Week 4: Concord – Subject-Verb Agreement

WALT: We are learning to:

1. Tell what a subject of sentence is.
2. Identify the verb of a sentence.
3. Discuss the term ‘Subject-Verb Agreement.
4. Use the appropriate verb in a given sentence.

Click on the link be watch the video.

https://youtu.be/KI6jX40WM3w
What is the subject of a sentence?
The subject of a sentence is who or what the sentence is talking about.
The subject could be a noun or pronoun.
Example:
1. Brian is a good boy.
2. Brooms are useful in the cleaning of homes.
3. The marker is the best kind of writing material.
4. She is in a bad shape.
5. Boys are always playful.

What is a Verb?
A verb is an action word or doing word.
Example:
1. The children ran along the bushy path.
2. They sang happily.
3. The trees rose high in the sky.

Some verbs do not show action.

Example:
1. We are not happy with the outcome of the meeting.
2. The participants are here for the meeting.
3. The baby is crying painfully.

It means that the subject and verb in a sentence should agree in terms
of persons and numbers. Subject-Verb Agreement is also known as
Concord.
Let’s consider some rules of concord/subject-verb agreement.
Rules of Concord
Rule 1
1. Subject-Verb Concord
When the subject in a sentence is singular, the verb should
also be singular.
Example:
a) She sings beautifully.
b) He was here yesterday.
c) The model works quite hard.

Rule 2
When the sentence has different persons separated by an ‘and’, we
should use the plural verb.
Example:
1. Jake and Misha are siblings.
2. You, Pete and I are going to the woods.

Rule 3
The nouns that are separated by an ‘and’ but refer to the same person
take a singular verb.
Example:
1. The actor and director is in the office.
2. The great poet and writer has died.
If the nouns are referring to different persons, they will have different
articles.
Example:
The actor and the director are in the office.
Rule 4
When the subject is a collective noun, we use a singular verb if
we view the noun as a whole but if we view the we view the noun as a
collection of individuals, we use plural verb.
Example:
1. The herd is moving towards the farm.
2. A number of the members of the team were absent.

Rule 5
When the subject is a collective noun, we use a singular verb if
we view the noun as a whole but if we view the noun as a collection of
individuals, we use plural verb.
Example:
1. The herd is moving towards the farm.
2. A number of the members of the team were absent.

Rule 6
When any of the following words are used, you should use a singular
verb:
Everybody, everything, everyone, everywhere, no one, nothing, nobody,
nowhere, something, someone, somebody, anyone, anything, anybody,
anywhere and each. 
Example:
1. Nothing goes ahead of the troupe of dancers.
2. Everybody likes him.
3. Everybody thinks he stole the money.
Classwork
Choose the correct option to complete the sentences below.
1. These (is, are) mine.
2. He (has, have) slept.
3. They (don’t, doesn’t) have money.
4. The people (love, loves) their president.
5. (Has, Have) the minister arrived?
6. The men (were, was) told to go home.
7. My brother and I (do, does) not like potatoes.
8. My friend (have, has) bought a new watch.
9. We usually (pray, prays) in the morning.
10. How many boys (were, was) there?

Homework
Fill in the gaps with do or does.
1. Boateng _______________ his work every day.
2. We _____________ go there every week?
3. How _____________ I go there?
Choose the correct answer to complete the sentences.
4. The people (love, loves) their resident.
5. (Has, Have) the minister arrived?
6. My friend (have, has) bought a new watch.
7. None of the boys (was, were) present.
8. (Do, Does) any of you have a pencil?
9. (Were, Was) you in the room with them?
10. The minister, with his wife, (is, are) coming to visit us.