Agreement: Subject-Verb Agreement Pronoun Antecedent Agreement

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AgreementSubject-Verb AgreementPronoun
Antecedent Agreement
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Pronoun- Antecedent Agreement

• FILL IN THE BLANK
• 1. The student should put _____binder on the
  desk.
• his or her
• their

3

• FILL IN THE BLANK
• 2. The clerk is on the way to ______house.
• his or her
• their

4

• FILL IN THE BLANK
• 3. The teacher is eating _______lunch.
• his or her
• their

5

• FILL IN THE BLANK
• 4. The doctor is examining ______patient.
• his or her
• their

6

• FILL IN THE BLANK
• 5. The lawyer is reviewing _______case.
• his or her
• their

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The following pronouns are SINGULAR
8

• FILL IN THE BLANK
• 6. Each of the students _____ purchased new
  books.
• has
• have

9

• FILL IN THE BLANK
• 7. Each of the boys tore up_____ old notes.
• his
• their

10

• FILL IN THE BLANK
• 8. Neither of the girls _____going to the party.
• is
• are

11

• FILL IN THE BLANK
• 9. Either of the girls can bring _____IPOD to the
  gym.
• her
• their

12

• FILL IN THE BLANK
• 10. Nobody here is going to _____ house after
  school today.
• his or her
• their

13

• FILL IN THE BLANK
• 11. One of the students left ______history book
  in my class.
• his or her
• their

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Answers

• 1-11 A
• 12 B
• 13 A

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SINGULAR OR PLURAL?

• SINGULAR each, either, neither, one, no one,
  nobody, nothing, anyone, anybody, anything,
  someone, somebody, everyone, everybody,
  everything, every
• PLURAL several, few, both, many
• EITHER SINGULAR OR PLURAL some, any, none, all,
  most

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EITHER SINGULAR OR PLURAL some, any, none, all,
most

• All of the jewelry is in the safe.
• singular
• All of the necklaces are in the safe.
• plural
• None of the chocolate is here.
• singular
• None of the books are here.
• plural

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Two subjects joined by AND

• Compound subjects joined by and always take a
  plural referent.
•                    
• Example

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Two Subjects Joined by Or/Nor

• With compound subjects joined by or/nor, the
  referent pronoun agrees with the antecedent
  closer to the pronoun.
•         
• Example 1 (plural antecedent closer to pronoun)

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With compound subjects joined by or/nor, the
referent pronoun agrees with the antecedent
closer to the pronoun.

• Example 2 (singular antecedent closer to
  pronoun)
•                       

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• 12. Neither the president nor the senators ___
• on vacation.
• is
• are
• 13. Neither the senators nor the president ___on
  vacation.
• is
• are

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Collective Nouns

• Collective Nouns may be singular or plural,
  depending on their meaning in a sentence.
• SingularFunction as a unit
• PluralFunction as separate entities
•  

Army Assembly Audience Class Club Family Fleet Flock Group Herd Jury Public Swarm Faculty Staff
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Jury is a collective noun. Single or Plural?
In this example, the jury is acting as one unit
therefore, the referent pronoun is singular.
In this example, the jury members act as
individual members rather than as a unit
therefore, the referent pronoun is
plural. EXAMPLE The jury are still arguing
among themselves. plural plural
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Amounts

• An expression of an amount (a measurement, a
  percentage, or a fraction, for example) may be
  singular or plural depending on how its used in
  the sentence.
• Thirty dollars is too much for a concert ticket.
  (A word or phrase stating an amount is singular
  when the amount is thought of as a unit.)
• Five dollars are scattered all over the floor.
• (Sometimes, however, the amount is thought of as
  individual pieces or parts. If so, )

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Amounts (continued)

• Three fourths of the pizza is gone.
• Of these songs, three fourths are new.
• Two hours is a long time to wait.
• Two hoursone before school and one afterare all
  I have for practice.

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When the Subject Follows the Verb

• Here is a list of addresses.
• Here are two lists of addresses.
• There is my notebook.
• There are my notebooks.
• Where is Heather? Where is Chris?
• Where are Heather and Chris?

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Words that End in S

• SINGULAR
• Politics is a controversial topic.
• The news of the nominee was a surprise.
• Rickets is a serious health problem in some
  countries.
• PLURAL
• The scissors need to be sharpened.
• They Olympics are on television.

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Titles Of Creative Works, Names Of Organizations,
Names Of Cities And Countries Are Usually SINGULAR

• The Souls of Black Folk is often cited as a
  classic of African American literature.
• Greensleeves is an old English folk song.
• The United Nations was founded in 1945.
• White Plains is home to several colleges.

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Subjects preceded by every or many a take a
singular verb

• Every homeowner and storekeeper has joined the
  cleanup drive sponsored by the town council.
• Many a litterbug was surprised by the stiff
  fines.