SENTENCE CORRECTION RULES

1. What is Subject-Verb Agreement?

A simple subject-verb agreement definition implies that the subject of the sentence and the verb
of the sentence must be in agreement in number.

Let’s take an example to understand this concept.

Example 1: The dog is playing with his ball.

In this case, the subject of the sentence is ‘dog’ and the verb used is singular in nature, ‘is
playing’.

Example 2: The dogs are playing with their ball.

In this case, the subject of the sentence is ‘dogs’ and the verb used is plural in nature, ‘are
playing’.

Subject-Verb Agreement Rules

Let’s explore a series of subject-verb agreement rules required to ace questions based on
Sentence Correction.

RULE 1: When two subjects are joined by ‘and’, the verb is plural.

For example: My friend and his mother are in town.

RULE 2: When two singular nouns joined by ‘and’ refer to the same person or thing, the verb is
singular.
For example: The captain and coach of the team has been sacked.

In case these were two different individuals, two articles need to be used: The captain and the
coach of the team have been sacked.

RULE 3: Indefinite pronouns (everyone, each one, someone, somebody, no one, nobody,
anyone, anybody etc.) are always singular.

For example: Everyone is selfish.

We do not use 'are' in this sentence.

This rule does not apply to: few, many, several, both, all, some.

RULE 4: When the percentage or a part of something is mentioned with plural meaning the
plural verb is used.

For example: 40 of every 100 children are malnourished.

RULE 5: When the subjects joined by ‘either or’ or ‘neither nor’ are of different persons, the
verb will agree in person and number with the noun nearest to it.

For example: Neither you nor your dogs know how to behave.

Either of the books is fine for MAT preparation.

Always remember that, when either and neither are used as pronouns, they are treated as
singular and always take the singular verb.

RULE 6: If connectives/appositives like along with, together with, as well as, accompanied by
etc. are used to combine two subjects, the verb agrees with the subject mentioned first.

For example: Mr. Ram, accompanied by his wife Sita and his brother, was banished to the forest.

RULE 7: A number of/ the number or

‘A number of (some countable noun)’ is always plural. ‘The number of (some countable noun)’
is always singular.

For example: A number of students are going on the trip.

RULE 8: The singular verb form is usually used for units of measurement or time.

For example: Five gallons of oil was required to get the engine running.

RULE 9: When any of ‘few, many, several, both, all, some’ is used with a countable noun, the
verb is plural.

For example: Some men are needed for the battle.

RULE 10: When any of ‘few, many, several, both, all, some’ is used with an uncountable noun,
the verb is singular.
For example: Some milk is spoilt.

Subject-Verb agreement is essential to make sure that a sentence is grammatically correct. Thus,
the above ten basic rules can help you to master subject-verb agreement.
Subject-Verb Agreement: Advanced Tricks
Trick 1: Some indefinite pronouns are considered singular and require singular verb
forms.
The following is the list of indefinite pronouns: anyone, anybody, anything, No one, nobody,
nothing, someone, somebody, something, everyone, everybody, everything, whatever and
whoever.
Example: Everyone wants to watch the movie. (Notice the singular verb 'wants' in this case).
A sentence which uses 'want' in the plural form is: Ram and Sham want to the movie.
Trick 2: Five indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural, depending on the usage.

