Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Materi Bhs Ing
Materi Bhs Ing
Agreement
Subject Verb
The basic concept of subject verb agreement is that verbs must agree in person and in
number with their subjects.
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.
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.
Exercise 1
Directions: Put a check (V) beside correct sentences and an X beside incorrect
sentences, and correct the mistakes.
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.