[LEGWRIT] Grammar Rules

8/10/2019 [LEGWRIT] Grammar Rules

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Rule 1.A subject will come before a phrase beginning with of. This is a key rule for understanding subjects. The word ofisthe culprit in many, perhaps most, subject-verb mistakes.

Hasty writers, speakers, readers, and listeners might miss the all-too-common mistake in the following sentence:

Incorrect:A bouquet of yellow roses lend color and fragrance to the room.

Correct:A bouquet of yellow roses lends. . . (bouquet lends, not roses lend)

Rule 2.Two singular subjects connected by or, either/or, orneither/norrequire a singular verb.Examples:

My aunt or my uncle isarriving by train today.

Neither Juan nor Carmen isavailable.

Either Kiana or Casey ishelping today with stage decorations.

Rule 3.The verb in an or, either/or,or neither/nor sentence agrees with the noun or pronoun closest to it (the verb).

Examples:

Neither the plates nor the serving bowl goes on that shelf.

Neither the serving bowl nor the plates go on that shelf.

This rule can lead to bumps in the road. For example, if Iis one of two (or more) subjects, it could lead to this odd sentence:

Awkward:Neither she, my friends, nor I am going to the festival.

If possible, it's best to reword such grammatically correct but awkward sentences.

Better:Neither she, I, nor my friends are going to the festival.ORShe, my friends, and I are not going to the festival.

Rule 4.As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected by and.

Example:A car and a bike are my means of transportation.

But note these exceptions:

Exceptions:

Breaking and entering is against the law.

The bed and breakfast was charming.In those sentences, breaking and enteringand bed and breakfastare compound nouns.

Rule 5.Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by such words as along with, as well as, besides, not,etc. Thesewords and phrases are not part of the subject. Ignore them and use a singular verb when the subject is singular.

Examples:

The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly.

Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking.

Rule 6.With words that indicate portionsa lot, a majority, some, all,etc.Rule 1 given earlier is reversed, and we are

guided by the noun after of. If the noun after ofis singular, use a singular verb. If it is plural, use a plural verb.Examples:

A lot of thepie has disappeared.

A lot of thepieshave disappeared.

A third of the cityis unemployed.

A third of thepeopleare unemployed.

All of thepieis gone.

All of thepiesare gone.

Some of thepieis missing.

Some of thepiesare missing.

NOTE

In recent years, the SAT testing service has considered noneto be strictly singular. However, according to Merriam-Webster'sDictionary of English Usage: "Clearly nonehas been both singular and plural since Old English and still is. The notion that it issingular only is a myth of unknown origin that appears to have arisen in the 19th century. If in context it seems like a singularto you, use a singular verb; if it seems like a plural, use a plural verb. Both are acceptable beyond serious criticism."When noneis clearly intended to mean "not one," it is followed by a singular verb.


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Rule 7.In sentences beginning with hereor there,the true subject follows the verb.

Examples:

There are four hurdles to jump.

There is a high hurdle to jump.

Here are the keys.NOTE:

The word there's, a contraction of there is, leads to bad habits in informal sentences like There's a lot of people here today,

because it's easier to say "there's" than "there are." Take care never to use there'swith a plural subject.

Rule 8.Use a singular verb with distances, periods of time, sums of money, etc., when considered as a unit.Examples:Three miles istoo far to walk.Five years isthe maximum sentence for that offense.Ten dollars isa high price to pay.BUTTen dollars (i.e., dollar bills) werescattered on the floor.

Rule 9.Some collective nouns, such as family, couple, staff, audience, etc., may take either a singular or a plural verb,depending on their use in the sentence.

Examples:

The staff is in a meeting.

Staff is acting as a unit.

The couple disagree about disciplining their child.

The couple refers to two people who are acting as individuals.

NOTEAnyone who uses a plural verb with a collective noun must take care to be accurateand also consistent. It must not be donecarelessly. The following is the sort of flawed sentence one sees and hears a lot these days:

The staff is deciding how they want to vote.Careful speakers and writers would avoid assigning the singular isand the plural they to staffin the same sentence.

Consistent:The staff aredeciding how theywant to vote.Rewriting such sentences is recommended whenever possible. The preceding sentence would read even better as:

The staff members are deciding how they want to vote.

