CONCORD RULES

IN ENGLISH
GNS 101
 CONCORD
• Traditionally, concord refers to the proper
relationship between adjectives and the
nouns they modify, while agreement refers to
the proper relationship between verbs and
their subjects or objects.
• However, some linguists use the terms
concord and agreement interchangeably.
• In English grammar, concord refers to an
agreement between the subject and the verb.
 The Subject
• The subject is the doer of an action or the
main element being discussed in a sentence.
• It can either be a noun, a noun phrase, a noun
clause or a pronoun.
• The subject can be singular or plural.
• A singular subject refers to one person,
animal, place, thing, and idea; while a plural
subject refers to two or more people, animals,
places etc.
• The subject must agree with the verb in
terms of person and number.
 Person
 There are three persons in English grammar and each
of them has its singular and plural forms.
→First Person: The person speaking, represented in the
subject form by the pronouns “I” (singular) and “We”
(plural).
→Second Person: The person bei ng spoken to,
represented in the subject form by “You” in both
singular and plural.
→Third Person: The person, thing or place being
spoken about, represented in the subject form by
“He/She/It” (singular) and “They” (plural).
Number
 The number of noun indicates whether the noun refers
 The Verb
• Verbs are words that show actions or states
of being.
• Verbs are the most important parts of speech
in English.
• Wi th ou t v e r b s , th e r e i s n oth i n g l i ke a
sentence.
• Verbs always come after the subject in the
sentence.
• However, this can change if the structural
arrangement of word classes changes due to
the dexterity of the writer or speaker.
As we have singular subjects and plural
subjects, we also have singular verbs and
plural verbs.
Singular verbs always end with letter "s" as
in; is, has, was, goes, comes, sings, carries,
cooks etc. while plural verbs do not end with
letter "s" as in; are, have, were, go, come, sing,
carry, cook etc.
Thus, a singular subject goes with a singular
verb while a plural subject goes with a plural
verb.
 Concord Rules in English
 Simple Subject and Verb Agreement
• A simple subject consists of only one part
which may be plural or singular. The verb and
subject must agree in number (singular or
plural) otherwise, the sentence will not be
grammatical.
 Singular subject must take a singular verb.
i. My mother (one person) cooks (singular
verb) rice daily.
ii. He (one person) is (a singular verb) very
angry often.
iii. The dog (one animal) wags (singular verb)
its tail.
A plural subject must take a plural
verb.
i. Our mothers (two or more people) cook
(plural verb) rice daily.
ii. They (two or more people) are (plural
verb) very angry often.
iii. The dogs (two or more dogs) wag (plural
verb) their tails.
 When the subject is qualified by the of-
phrase, the number of the verb agrees
with the number of the subject.
i. One of the glasses is empty. (Here, the
subject is ‘one’ and not glasses; therefore,
the verb should be ‘is’).
ii. The bouquet of red roses smells so sweet.
(Here, the subject is ‘bouquet’ and not
‘roses’; therefore, the verb should be
‘smells’)
 Compound Subject and Verb
Agreement
• A compound subject consists of two or
more parts that are joined by coordinating
conjunctions.
When the compound subject is joined
by “a nd”, a nd ea ch pa r t refers to
different units, then the plural verb is
used. E.g.
i. Tope and I are brilliant.
ii. Audu and Bala make a lot of money every
day.
 When the parts are joined by “and”,
but they refer to the same unit, then
the singular verb is used.
i. The Founder and General Manager of
Zenith Investments is around.
ii. T h e P r e s i d e n t o f t h e c o u n t r y a n d
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
arrives Abuja this evening.
 When the pa r ts o f the co m po und
s u b j e c t a r e j o i n e d b y
“or/nor/either...or/neither...nor”, then the
verb takes its number from proximity
(nearness) i.e. the part of the subject
nearer to the verb determines the number
of the verb.
i. The children or their mother is right.
ii. The mother or the children are right.
iii. Either my mother or my father pays my
school fees.
If the parts of the compound subject
are joined by “with/ together with/ more
than/ in company of/ f la nked by/ in
addition to/ escorted by/ as well as/
along with”, etc., the verb agrees with
only the first part of the subject. E.g.
i. The hunter, together with his dogs, was
seen entering the bush.
ii. The traditional rulers, accompanied by
their wives, are coming here this
afternoon.
 Collective Noun Subject and Verb
Agreement
• A collective noun is a noun that is used to
refer to a group of people, place or thing as
a u n it. E.g. family, committee, police,
parliament, etc.
W h e n t h e c o l l e c t i v e n o u n i s
representing a unit, a singular verb is
used. E.g.
i. My family is doing fine.
ii. The Commission sits every Thursday.
