Parts Of Speech

Person - Number
Subject- Verb
Agreement
Sentence Structure = SYNTAX
• Word Order:
• The general structure of a sentence or the order of words in a sentence
is Subject (S) + verb (V) + object (O). Remember that a sentence should
always have a subject and predicate and that the sentence usually
starts with a subject.

Eg. Ram (S) goes (V) to school (O).

In other words, Subject = doer of the action

Verb = the action word
Object = receiver of the action
• RULE 1 OF Subject-Verb Agreement
If the Subject is Singular, the Verb is Singular.
If the Subject is Plural, the Verb is Plural.

For any word to become a Subject, it has to be a Noun or Pronoun.

Therefore, in a sentence, if the Noun/Pronoun is Singular, then the
Verb must be Singular, and if the Noun/Pronoun is Plural, then the Verb
must be Plural.
Which Parts of Speech can take plurals?
• Nouns

• Pronouns

• Verbs
A PLURAL in NOUN is a SINGULAR in
VERB !!!!
• Noun + -s/-es/-ies  Plural
• Eg. Dog+ -s = dogs
• Bus + -es = busses
• Baby + -ies = babies
• Tooth = teeth ; child= children

• Verb + -s/-es/-ies Singular

• agree+ -s = agrees
• go + -es = goes
• Envy + -ies = envies
• 1. The boy wish/ wishes to attend the seminar.

• 2. The students of the class do/ does the work on time.

• 3. It is/are impossible to do the work in such a short period.

• 4. They have/has not completed the work.

• Note:

• Subject Singular - Verb Singular

• Subject Plural - Verb Plural

• You - both Singular and Plural

• You go/goes to school everyday.

• Be it singular or plural, You always take a plural verb.

I WAS OR I WERE? WHICH IS RIGHT?
• I was/were ?
I Singular
Was  Singular
Were  PLURAL

• I was absent.

• But, ‘I’ agrees with were in imaginary sentences.

• If I was/were a bird, I would fly.

 FIND THE ERRORS
• The monsoon have, in the past five days, retreated from most parts of the
country.

• a. In the past five days

• b. Retreated from most parts

• c. The monsoon have

• d. No error question
• All the professor of this college are provided with free quarters.
a. All the professor of this college
b. All the professors of this colleges
c. No improvement
d. All the professors of this college
Rule 2
• Ensure that the Verb agrees with the Main Subject and the Qualifier.

• A Qualifier is a modifier that gives extra information about the Main

Subject.
 Subject Compliment/
Qualifier
A Subject Compliment/ Qualifier is that which gives extra information
about the subject.

• He is a teacher.
• She is a singer.
• The knowledge of languages is/are important.
• I as a teacher of English is/am teaching English.
• The decoration of the room is/are beautiful.
• The decoration of the rooms is/are beautiful.
Rule 3
• A fraction, ratio, or percentage can never become a Subject, instead,
the noun after the preposition becomes one.

• One-third of the pillar has/have rotted away.