Rule 10.The word werereplaces wasin sentences that express a wish or are contrary to fact:

Example:If Joe werehere, you'd be sorry.Shouldn't Joebe followed by was, not were, given that Joeis singular? But Joe isn't actually here, so we say were, not was.The sentence demonstrates the subjunctive mood, which is used to express things that are hypothetical, wishful, imaginary,or factually contradictory. The subjunctive mood pairs singular subjects with what we usually think of as plural verbs.

Examples:I wish it wereFriday.

She requested that he raisehis hand.

In the first example, a wishful statement, not a fact, is being expressed; therefore, were, which we usually think of as a pluralverb, is used with the singular subject I.

Normally, he raisewould sound terrible to us. However, in the second example, where a request is being expressed, thesubjunctive mood is correct.

Note: The subjunctive mood is losing ground in spoken English but should still be used in formal speech and writing.

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When the subject follows the verb

When the subject follows the verb (especially in sentences beginning with the expletives "there is" or

"there are"), special care is needed to determine the subject and to make certain that the verb agrees

with it.

On the wall were several posters.

There are many possible candidates.


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There is only one good candidate.

When words like "each" are the subject

When used as subjects, words such as

each, either, neither another

anyone, anybody, anything

someone, somebody, something

one, everyone

everybody, everything

no one, nobody, nothing

take singular verbs.

Do not be confused by prepositional phrases which come between a subject and its verb. They do not

change the number of the subject.

Each takes her turn at rowing.

Neither likes the friends of the other.

Everyone in the fraternity has his own set of prejudices.

Each of the rowers takes her turn at rowing.

Every one of the fraternity members has his own set of prejudices.

When words like "none" are the subject

Other words such as

none, any, all

more, most, some

may take either singular or plural verbs, depending on the context.

Some of the dollar was spent.

Some of the dollars were spent.

[Note: here the prepositional phrase does affect the subject. It tells you whether you are talking about a part of onething (singular) or about a number of things (plural).]

When the subjects are joined by "and"

Subjects joined by "and" take plural verbs.

Be aware: phrases such as "in addition to," "as well as," and "along with" do not mean the same thing

as "and." When inserted between the subject and the verb, these phrases do not change the number of

the subject.

Both Tom and Jane have English 167 papers due on Tuesday.

Tom, as well as Jane, has an English 207 paper due Tuesday.

When singular subjects are joined by words like "or"

Singular subjects joined by "or," "nor," "either . . . or," or "neither. . . nor" take a singular verb.

Either the man or his wife knows the truth of the matter.

Neither money nor power was important any longer.


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When one subject is singular and one plural

If one subject is singular and one is plural, the verb agrees with the nearer subject.

Neither the television nor the radios work.

Neither the radios nor the television works.

When a linking verb is used

A linking verb ("is," "are," "was," "were," "seem" and others) agrees with its subject, not its

complement.

Joe's favorite dessert is blueberry muffins.

Blueberry muffins are Joe's favorite dessert.

When a collective noun is used

When regarded as a unit, collective nouns, as well as noun phrases denoting quantity, take singular

verbs.

The whole family is active.

(Family is a collective noun regarded as a unit.)

The family have met their various obligations.

(The individuals of the family are regarded separately.)

A thousand bushels is a good yield.

(a quantity or unit)

A thousand bushels were crated.

(individual bushels)

When a relative pronoun is used as a subject of an adjective clause

A relative pronoun ("who," "which," or "that") used as a subject of an adjective clause takes either a

singular or plural verb in order to agree with its antecedent.

A vegetable that contains DDT can be harmful.

(Adjective clause modifying the singular noun "vegetable.")

Vegetables that contain DDT can be harmful.

(Adjective clause modifying the plural noun "vegetables.")

Mary is one of the students who have done honor to the college.

(Adjective clause modifies the plural noun "students." "Students" is the antecedent of "who."

In the above sentence Mary is just one of the students. So at least two students have done honor to

the college.

Compare that to:

Mary is the only one of our students who has achieved national recognition.

In this case, "one," not "students," is the antecedent of "who."


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Compare to the sentence above:

Of all our students, Mary is the only one who has achieved national recognition.

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What Are the Rules?