When the collective noun is representing
several members that make up the unit, a
plural verb is used.
i. The family have decided to come. (the
members)
ii. The Parliament are yet to arrive at a good
conclusion. (the members)
H o w e ve r, t o a vo i d c o n f u s i o n , t h e
members of may be used when plurality is
intended.
i. The members of the family have decided to
come.
 I n d e f in i t e P r o n o u n S u b j e c t a n d Ve r b
Agreement
• Indef inite pronouns are pronouns that do not
refer to a specific person, place or thing. They
refer to just anybody, anything or any place.
E.g. Everybody, somebody, nothing, many,
some, both, each, neither, etc.
Indef in ite pronouns “both/ several/
some/ many/ few” denote plural and
must be used with plural verbs. e.g.
i. Both are wrong.
ii. Several have gone bad.
iii. Many are called; few are chosen.
Indef in ite pronouns “any/ anyone/
anybody/ anything/ anywhere/ every/
e ve r y o n e / e ve r y b o d y / e ve r y t h i n g /
everywhere/ each/ no one/ nobody/
nothing, nowhere/ one/ each/ someone/
somebody/ something/ somewhere”
denote singular and must be used with
singular verbs. e.g.
i. Somebody has been arrested.
ii. No one is ready to go.
iii. Everything seems difficult at first.
 Verb agreement with a subject that contain
s "each of, one of, none of"
 A plural noun is usually used with the words
above to form the subject.
 However, the subject will be singular.
Therefore, the subject will require a singular
verb.
i. Each of the students (plural noun, but
singular subject) knows (singular verb) us.
ii. O n e of th e d oc tor s ( p l u ral n ou n , b u t
singular subject) has (singular verb) a
house in London.
iii. None of them (plural pronoun, but singular
 A g re e m e n t o f w i s h e s , p ra y e r,
recommendation, suggestion or demand
 When prayer, suggestion, recommendation,
or demand is expressed in a sentence, a
plural verb must be used with the subject no
matter if the subject is singular or plural.
i. God (singular subject) bless ( plural verb)
you.
ii. If I (one person/ singular subject) were
(plural verb) you, I would apologise to him.
 Agreement of sentences that begin with ‘here’,
‘there’
 Usually, these sentences have their true subject
following the verb, in which case the number of the
true subject determines the number of the verb used.
i. Here are the chocolates.
ii. There is a big puddle on the road.
 Subjects that include sums of money, periods of
time distances etc. (as a unit), usually take singular
verbs.
i. 500 Naira is a high price to pay.
ii. 62 years is the minimum age of retirement.
iii. 10 kilometers is too far to walk.
Agreement of subject constructed with Many
a-
When Many a- is used in the subject, it must
be used with a singular noun.
In the same vein, the verb that follows must
be singular.
i. Many a candidate (not candidates) speaks (
not speak) bad English expressions.
ii. Many a girl (not girls) is (not are) here.
The actual meaning of the statements in (i)
and (ii) above is many candidates and many
girls.
Agreement of subject constructed with A pair of-
 When a pair of is used in the subject, it must be
used with plural noun.
 However, the verb must be singular.
i. A pair of trousers (not trouser) lies on the bed.
ii. A pair of scissors is on the table.
Agreement of subject constructed with More
than-
 When more than is used in the subject, the
number of the noun that comes after it will
determine the number of the verb.
i. More than two apples are ( not is) here.
ii. More than one orange is (not are) here.
 Uncountable nouns subject and verb
agreement
• Uncountable nouns are nouns that cannot
be quantified in units and numbers.
• E.g water, information, equipment, furniture,
machinery, data, advice, wealth, etc.
• Uncountable nouns are usually regarded as
singular; therefore, they take singular verbs.
i. Water is life.
ii. The furniture in your house is expensive.
iii. Wealth is desirable by everyone.
 Pluralia tantums
 These are nouns that come in plural forms.
 Some of these words have f inal “s”, while some do
not.
However, they must be followed by singular verbs.
Pluralia tantums include:
 School Subjects: Mathematics, Economics, Civics,
Physics, Statistics etc.
 Games: Darts, Snakes and Ladders, Draughts,
Billiards, Bowls and Skittles etc.
 Diseases: Measles, Tuberculosis, Shingles, Mumps,
etc.
 Others: titles, news, series, means, and so forth.
i. Mathematics is my best subject.
Categorization noun subject and verb
agreement
• Names denoting a category (not a collective
noun) are usually plural in nature; therefore,
they must be used with plural verb.
• For example: the poor, the rich, the wealthy,
the successful, the gifted, the weak, the
young, the handicapped, the helpless etc.
i. The poor need help from the government.
ii. The young are sometimes disobedient.
iii. The weak are often left to their fates.
Questions?