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Parts of Speech
Parts of Speech
Verb
To identify the verb in a sentence, ask
yourself "what is the action?" or "what is
being done here?" In some sentences, though,
the verb is a "state of being." The verb "to
be" in all its forms is an example of this.
RULES FOR SUBJECT – VERB AGREEMENT
Subject Verb
Singular Subject
Singular Verb (s / es)
Plural Subject
Plural Verb ( are, were,
have)
The pronoun “I” is a plural
Plural Verb ( are, do, have,
subject
were)
The pronoun “You” is a
Plural Verb (are, do, have,
plural subject
were)
Singular Subject - each,
These words take a singular
neither, every
verb
Some Basic Rules
Pay Attention To This
Treat most indefinite pronouns as singular. – Indefinite
pronouns are pronouns that do not refer to specific persons or
things.
The following commonly used indefinite pronouns are
singular: anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody,
everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, somebody,
someone, something.
Everyone on the team supports the coach.
Each of the furrows has been seeded.
Everybody who signed up for the ski trip was taking
lessons.
A few indefinite pronouns (all, any, none,
some) may be singular or plural depending on
the noun or pronoun they refer to.
Some of our luggage was lost.
None of his advice makes sense.
Some of the rocks are slippery.
None of the eggs were broken.
Note: When the meaning of none is
emphatically “not one,” none may be treated
as singular.
Treat collective nouns as singular unless the
meaning is clearly plural.
Collective nouns such as jury, committee,
audience, crowd, class, troop, family and couple.
Usually, a class or a group is generally treated as
singular. s
The class respects the teacher.
Occasionally, when there is some reason to draw
attention to the individual members of the group, a
collective noun may be treated as plural.
The class are debating among themselves.
We have examined some of the crucial rules.
Continue to revise and practise. Remember
this is crucial for your writing.