Concord (Agreement) PDF

AGREEMENT/CONCORD Rules of Agreement Subject – Verb Agreement 1. A verb must agree with its subject in person and in number. So, a singular subject requires a singular verb. Examples: i. James is studious. ii. He loves swimming in the evening. Plural subject takes plural...

AGREEMENT/CONCORD Rules of Agreement Subject – Verb Agreement 1. A verb must agree with its subject in person and in number. So, a singular subject requires a singular verb. Examples: i. James is studious. ii. He loves swimming in the evening. Plural subject takes plural verb. Examples: i. The students are studious. ii. They love swimming in the evening. There are three persons: i. First person: I/We/You/They love you. ii. Second person: You love him. You love them. iii. Third person: He/she/it/ loves them. They love him. 2. Singular subjects joined by and require a plural verb. Examples: i. The mother and her child love each other. ii. Monica and Francis are friends. iii. What I paid for and what I was given are different. 3. Some singular subjects joined by and take a singular verb because they are regarded as a unit and are used together so often. Examples: i. Rice and beans is delicious. ii. Bread and tea is good. 1  iii. Trial and error leads to success. iv. The tumult and the shooting dies shortly after the arrival of the police. v. The sum and the substance of her objection amounts to this. 4.Singular and plural subjects joined by words like; as well as, together with, no less than, along with, accompanied by, with, like, rather than, take a singular verb if the first subject is singular. Examples: i. Jonathan like all his course mates hates Zoology. ii. The chairman as well as all his councillors was not re-elected. iii. The lecturer with the students was seen in the auditorium. 5. Singular subjects joined by neither ….nor, either…or, not only…but also take a singular verb if both subjects are singular. Examples: i. Neither the lecturer nor his daughter is at home. ii. Either the man or his wife is to blame. iii. Not only Christopher but also Saidu was suspended. 6. When the subjects joined by neither…nor, either…or, not only…but also have different numbers, the verb agrees with the nearest subject. This is called proximity concord. Examples: i. Not only Aisha but also Juniad was rewarded. ii. Either the security men or the store keeper knows something about the robbery. iii. Neither the man nor his children are at home. iv. Are either my children or my wife responsible? v. It is either the lecturer or the students that are responsible. 2  7. Nouns that are plural in form but singular in meaning require singular verbs. Examples: i. The news has just been broadcast. ii. The summons was delivered by the bailiff. 8.Uncountable nouns take singular verbs. Examples: i. There is much traffic on the bridge today. ii. All the information is being processed. 9. Indefinite pronouns that are singular and uncountable take singular verbs. Examples: i. Little information is available on the cause of the conflict. ii. All the soup has gone sour. iii. Much has been said on ending corruption but little has been done. 10. Indefinite pronouns that are singular and countable require singular verbs. Examples: i. Each of the boys is required to pay a caution deposit. ii. Everybody has a right to life. iii. Neither of the robbers was convicted. iv. One of the students was given an award. Note: i. Each and one is followed by a plural noun and a singular verb. ii. The indefinite pronoun, none, can be used with either singular or plural verb. Singular verb is used in formal style while plural verb is used in informal style. E.g. i. None of the labourers has reported for work. ii. None of the 3 mangoes is ripe. 11. Indefinite pronouns that are plural require plural verbs. Examples: i. All are invited for the inauguration. ii. Several suggestions were proposed by the committee. iii. Both of them were absent. 12. Collective nouns in English can take singular or plural verb depending on the ideas of the number the speaker or writer has in mind. This is called national concord. Examples: i. The committee has/have submitted its/their report. ii. The committee does not tolerate interference. iii. The government has/have made a lot of investment in the power sector. iv. The government is responsible for security. Note: A collective known like bunch, bundle, pair, take a singular verb. E.g. i.A bunch of banana is the take away prize. ii. A bundle of old newspapers was sold for almost nothing. iii. A pair of trousers is hanging outside there. 13. Generic nouns are regarded as plural and they take plural verbs. Examples: i.The poor are usually helpless. ii. The unemployed need entrepreneurial training. iii. The blind are part of the physically challenged. 4 14. “All but” takes a plural verb. Examples: i. All but Ahmad have done their work. ii. All but a little boy were evacuated from the scene of the accident. 15. Percentage and fraction of quantity, whole number or an uncountable noun require a singular verb. Examples: i. Half of the school has been painted. (the school is singular and one whole) ii. Fifty percent of the land was put into mechanized farming. (land is singular and uncountable). iii. Three-quarters of the wedding cake was cut and shared to the guests. (cake is singular and a whole) iv. One-third of the orchard was gutted by fire. (orchard is singular and a whole) 16. Percentage or fraction of a population or a countable noun requires a plural verb. Examples: i. Half of the blocks of classrooms have been painted. (classrooms is a plural countable noun) ii. One-third of the trees in the orchard were razed down. (trees is a plural countable noun) iii. More than three-quarters of the casual labourers were laid off. (Labourers is plural countable noun) 17. “Many a” agreement. “Many a” means a large number of but it is followed by a singular noun and takes a singular verb. Examples: i. Many a student has problem with grammatical structure. 5  ii. Many a man knows how to boil rice. EXERCISE Pick the correct option form the words in bracket 1. Neither the Heads of department nor the dean (was/were) in the workshop. 2. It is you who (is/are) to blame for all these problems. 3. One of my (friends/friend) (has/have) promised to lend me the money. 4. The chairman as well as his committee members (are/is) corrupt. 5. Only about ten percent of the electorate (has/have) been registered by the electoral body. 6. A range of suggestions (was/were) given by the panel. 7. The heavy traffic in the metropolis (have/has) to be addressed urgently. 8. Each of us (has/have) to stay till the end of the meeting. 9. Not Bola but Bisi (come/comes) here regularly. Anybody who (cheat/cheats) will be punished 6