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Agreement: Singular or Plural


Objectives

Agreement relates to the concepts of singularity and plurality. In English, changes in the base form of a verb must 'agree' with the subject (sometimes referred to as the 'S-V' principle), depending on whether the subject of the verb is singular or plural. For example, we say

              'he/she/everyone/it goes..'. but 'all the children go...'

              'Society is intolerant of crime' but 'Societies around the world are intolerant of crime'.

When editing your writing, check for agreement, paying close attention to subjects, verbs, and pronouns. Agreement between subjects and verbs and between pronouns and their antecedents (previous word or words they refer to) is important for coherent writing, as well as for style and grammar.

 

In this unit, we will examine agreement in these contexts:

•   subject-verb agreement with:

  •  two or more nouns
  •  collective nouns (group nouns)
  •  quantifiers 

•   pronoun-antecedent agreement

•   parallel structures

•   special cases

 

Try the Quiz and test your knowledge and use of this principle.

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