Grammar Review 2

Subject-Verb
Agreement

Subject-Verb
Agreement
Singular subjects take singular verbs
John walks.
Plural subjects take plural verbs
John and Jane walk.

SINGULAR

PLURAL

1st
person

I work

we work

2nd
person

you work

you work

3rd
person

she (he, it,

they (the
one, the
students) work
student) works

Subject-Verb
Agreement
Remember:
Subject of a sentence is never after a
preposition

Subject-Verb
Agreement
6 Special Cases

Some subjects are tricky

They look singular but are actually

plural
or
they look plural but are actually
singular

Case 1
Multiple subjects joined by or; either or;
neithernor; or notbut.
The verb agrees in number with the nearest
subject.

Case 2
Phrases beginning with words like with, as
well as, together with, in addition to,
including.
They are not part of the subject of the
sentence.

Case 3
Words ending in one, -body, -thing
When used as subjects, the words are
always singular.

Case 4
Each (of), either (of), neither (of)
Used as subjects, these take singular verbs.

Case 5
Collective Nouns = company, class,
committee, crowd, family, group, etc.
Group acting as a unit = Singular
Group acting individually = Plural

Case 6
Units of money, time, mass, length, and
distance.
These require singular verbs

Tense Consistency

Tense Consistency

In sentences and paragraphs, dont

change tense unless meaning
requires it.

If you start in the past, continue in

the past.

If you start in the present, continue in

the present.

Parallelism

Parallelism

items in a series must be written

in the same grammatical form

use adjectives with adjectives,

verbs with verbs, clauses with
clauses, etc.

Parallelism
Parallel
I like camping, fishing, and hiking.
Not Parallel
I like camping, fishing, and to hike.

Punctuation

Comma

separate items in a series of 3 or more

separate non-essential or repeated

information

between independent clauses joined

by for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
(FANBOYS)

after a word or group of words that

comes before an independent clause

COLON

after an independent clause to

introduce examples or a list

after a complete sentence to

introduce a quotation

SEMICOLON

join two independent clauses

separate items in a complex list

Combining
Sentences

Combining Sentences

connect with linking words like and,

but, or, nor, for

change one of the sentences into a

dependent clause

change one of the sentences into a

modifying phrase