Which are these pronouns? These are the SANAM pronouns: Some, Any, None, All, More /
Most. You can use this handy mnemonic, SANAM, to keep this in mind.
Now the important thing is the basis on which we decide whether the noun is singular or plural.
There is one simple rule that is followed here:
 If the noun is a countable noun (nouns for which the plural form exists), then the verb is
plural.
 If the noun is an uncountable noun (nouns for which only the singular forms exists), then
the verb is singular.
Let's take up some example sentences to understand how this works.
Examples using Countable Nouns:
Sentence 1: Some of the girls are going out.
Sentence 2: Most of the glasses were broken.
We can see in both these cases that the nouns are plural in nature (girls and glasses) and therefore
the verb is plural in nature (are and were). Now let's take up the example of uncountable nouns.
Examples using Uncountable Nouns:
Sentence 1: Some water is needed.
Sentence 2: Most of the money was lost.
In this case, we can see that water and money are uncountable nouns (these cannot be counted
and the plural form does not exist for these words). Considering this, the verbs are singular in
nature.
Trick 3: After many/a great many/a good many, etc., the noun is always plural, which is
followed by a plural verb.
Example: A great many girls are following fashion trends these days. (Here the plural noun 'girls'
is followed by the plural verb are.)
Trick 4: After 'a number of/a large number', the noun and verb in the sentence are
always plural.
Example: A number of soldiers have lost their lives on the border. (Here the noun 'soldiers' is
used in the plural form and the verb 'have lost' is also plural in nature.)
Trick 5: After 'the number', the noun is plural but the verb is singular.
Example: The number of soldiers at the border is large.
This time, even though the noun soldiers is plural, the verb in the sentence ,'is', is singular in
nature. The reason for this is that we are referring to a singular number in this case.
Trick 6: Collective nouns may take either a singular or a plural verb, depending on their
use in the sentence.
If collective nouns are acting as a unit, use a singular verb. If the sentence implies that the
individual members are taking up different actions, we use a plural verb.
Before we understand this rule, let's understand what collective nouns are. Collective noun is the
name we give to a group of nouns to refer to them as one entity. Some examples for collective
nouns are:
 A class of students.
 An army of soldiers.
Now that you know what collective nouns are, let's take two sentences to understand how they
operate.
Sentence 1: The committee is discussing the issue of safety in the neighborhood.
Sentence 2: The committee are disagreeing on the issue on the installing street lamps.
We can see from the above examples that even though we have used the same collective noun,
we end up using a different verb. The reason for this is very simple. In the first sentence, the
collective action of the collective noun is the same; there is no division among the members of
the collective noun. In the second case, this is not so. There is agreement and the members of the
collective noun have different actions.
Trick 7: Some words, such as news, measles, mumps, physics, etc. are extremely deceptive.
They end in -s and appear to be plural but are really singular and require singular verbs.
Examples:
 The news from across the border is not encouraging.
 Physics is a fascinating subject.
We can see that each of these uses a singular verb.
Trick 8: The verb in the subjunctive mood always takes the plural verb, even if the subject
is singular in nature.
The plural verb 'were' replaces 'was' in sentences that express an unfulfilled wish, desire or
condition. These sentences are build using if, as if, as though, I wish, etc.
The obvious question in your mind should be: what is the subjunctive mood of the verb? The
subjunctive mood of the verb expresses an unfulfilled wish, desire or condition. Generally, these
sentences are built using if, as if, as though, I wish, etc. Let's take up some sentence examples to
understand this rule:
 If I were the mayor of the city, I would have done so much for the poor.
 I wish I were a king.

2. What is a Modifier?

As it is clear from the name, a modifier is a word or phrase that qualifies (modifies) or describes
a word, phrase or clause.

Types of modifiers

Adjectives: Words which modify nouns and pronouns. E.g.: The stay in the red house across the
street. In this ‘red’ is the adjective modifying the house.

Adverbs: They modify verbs, adjectives and adverbs. E.g.: This is a very good book. The boy
ran quickly. In these examples, ‘very’ and ‘quickly’ are adverbs.

Modifier phrases: There are certain phrases which modify an action or the doer of action. E.g.:
Looking at the clock, he noticed that he was late.

Common Errors in use of modifiers:

Misplaced Modifier: As the name suggests, a misplaced modifier is a modifier that is not placed
correctly. If the modifier is not placed next to the item it modifies, the sentence is not able to
convey the correct meaning and sometimes even ends up being unintentionally funny.

For Example: She wore the hat on her head, which she bought yesterday.

Did she buy the head yesterday? No, she bought the hat yesterday. Thus, the correct sentence
will be: She tried the hat which she bought yesterday, on her head.

Dangling Modifier: Dangling means hanging or unattached. In dangling modifier the item
which is modified is not attached to the modifier and is left hanging.
For Example: Waiting for the train a brick fell on my foot.

Was the brick waiting for the train? We need to add the subject here. The correct sentence will
be: While I was waiting for the train, a brick fell on my foot.

Examples of Sentence Correction:

1. She picked up the scarf and tied it around her head which was gifted by her friend.
Correct sentence: She picked up the scarf, which was gifted by her friend and tied it
around her head.
2. The boy was riding the elephant who broke his leg.
Correct sentence: The boy who broke his leg, was riding the elephant.
3. Chicken is ready to eat.
Correct sentence: Chicken is ready to be eaten.
4. I almost listened to the whole album.
Correct sentence: I listened to almost the whole album.
5. We read that Janet was married in her last letter.
Correct sentence: In her last letter, we read that Janet was married.
6. Pleased with their conduct, it was decided by her to honor them.
Correct sentence: Pleased with their conduct, she decided to honor them.

3. What is Parallel Reasoning?

If a sentence expresses many ideas that are similar to each other, they should be presented in
parallel constructions i.e. they should be in the same grammatical form, and action nouns cannot
be considered parallel. Whereas concrete nouns are specific things (e.g. rock, cup, year, tiger),
action nouns refer to actions (the pollution of ..., the rotation of ...). Simple gerunds (typing,
tying, eating, giving) are more like concrete nouns, whereas complex gerunds (the typing of ...,
the typing of ..., the eating of ..., the giving) Incorrect: I enjoy giving gifts and the giving of food
during the holidays.

