English: Words That Agree

This is Unit Three of ACT Preparation: words that agree. Unit two placed the marks; this unit matches the words. Carry one habit. Agreement errors hide behind distance: a noun sits nearer the verb than its subject does, a pronoun stands several words from its antecedent, a tense was set two sentences back. Every repair here begins by looking past what is nearest to what governs. By the end of this part you will be able to find the real subject of a sentence and make the verb agree. To match verbs to indefinite pronouns and collective nouns. To keep a passage's tense steady and choose the right verb form. To make every pronoun point to one clear antecedent. And to choose between they and it.

Eight entries on subject and verb, and on finding the real subject however the sentence hides it.

The basic rule of agreement.

ACT 0201 A Verb Agrees With Its Subject

A verb agrees with its subject in number: a singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject a plural one. "The bird sings; the birds sing," and in the present tense the singular verb usually carries the s. The verb agrees with its subject, not with whatever noun stands nearest.

Subjects with two parts.

ACT 0202 Compound Subjects: And, Or, Nor

Subjects joined by and take a plural verb unless the parts form one unit, as in "peanut butter and jelly is my lunch." Subjects joined by or or nor take the verb that agrees with the nearer part: "neither the players nor the coach was ready."

Words that come between.

ACT 0203 Words Between Subject and Verb

Words between a subject and its verb, such as a phrase beginning with of or with, do not change the subject. In "the list of chores is long," the subject is list, not chores. Cover the phrase and read the subject and verb together; a plural noun inside the phrase is a decoy.

A verb that comes first.

ACT 0204 Verb Before Subject

In questions, in sentences beginning with there is or there are, and in inverted sentences, the verb comes before the subject and still agrees with it. "Behind the stage were a piano and a drum kit"; turned around, a piano and a drum kit were behind the stage.

Pronouns that sound plural and are not.

ACT 0205 Singular Indefinite Pronouns

Most indefinite pronouns take a singular verb: anyone, each, everyone, everybody, everything, nobody, no one, nothing, one, someone and something. "Everyone in the choir sings; each of the rooms has a window." Everyone sounds like a crowd, but grammatically it is singular.

The plural and the variable ones.

ACT 0206 Plural and Variable Indefinite Pronouns

Both, few, many, others and several take a plural verb. All, any, more, most, none and some go either way, depending on the noun they refer to: some of the cake is gone, but some of the cookies are gone. Look past of to the noun.

Nouns that name a group.

ACT 0207 Collective Nouns

A collective noun such as team, band, family, audience or crowd takes a singular verb when the group acts as one unit, the more common case: "the jury has reached a verdict." When members act individually, the anchor allows a plural, and adding members makes it unmistakable.

Finding the subject, step by step.

ACT 0208 Finding the Real Subject

In a long or turned-around sentence, cross out the phrases between subject and verb, turn the sentence around if the verb comes first, check whether the subject is compound, and for some, most, all or none look at the noun they refer to. "Along the fence there are a row of tall sunflowers and two benches": crossed out and turned around, the subject is a row and two benches, plural. "Most of the paint on the walls has dried": paint is one mass. Sunflowers and walls were decoys; the nearest noun is a guess, not a method.

Four entries on tense and verb form: one governing tense, the participle after have, and the subjunctive.

Keeping time steady.

ACT 0209 Keep the Tense Consistent

Keep one governing tense through a passage, and shift only to mark a real change in time. "She opened the door, looks around and stepped inside" slides into the present; looked restores it. "She lives in Ohio now but grew up in Maine" shifts correctly, because the time changes.

The form after have.

ACT 0210 Past Participle After Have

Irregular verbs have a past form and a separate past participle, and the participle follows has, have or had: she went home, but she has gone home; they saw it, but they had seen it. Had went and has saw are errors.

The mood of wishes and untrue conditions.

ACT 0211 Subjunctive Were

The subjunctive mood expresses a wish, a requirement, or a condition that is unlikely or untrue, and with be it uses were even where a statement of fact would use was: "if I were taller, I would play center"; "I wish she were here." In an untrue condition, if I was is the error.

Choosing the verb form, step by step.

ACT 0212 Choosing the Verb Form

Find the passage's governing tense from the verbs around the underline, ask whether the time actually changes there, and check the form: the participle after have, were in an untrue condition. In the fair passage, nothing changes time, so crowds filled the square; after had comes run; and the untrue condition takes were. The present tense is not wrong in itself; the error is the slide.

Five entries on pronouns: clear reference, agreement in number, and the choice between they and it.

A pronoun must point somewhere clear.

ACT 0213 Clear Pronoun Reference

A pronoun stands for a noun, its antecedent, and must point to one clear antecedent. It, they and you need a definite antecedent, and this and which should not point at a whole idea. "When Ana called Rosa, she was upset" leaves unclear who was upset; repair it by naming the noun.

Pronouns that match in number.

ACT 0214 Pronoun and Antecedent Agree in Number

A pronoun agrees in number with its antecedent: "the students left their bags; the library extended its hours." Collective nouns follow the verb rule: a group acting as one unit takes it, and members acting individually take they.

One person of unknown gender.

ACT 0215 Singular They for a Person

For one person whose gender is unknown or unimportant, or who prefers it, the anchor accepts singular they, them and their: "each runner should bring their own water." Where they is already doing other work, rewrite: drop the pronoun, or make the antecedent plural.

A single thing or organization.

ACT 0216 It and Its for a Company or Team

A singular antecedent that is not a person, such as a company, a school, a team acting as one, or an object, takes it and its: "the company raised its prices," not their prices. Singular they is for people; a company is one thing, so a plural pronoun for it breaks agreement.

Deciding between they and it.

ACT 0217 They or It

Find the antecedent, which may sit a sentence or more back; decide whether it is a plural noun, a single person or a single thing; then match: they for a plural, they accepted for a single person, it for a thing or an organization. "The museum reopened in May" makes its full collection right, because a museum is an organization, while "every visitor received a map" makes their copy acceptable, because a visitor is a person. The same word, their, comes out opposite ways; what the antecedent is decides it.

Look at what you can now do. You can find the real subject by crossing out phrases, turning inverted sentences around and checking compounds, and make the verb agree. You can match verbs to everyone, to some and most, and to a group acting as one unit. You can hold a passage in one tense, use the participle after have, and use were in an untrue condition. You can make each pronoun point to one clear antecedent and match it in number. And you can choose they for a person and it for a thing. Part two finishes pronouns, then turns to describing words and idioms.