruit looks ripe.6. All of the cherries looks ripe.7. Has any of this evidence been presented?8. Have any of my friends called me?9. None of the evidence point to his guilt.10. None of our students was involved.

Agreement of Subject and Verb(adapted from Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition)

Compound subjects: Subjects joined by and take a plural

verb.◦ A horse and an elephant are mammals.

Subjects joined by or or nor take a singular verb.

◦ My brother or my sister is likely to be at home.

◦ Neither the president of the company nor the sales manager is a college graduate.

Agreement of Subject and Verb(adapted from Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition)

Compound subjects: What if a singular subject and a

plural subject are joined by or or nor?

◦ WRONG – Either the judge or the lawyers is wrong.

◦ ACCEPTABLE – Either the judge or the lawyers are wrong.

◦ BETTER – Either the judge is wrong or the lawyers are.

Agreement of Subject and Verb(adapted from Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition)The same rules apply when the

subject follows the verb:◦There are three routes you can take.

NOT: There’s three routes you can take.◦Where are your mother and father?

NOT: Where’s your mother and father?

Agreement of Subject and Verb(adapted from Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition)Collective nouns may be singular OR

plural, depending on whether the speaker is thinking of the individual members of the group or of the group as a unit:◦The team were talking over some new plays.◦The team was ranked first in the nation.◦The family have agreed among themselves

to share one car.◦The family is the basic unit of our society.◦The class is cancelled today.◦The class are talkative today.

Agreement of Subject and Verb(adapted from Warriner’s English Grammar and Composition)

Some exceptions:◦Ten dollars is not enough.◦The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was

published in 1884.◦The United States remains the leader of the

Western bloc. ◦Measles is a disease to take seriously.◦World economics bears directly on world peace.◦Every man, woman, and child was asked to

contribute.◦Many a college student wishes to return to the

easy days of high school.◦A number of volunteers are signing up right now.