SUBJECT-VERB CONCORD

LECTURER:
MR. JONATHAN ESSUMAN
 INTRODUCTION

 You already know what ‘subject’ and ‘verb’

are in a sentence.
 ‘Subject’ is a noun or pronoun and
 ‘verb’ represents the action or state of being
 ‘subject verb concord/agreement’ then
means that the subject and verb in a sentence
should agree or match, otherwise the
sentence will not sound right.
 RULE 1: Subject and Verb Concord

 The verb and Subject in a sentence must

agree in number (singular or plural)
 Singular Subject – singular verb
 Plural subject – plural verb.

For example:
 She goes to school on Mondays
 They go to school on Mondays
 Rule 2: Subject and Object Concord

 When the word everybody or everyone is used,

the object must be singular and not plural.

 For example:

 Everybody knows his or her name,

NOT
 Everybody knows their name.
 Rule 3: The Principle of Proximity

 Basically, this is the principle that states when

there is a list of nouns or pronouns at the level
of the subject, meaning that it is the nearest
noun or pronoun to the position of the verb
that will determine the choice of the verb
 For example;
 If Helena fails her examination this
year, her teachers, her parents, her
friends, or Kelvin is to be blame.
 Rule 4: Either or Neither Concord

 When either or neither joins two singular nouns,

the following verb should be Singular.

 For example;

 Either Francis or Comfort knows (not

know) me.
 Either Beatrice or her friends know me.
 Rule 5: Co-ordinate Concord

 When two subjects are joined by the

conjunction ‘and’, the verb to be used should
be plural.

 For example;

 James and John are here.

 Elizabeth and Johnson know me.
 Rule 6: Parenthesis:

 The parenthesis statement is an additional

statement to what has already been said.
 For example;
 The teacher, not her students is in the
class.
 The correct answer is because (not her
students) is just parenthesis, and
parenthesis has nothing to do with choosing
the verb.
 Rule 7: A Pair of Concord

 When “a pair of” is used, the verb must be

singular.

 For example:
 A pair of scissors lies on the table.
 Rule 8: Indefinite Pronoun Concord

 When words like: everybody, everything,

everyone, everywhere, no one, nothing,
nobody, nowhere, something, someone,
somebody, anyone, anything, anybody, and
anywhere are used, you should use a
Singular verb

 For example;
 Everybody likes him.
 Rule 9: Relative Concord

 When who, whose, which and that refers to a

previously mentioned noun or pronoun, such will be
a Relative noun

 For example;
 One of the farmers who plant on the farm
has been asked to withdraw.
 Rule 10: Accompaniment Concord

 When words like: as much as, alongside, as

well as, together with, no less than, in
association with, including, like, with, and in
collaboration with, etc are used, the subject of
the clause would be the noun and pronoun that
comes before the marker of accompaniment.
 For example;
 Mary, as well as her friends, is
beautiful.
 Rule 11: Mandative Subjunctive Concord

 When prayer, suggestion, wish,

demand, recommendation is used in a
sentence, then the verb that follows
must be plural, regardless if the subject
is singular or plural.
 For example;
 It has been suggested that he go
away.
 Rule 12: Pluralia Tantrums

 Pluralia tantrums are nouns that come in plural

forms. Some of these words have final “s”, while
some do not. However, whenever any of the
following forms appear, it must be followed by a
singular verb.

 For example;

 The series of incidents makes me shudder.

 The means of transport hastens traveling.
 Rule 13: Categorization Concord

 When a collective name, denoting category is used,

the verb to be used must be plural.
 Categories like: the poor, the rich, the wealthy, the
successful, the gifted, the weak, the handicapped,
the helpless, and so forth.

 For example:
 The poor need help from the government.
 The young are disobedient.
 Rule 14: Plural Number Concord

 When amount or unit is mentioned in a

statement, then the next verb must be
singular.

 For example;
 Three yards of cloth is not
enough.
 Rule 15: Every + Plural Number Concord

 When every precedes a plural, the next

verb is plural.

 For example;
 Every ten liters of oil bought
come with a bonus of an extra
liter.
 Rule 16: All Concord

 When all appears, it means either everything or all the

people. When all means everything, the verb to be used
should be Singular but when all means all the people, the
verb to be used should be plural.
 For example:
 All are already seated in the hall.
 All is well with me.
 When all but is used, the following verb should be plural
 For example;
 All but Rita are on the bus.
 Rule 17: Notional Concord

 Refers to an agreement of verbs with their subjects and

pronouns with their antecedent nouns on the basis of
meaning rather than grammatical form.
 One common Notional Concord is collective noun: a noun
that stands for many units that constitute that single word.
 whenever you use a collective noun, the verb that follows
must be a plural verb

 For example:
Club: is a collective noun for members, so, we can also
say, members of this association.
 Our club meet ones in a week.
 CONT’D.

 However, in some situations, a singular verb goes with

a collective noun. Here is the principle;

 If the collective noun performs an action, a plural

verb follows, but if not, a singular verb follows.

 Our Club is celebrating its twentieth

anniversary today. (no action)

 Our Club are going on a vacation tomorrow.

(going is the action)
THANK YOU