Here, although "giving gifts " and "the giving of food" are both nouns, the first is a concrete
noun/simple gerund, while the latter is an action noun/complex gerund. Just reading the sentence,
you can tell why this would not be parallel.

Correct: I enjoy the giving of gifts and the giving of food during the holidays.

Correct: I enjoy giving gifts and giving food during the holidays.

Correct: I enjoy giving gifts and food during the holidays.

Note: There is a subtle difference in meaning between the first two correct sentences. The first
one implies that he personally enjoys giving things during the holidays. The second implies that
he enjoys the fact that gifts and food are given.

Also, between the second and third, the third is better because it's more concise.

Ultimately, parallel reasoning is not simply a grammatical structure but a logical structure, and
how the parallel reasoning in a sentence works is inextricably connected to the logic of the
meaning.

Sentence Correction questions:

Let’s discuss a few examples to understand the concept better.

1. Federal legislation establishing a fund for the cleanup of sites damaged by toxic chemicals
permits compensating state governments for damage to their natural resources but does not allow
claims for injury to people.

A. compensating state governments for damage to

B. compensating state governments for the damaging of (unparallel)
C. giving state governments compensation for damaging (wordy and unparallel)
D. giving compensation to state governments for the damage of (reasons are same as C)
E. the giving of compensation to state governments for damaging (reasons are same as C)

2: Many of today’s mathematicians use computers to test cases that are either too time-
consuming or involve too many variables to test manually, allowing the exploration
of theoretical issues that were impossible to test a generation ago

A. are either too time-consuming or involve too many variables to test manually, allowing
the exploration of (unparallel)
B. either take too much time or involve too many variables to be tested manually; allowing
the mathematicians to explore (wrong use of semi colon)
C. would either take too much time or involve too many variables to test manually, allowing
them to explore
D. would either be too time-consuming or would involve too many variables to test
manually; this capability allows the mathematicians to explore (wrong use of semi colon
+ unparallel)
E. take too much time or variables to test manually; this capability allows the
mathematicians to explore (wrong use of the semi colon )

4. What is Redundancy?
Redundancy means that the same data has been repeated twice, but just by using different words.
The sentences which have redundant data don’t necessarily mean are grammatically incorrect,
but they have unnecessary words, which need to be avoided at all costs.
We hear redundancies so commonly and so often that many a times we are not able to identify
them, which in turn make them tough to spot.
List of common Redundant phrases:
 Foreign imports
 Bald - headed
 Drop down
 End result
 Few in number
 Follow after
 General public
 Hurry up
 Chase after
 But yet
 Collaborate together
 Each and every
 Current status quo
 Continue on
 Blatantly obvious
 Adequate enough
 Burning fire
 Blend together
 Actual fact
 Browse through
 Join together
 Little baby
 False pretense
  First and foremost
 Free gift
 Black darkness
 Merge together
In the above phrases, more than one word is used to talk about the same thing.
Examples of Sentence correction:
1. Please combine the three departments into one.
The correct sentence would be- please combine the three departments.
“Into one” is redundant because on combining departments we will automatically get one.

5. Use of prepositions
Sometimes, prepositions need to accompany the verbs to complete the sentence. A noun affected
by such a preposition is called the object of a preposition. E.g. Stop talking about them.
(The object of the preposition about is ‘them’.)
 A preposition is generally, but not always used before the noun or pronoun. E.g.
Correct: Where did she go?
Incorrect: Where did she go to?
 The preposition ‘like’ implies "similar to". It is followed by the object of the preposition
by a subject and verb. It is better to avoid using ‘like’ when a verb is present.
Correct: He looks like his father.
Incorrect: He looks like his father does.
Correct: He looks the way his father does.
Incorrect: Do like I ask.
Correct: Do as I ask.
Incorrect: She looks like she is angry.
Correct: She looks as if she is angry.
Let’s understand the Subject-Pronoun agreement with the help of examples:
Keeping the subject-verb agreement rules in mind, go through following sentences:
1. The teacher began her lecture.
(In this case the subject of the sentence is the teacher, and since the teacher is singular,
hence the pronoun to be used with it will also be singular).
The teachers began their lecture.
(In this case the subject - the teachers is plural and hence the pronoun will also be plural.)
2. Uncle Henry travelled oversees to buy vases for her company.
(In this case the gender of the subject, changes the pronoun and hence this sentence
 is incorrect.)
The correct sentence would be:
Uncle Henry travelled oversees to buy vases for his company.
Things to keep in mind
 Remember to identify the verb before finding the subject of the sentence.
 A sentence can have more than one subject and verb.
 Infinitives are not the main verbs in the sentence.
 Sometimes, the subject is understood without being in the sentence. E.g. Please bring me
some tea. (Here, ‘you’ is an obvious subject.)