Ch Agreement Ch Agreement © CENGAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Opening Activity For each sentence below, determine the correct form of the verb in parentheses. 1. Ayunde’s family knows he _____ not a morning person. (is/are) 2. Ayunde, unlike his sister, prefers to ______ in the afternoon. (sleep/sleeps) 3. Ayunde and his sister _______ their father would not play the drums early in the morning. (wish/wishes) © CENGAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Answers For each sentence below, determine the correct form of the verb in parentheses. 1. Ayunde’s family knows he is not a morning person. 2. Ayunde, unlike his sister, prefers to sleep in the afternoon. 3. Ayunde and his sister wish their father would not play the drums early in the morning. © CENGAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Learning Outcomes By the time you finish reading and studying this chapter, you should be able to: Recognize and correctly use ◦LO1 Subject-Verb Agreement ◦LO2 Agreement with Compound Subjects ◦LO3 Agreement with I and you ◦L04 Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns ◦L05 Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement ◦L06 Other Pronoun Problems © CENGAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Subject-Verb Agreement A verb must agree in number with the subject of the sentence. To make most verbs singular, add just an s. run—runs write—writes stay—stays The verbs do and go are made singular by adding an es. do—does go—goes © CENGAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Subject-Verb Agreement When a verb ends in ch, sh, x, or z, make it singular by adding es. latch—latches wish—wishes fix—fixes buzz—buzzes When a verb ends in a consonant followed by a y, change the y to i and add es. try—tries fly—flies cry—cries quantify—quantifies © CENGAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Agreement with Compound Subjects When a sentence has two or more subjects joined by and, the verb should be plural. Angelina and Catherine paint with watercolors. When a sentence has two or more subjects joined by or or nor, the verb should agree with the last subject. Neither Angelina nor Catherine paints with watercolors. © CENGAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Agreement with I and You The pronouns I and you usually take plural verbs, even though they are singular. However, I takes the singular verbs am and was. © CENGAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns Indefinite pronoun - a special type of pronoun that does not refer to a specific person or thing Singular indefinite pronouns take singular verbs. Each of us cooks several pies this weekend. Everyone judges which pie is best. Plural indefinite pronouns take plural verbs. Both of us look for the car key. Many of our friends know we lose things often. © CENGAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement A pronoun must agree in person, number, and gender with its antecedent. (The antecedent is the word the pronoun refers to or replaces.) © CENGAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Other Pronoun Problems Missing Antecedent - If no clear antecedent is provided, the reader doesn’t know what or whom the pronoun refers to. At the party, they did not sit on the white furniture. (Who is they?) Vague Pronoun - If the pronoun could refer to two or more words, the passage is ambiguous. Janie told Kikki that her barrette was lost. (Does her refer to Janie or Kikki?) © CENGAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Other Pronoun Problems Double Subject - If a pronoun is used right after the subject, an error called a double subject occurs. Kennedy, he was a great orator. (INCORRECT) Kennedy was a great orator. (CORRECT) Incorrect Case - Personal pronouns can function as subjects, objects, or possessives. If the wrong case is used, an error occurs. Them are excellent spellers. (INCORRECT) They are excellent spellers. (CORRECT) © CENGAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Closing Activity For each blank below, identify the pronoun that agrees with the underlined word or words. 1. Dougie wrote his essay on his laptop and ______ will turn it in on Monday. (he/him/they/their) 2. Dougie and Evan will write their group essay together during _______ class Monday. (he/him/they/their) 3. Dougie, not Evan, will bring ____ laptop to class on Monday. (he/him/they/their) © CENGAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Answers For each blank below, identify the pronoun that agrees with the underlined word or words. 1. Dougie wrote his essay on his laptop and he will turn it in on Monday. 2. Dougie and Evan will write their group essay together during their class Monday. 3. Dougie, not Evan, will bring his laptop to class on Monday. © CENGAGE LEARNING. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.