Subject-verb Concord

Introduction: Concord, also termed “agreement”, can be defined as “the relationship between two grammatical units such that one of them displays a particular feature (e.g. plurality) that accords with a displayed (or semantically implicit) feature in the other. ” (Quirk et al., 1985:755) Concord refers to the agreement relationship between two grammatical units.

Subject-verb concord The most important type of the concord The number agreement between the subject and the verb

1. Guiding principles Grammatical concord Notional concord proximity

Grammatical concord The Verb must match its subject both in person and number. Singular subjects take singular verbs, and plural subjects take plural verbs. e.g. Each boy has his own book. Two girls were standing on the corner. Much effort is wasted.

Notional concord: agreement in meaning The verb can sometimes agree with the subject according to the notion of number rather than to the actual presence of the grammatical marker of that notion. e.g. Fifteen miles seems like a long walk to me. The government have asked the country to decide by a vote.

Proximity The verb agree with a closely preceding noun phrase in preference to with the head of the noun phrase that functions as subject. The verb should agree with the closer of the two subjects. e.g. Either you or I am responsible for the mistake. No one except his own supporters agree with him.

Brief summary of the three principles The grammatical concord is the basic principle, and generally applies to formal English. The other two, on the other hand, play an auxiliary role in informal English. Usually grammatical concord and notional concord coincide. Problems often arise when the grammatical concord comes into the conflict with the other two.

2. Problems of concord with collective nouns as subject Collective nouns are singular in form but plural in meaning. The choice between grammatical and notional concord is mostly governed by usage.

2.1 Collective nouns used as plural They include people, police, cattle, poultry, vermin etc. e.g. The police are searching for the murderer. Domestic cattle provide us with milk, beef and hides. Poultry are less expensive in rural areas.

2.2 Collective nouns used as Singular They include foliage, machinery, furniture, jewelry, merchandise, etc. e.g. All the machinery in that country is made in China. Jewelry is no longer a mark of wealth.

2.3 Collective nouns used either as plural or as singular They include army, audience, family, team, committee, class, etc. The choice of the verb form depends on the exact meaning of the noun in a specific context. when the noun is used as a whole, the verb takes the singular form. If the noun is used as the individuals that make the collective, the verb takes the plural form.

e.g. The audience is requested to remain seated during the intermission. The audience are listening to a Beethoven symphony. The class are busy taking notes. The class is a modal one.

3. Problems of concord with nouns ending in -s The regular plural is formed by adding –s or –es to the base. Quite a few nouns ending in –s are uncountable. Some are treated as singular, some as plural, and some either as singular or as plural.

3.1 Disease and game names ending in –s They are mostly treated as singular. e.g. Mumps is a kind of infectious disease. Generally, measles occurs in children.

3.2 Subject names ending in –ics They are generally singular nouns, but some are treated as plural when used in other senses. e.g. Mathematics is the study of numbers. His mathematics are not good.

3.3 Geographical names ending in –s They are usually used as plural except a few country names.. e.g. The Himalayas have a magnificent variety of plant and animal life. The West Indies are commonly divided into two parts.

The United Nations was founded in 1945. * The United States is a country of people with varied origins. The United Nations was founded in 1945.

3.4 other nouns ending in –s Names for things made of two parts such as scissors, glasses, trousers, shorts, etc. are used as plural. His trousers are torn. Nouns usually taking plural endings such as arms, clothes, contents, goods, etc. are used as plurals. High wages often result in high prices.

4. Problems of concord with a coordinate subject 4.1 Coordination with “and” or “both… and” It is usually treated as plural when it refers to two or more persons/things, but as singular when it refers to only one person or thing. e.g. Peter and Bob are deadly rivals. Both John and his son have gone fishing.

*The poet and musician visits our school today. Ham and egg is a good breakfast. Every boy and every girl was asked to complete the form.

4.2 coordination with “or”/ “either… or”, “nor”/ “neither… nor”, “not only… but also” It is generally dealt with according to the principle of proximity. e.g. Neither you nor your husband is responsible for the mistake. Not only the students but also their teacher has participated in the game.

4.3 subject + as well as, in addition to, together with, etc. Subjects linked by as well as, etc, normally comply with the principle of the grammatical concord. e.g. The President, as well as his advisors, was aware of the risk of the mission. The head coach, together with his team, was overjoyed when they won the NBA final.

5. Expressions of quantity as subject 5.1 Definite quantity as subject a. When it is regarded a single unit, the verb takes a singular form. Six months is too short a time. A hundred dollars is a large sum of money to a university student.

b. When it is used in the sense of the individuals, the verb takes the plural form. e.g. The first two years were quite successful. There are six dollars in his pocket.

c. “a fraction/percentage + of-phrase” as subject The verb form is determined by the noun in the of-phrase. e.g. Over 60% of the city was destroyed in the war. Two-thirds of the students are willing to take the test.

d. “one in/out of + plural noun” as subject The verb takes the singular form in formal style, but plural in informal style. e.g. One in ten students has / have failed the exam.

5.2 Indefinite quantity as subject a. “all of, some of, none of, half of + noun” as subject The verb is determined by the noun in of-phrase. e.g. Some of the money has been stolen. Half of the students are girls.

b. “a portion of, a series of, a pile of, or this kind/sort/type of, + noun” as subject The verb invariably takes the singular form. e.g. A substantial portion of the report is missing. A series of accidents has been reported.

c. “many a/more than one + noun” as subject This kind of noun phrase, though notionally plural, is treated as singular. e.g. Many a man has done his duty. More than one student has failed the exam.

6.Other problems 6.1 Nominal clauses as subject Generally, a one-clause subject takes the singular verb, and a two-clause subject, the plural verb. e.g. What caused the accident was a complete mystery. What he did and what he said are totally different. *What she wanted from him were just promises.

6.2 Non-finite clauses as subject The verb usually takes the singular form. e.g. Playing tennis is a very good exercise. To eat well is all he asks. * Singing and dancing are her favorite hobbies. To eat to live and to live to eat constitute two different attitudes towards life.

6.3 Concord in existential sentence The verb agrees with the notional subject. e.g. There is a note left on the desk. There are three routes you can take. *There is a sofa and two chairs in the room. (principle of proximity)

6.4 Concord in relative clauses a. In the construction of “one of + plural noun + relative clause”, the principle of proximity is generally preferred (especially in BE). e.g. She is one of the girls who have trouble making up their minds.

b. When one is premodified by the or the only/very , the verb can only be singular. e.g. She is the only one of her family who has trouble making up her mind.

Exercises : 1. The committee ( has, have) agreed to the proposal. 2. The suite of furniture he bought (was, were) of contemporary design. 3. The statistics on traffic accidents in this city (is, are) increasing 4. The New York Times (is, are) published daily. .

5. War and peace (is, are) a constant theme in history. 6 5. War and peace (is, are) a constant theme in history. 6. Thirty miles (seems, seem) a long walk to me. 7. Many a boy (was, were) disappointed after seeing the film. 8. There (is, are) more than one answer to the question.

9. All of the fruit (looks, look) ripe. 10 9. All of the fruit (looks, look) ripe. 10. The greater part of the valley (was, were) flooded. 11. What they want (is, are) some financial aids. 12. She is the only one of these women who never (cares, care) her look.

Assignment: 1. Read page 28-52. 2. Do the exercises 2B and 3C.

Thank you!