1. Subjects andverbsmust agree in number. This is the cornerstone rule that forms the background of theconcept.

The dog growlswhen he is angry. The dogs growlwhen they are angry.

2. Dont get confused by the words that come between the subject and verb; they do not affect agreement.

The dog, who is chewing on my jeans, isusually very good.

3.Prepositional phrasesbetween the subject and verb usually do not affect agreement.

The colorsof the rainbow arebeautiful.

4. When sentences start with there or here, the subject will always be placed after the verb, so care needs tobe taken to identify it correctly.

There isa problem with the balance sheet. Here arethe papers you requested.

5. Subjects don't always come before verbs in questions. Make sure you accurately identify the subject beforedeciding on the proper verb form to use.

Does Leftyusually eatgrass? Where arethepiecesof this puzzle.

6. If two subjects are joined by and, they typically require a plural verb form.

The cow and the pig are jumpingover the moon.

7. The verb is singular if the two subjects separated by andrefer to the same person or thing.

Red beans and rice ismy mom's favorite dish.

8. If one of the words each, every, or nocomes before the subject, the verb is singular.

No smoking or drinking isallowed. Every man and woman isrequired to check in.

9. If the subjects are both singular and are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/butalsothe verb is singular.

Jessica or Christian isto blame for the accident.

10. The only time when the object of the preposition factors into the decision of plural or singular verb forms iswhen noun and pronoun subjects like some, half, none, more, all, etc. are followed by a prepositional phrase. Inthese sentences, theobjectof the preposition determines the form of the verb.

All of the chickenis gone. All of the chickensare gone.

11. The singular verb form is usually used for units of measurement or time.

Four quarts of oil wasrequired to get the car running.

12. If the subjects are both plural and are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor, either/or, and not only/butalso, the verb is plural.

Dogs and cats areboth available at the pound.

13. If one subject is singular and one plural and the words are connected by the words or, nor, neither/nor,either/or, and not only/but also, you use the verb form of the subject that is nearest the verb.

Either thebears or thelion has escaped from the zoo.Neither thelion nor thebears have escaped from the zoo.
http://www.yourdictionary.com/library/grammar/parts-of-speech/verbs.htmlhttp://www.yourdictionary.com/library/grammar/parts-of-speech/verbs.htmlhttp://www.yourdictionary.com/library/grammar/parts-of-speech/verbs.htmlhttp://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/prepositions/Prepositional-Phrases.htmlhttp://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/prepositions/Prepositional-Phrases.htmlhttp://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/prepositions/Prepositional-Phrases.htmlhttp://education.yourdictionary.com/for-teachers/Grammar-Identify-Objects.htmlhttp://education.yourdictionary.com/for-teachers/Grammar-Identify-Objects.htmlhttp://education.yourdictionary.com/for-teachers/Grammar-Identify-Objects.htmlhttp://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/prepositions/Prepositional-Phrases.htmlhttp://www.yourdictionary.com/library/grammar/parts-of-speech/verbs.html


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14. Indefinite pronouns typically take singular verbs. *

Everybody wantsto be loved.

15. * Except for thepronouns(few, many, several, both, all, some) that always take the plural form.

Few wereleft alive after the flood.

16. If two infinitives are separated by andthey take the plural form of the verb.

To walk and to chew gum requiregreat skill.

17. Whengerundsare used as the subject of a sentence, they take the singular verb form of the verb; but, when

they are linked by and, they take the plural form.

Standingin the water wasa bad idea. Swimmingin the ocean andplaying drums aremy hobbies.

18. Collective nouns like herd, senate, class, crowd, etc. usually take a singular verb form.

The herdis stampeding.

19. Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as singular and take a singular verb.

The Burbs isa movie starring Tom Hanks.

20. Final RuleRemember, only the subject affects the verb!
http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/pronouns/what-is-a-pronoun.htmlhttp://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/pronouns/what-is-a-pronoun.htmlhttp://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/pronouns/what-is-a-pronoun.htmlhttp://www.yourdictionary.com/gerundhttp://www.yourdictionary.com/gerundhttp://www.yourdictionary.com/gerundhttp://www.yourdictionary.com/gerundhttp://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/pronouns/what-is-a-pronoun.html

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[LEGWRIT] Grammar Rules