Subject and Verb / Pronoun and Antecedent Chapter 5 Agreement Subject and Verb / Pronoun and Antecedent Chapter 5

Agreement Subject / Verb Pronoun / Antecedent Number Intervening Singular Plural Intervening Indefinite Compound subjects Special problems Pronoun / Antecedent Gender Person

Subject / Verb Agreement A subject must agree with a verb in number. Singular subjects take singular verbs Ex) Election Day is tomorrow. My grandfather trains dogs.

Subject / Verb Agreement Plural subjects take plural verbs Teachers are nerds. Harold and Kumar go to White Castle.

Subject / Verb Agreement Collective nouns can be singular or plural, depending on how they are used in a sentence. General Motors is holding its annual meeting in Detroit The Chicago Bears were awesome.

Subject / Verb Agreement Indefinite Pronouns Some are singular, some are plural, and some can be singular or plural, depending on how they are used.

Subject / Verb Agreement Indefinite Pronouns Singular (need to remember these): Anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, everybody, everyone, everything, neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, somebody, someone, something. Ex) Everyone in America loves tourists.

Subject / Verb Agreement The following indefinite pronouns are plural (need to remember these): Both, few, many and several Ex. Both of the chefs were Swedish.

Subject / Verb Agreement The indefinite pronouns all, any, more, most, none, and some may be singular or plural, depending on their meaning in a sentence Most of the food has already been eaten. Most of the hot dogs have already been eaten.

Subject / Verb agreement Compound Subjects Subjects joined by and usually take a plural verb Ex) Mr. Kelly and Mr. Waterman smell weird. Subjects joined by or or nor take on a singular verb Ex) Mr. Kelly or Mr. Waterman smells weird.

Subject / Verb Agreement The LEAST you need to know: Agreement means that sentence parts match Subjects must agree with verbs

Your turn Page 100 – Exercise 2: Identifying Subject and Verbs that Agree in Number

Pronoun / Antecedent Agreement A pronoun usually refers to a noun or another pronoun, which is called the pronoun’s antecedent.

Pronoun / Antecedent Agreement A pronoun must agree in number. Singular pronouns refer to singular antecedents Kung-fu star Jim Kelly made his debut in the movie Black Belt Jones. Plural pronouns refer to plural antecedents Beth and Lisa talk on their phones

Pronoun / Antecedent agreement Pronouns must agree in gender Ex) Tony eats his Frosted Flakes

Pronoun / Antecedent Agreement Pronouns must agree in person First person: I need a transcript of my grades. Second person: Have you fastened your seatbelt? Third person: They create their own dances.

Pronoun / Antecedent Agreement Indefinite Pronouns See page 111-112 for list of indefinite pronouns. You will be responsible for these.

Pronoun / Antecedent Agreement The most common of errors: When the subject is singular, use either his, her or a combination of both. WRONG: Each student completes their homework. RIGHT: Each student completes his/her homework. Each student completes his or her homework. Each student completes her homework. Each student completes his homework.

Pronoun / Antecedent Agreement The LEAST you need to know Make a pronoun clearly refer to a single antecedent Place pronouns close to their antecedents. Make a pronoun refer to a definite antecedent

Your turn Page 114 Exercise 5: Supplying Pronouns that Agree with Their Antecedent

To Study for quiz Pages 119 – 121: Chapter Review