• One-third of the pillars has/have rotted away.
• Two-thirds of the pillars has/ have rotted away.
• Two-thirds of the pillar has/have rotted away.
• Twenty percent of the students was/were absent.
Rule 4
• Sentences with indefinite pronouns such as anybody, anyone, no one,
somebody, someone, everybody, everyone, nothing, and nobody are
considered singular subjects and will therefore use a singular verb.
• Nobody has/have understood anything.
• Everyone was/were happy with the result.
• No one finds the movie interesting.
Rule 5
• Compound subjects
• Sometimes two or more subjects are linked to one verb. These are
called compound subjects. To decide whether to use a singular or
plural verb, consider how the subjects are linked.
• Subjects linked with “and”
• When subjects are linked with and, use a plural verb.
• A bicycle and a pedestrian were involved.
The goose and the chickens eat early in the morning.
• Exception: When the two nouns don’t refer to separate things but to
a single entity, use a singular verb.
• The new bed and breakfast opens this week.
Macaroni and cheese is a delicious meal.
• Subjects linked with “or”
• When singular subjects are linked with or, either…
or, nor, neither…nor, use a singular verb.
• Just a card or a balloon is enough.
Either the measurement or the calculation has created a
problem.
• If all the subjects are plural, use a plural verb.
• Either the measurements or the calculations have
created a problem.
• If the compound subject contains both singular and
plural nouns, the verb takes the form of the closest
subject.
Rule 6
When the Subject refers to a period of time, distance, or a sum of
money, use a singular verb.
• 1806 kilometers is/are too long for us to travel in half a day.
• 10 years is/are not considered optimum to go on the water slide.
• Don’t you think 1000 rupees is/are a little too much for a portrait?
Rule 7
When a sentence begins with ‘each’ or ‘every’ as the Subject, it is
considered singular, so the verb must be singular too.
• Each student has/have been asked to provide a consent letter.
• Every teacher, parent, and student is /are expected to work together.
• Each Monday he buy/buys a kilo of apples.
Rule 8
• A collective noun is a name for a group of people or things
such as "family," "class," "pack," "bouquet," "pair," and "flock."
Collective nouns usually take a singular verb, because they are
singular in construction, but they sometimes take a plural
verb.
• Use a singular verb when the group members act together as a
unit.
• The family is driving across the country this summer.
• The couple eats out once a month.
• The herd usually stays together.
• The jury has reached a decision.
• A litter of kittens was born in the shelter.
Collective Noun and Plural Verb

Use a plural verb when the members of the group are

acting as individuals.
•The family are each doing a different chore.
•The couple are taking separate cars to work today.
•The jury were allowed to go home to their families
each day.
•A litter of kittens have been running around the
shelter making messes.
Exceptions
• The plural verbs in the second set of examples may sound
odd to some native speakers. In cases such as those,
when you are unsure of whether to use a singular or plural
verb, you can add "members of" before the collective
noun, and then use a plural verb because "members" is
plural.
• The members of the family are each doing a separate
chore.
• The members of the jury were allowed to go home to their
families each day.
Rule 9
• Countable nouns, as the term suggests, refer to things
that can be counted.
• They have singular and plural forms.
• E.g.
• table, tables; month, months; pen, pens.
• A countable noun becomes plural by adding s at the
end of the word.Of course, there are exceptions –
• E.g.
• man, men; child, children; goose, geese.
• In contrast, uncountable nouns cannot be counted.
They have a singular form and do not have a plural
form – you can’t add an ‘-s’ to it.
E.g., dirt, rice, information, and hair.
• Some uncountable nouns are abstract nouns such as
advice and knowledge.
E.g.
• Her jewelry is designed by a well-known celebrity.
• I needed some advice, so I went to see the counselor.
Exceptions
• Some nouns can be countable or uncountable
depending on the context or situation.
• E.g.
• We’ll have two coffees (countable).
• I don’t like coffee (uncountable).
Rule 10
• There are words such as scissors, shambles, tongs, archives, wages,
spectacles, pants, trousers, bellows, alms, etc. which are used only in
the plural form and take plural verbs with them.
• Example:
• Do you have scissors?
• Where are my spectacles?
• Could you pass on those tongs?
• He bought new pants and trousers.
Rule 11
• Some nouns which look singular but are plural in meaning take plural
verbs with them. A few examples of such words are Police, gentry,
clergy, people, children, cattle, infantry, etc.
Example:
• Police were patrolling near my house last night.
• At least 10 people were killed in the car crash.
Rule 12
• Nouns such as news, mathematics, ethics, economics, shingles,
mumps, rickets, billiards, darts, etc. are singular in meaning but are
plural in form and take a singular verb with them.
Example:
• Mumps is a viral infection that affects saliva-producing glands. (Here a
singular verb-is is used with the noun-mumps.)
• Billiards is a game that is popular not just in England but around the
world. (Here a singular verb-is is used with the noun-billiards.)
• NOTE:
Words such as mathematics, statistics, and economics when used as
principles, or a system, take plural verbs with them. Example:
• Organic farmers are in business, so the economics are not ignored,
but all these other issues are also considered important. (Here the
noun-economics means the condition of a region or a group, and thus
it takes a plural verb-are after it.)
Words such as mathematics, statistics, and economics when used as
the name of a subject, take singular verbs with them.
• Mathematics is her favorite subject.
• Statistics is an interesting subject.