I. Subject-Predicate Agreement. Emphasis. Inversion
Subject-Predicate Agreement
| Rule 1 | Singular subjects need singular verbs; plural subjects need plural verbs: My sister is a mathematician. My sisters are mathematicians. It was my friends who suddenly dropped in. Our only guide in the dark was the stars. |
| Rule 2 | The pronouns everyone, anyone, somebody, nobody, no one, each, every, everything, neither, either, noneare singular, so they require singular verbs: Somebody has left the bag here. Everybody is present. Each cat and dog isfed twice a day. |
| Rule 3 | The pronouns both, several, few, many +a plural noun take plural verb: Few people have come. Both clients are waiting for you. |
| Rule 4 | The pronouns allandsome+ a countable noun take plural verbs, but they are used with verbs in singular if followed by an uncountable noun: Some facts about this crime are still kept secret. All money was spent on charity. |
| Rule 5 | The pronouns who, that and which take singular verbs if they refer to a singular noun/pronoun and plural verbs if they refer to a noun/pronoun in plural: Sandra is the scientist who writes the reports. She is one of thosegirls who likeshopping. It isI who amwrong. It is you who are right. |
| Rule 6 | Subjects expressed by an infinitive phrase, a prepositional phrase, a gerundora clause take singular predicates: Learning Japanese is very difficult. What I think of it is not your business. |
| Rule 7 | The formal subject there is used with a singular verb if the real subject is singular and with a plural verb if the real subject is plural: There is a bookon the table. There are books on the table. |
| Rule 8 | Numeric expressions used as subjects take singular predicates: Four and four is eight. Ten divided by two is five. |
| Rule 9 | Expressions such as with, together with, including, accompanied by, in addition to, as well as do not change the number of the subject. If the subject is singular, the verb is too: The President with his wife is flying to Madrid next Monday. |
| Rule 10 | If two subjects are connected by the conjunction and, they are followed by a plural verb: Mary and Tom are at home. But if the subject including ‘and’ means one object, it takes a singular verb: Bread and butter is not enough for lunch. A black and white puppy is playing in the yard. |
| Rule 11 | The verb used after two subjects connected by or, either... or, neither... nor, not only... but agrees with the second subject: Not only my parents but also my sister knows about it. |
| Rule 12 | A number of + plural noun is followed by a plural verb. The number of + plural noun is followed by a singular verb: A number of employees have got retired. The number of students at this university is growing. |
| Rule 13 | After per cent we use a singular verb if the per cent phrase refers to a singular or uncountable noun and a plural verb if it refers to a plural noun: Two per cent inflation rate makes a great difference to exports. Ninety per cent of the houses need repairs. |
| Rule 14 | A singular verb is used for units of measurement: Fifteen kilometers is a long distance. Two kilos of sugaris not enough to make jam. |
| Rule 15 | Titles of books, movies, novels, etc. are treated as singular and take a singular verb: 'War and Peace' is my favourite book. |
| Rule 16 | All uncountable nouns(water, gas, etc.), personal names (Janis, etc.), geographical names (Wales, Brussels, etc.), names of sports games(cards, billiards, etc.), diseases (mumps, measles, etc.), subjects for studying and sciences (linguistics, mathematics, etc.) as well as the nouns advice, news, money, research, knowledge, applause, hairare always singular, so they take singular verbs: Measles is a dangerous disease. Your advice was useful. The noun hair can be used with either a singular or plural verb in the meaning ‘волос’: There is a hair in my soup. There are two hairs in my soup. |
| Rule 17 | The nouns sheep, deer, fish, trout, salmon, aircraft, means, species have one and the same form for singular and plural, so they can take both singular and plural verbs: There is a sheep in the field. There are two sheep in the field. |
| Rule 18 | Names of toolsconsisting of two parts (scissors, tweezers, etc.), clothes (trousers, tights, etc.), some geographical names (the Bahama s, etc.), groups of people(the young, the rich, the disabled, etc.), some other nouns (arms, contents, goods, suburbs, stairs, whereabouts, customs, etc.) and the noun police take plural verbs: Where are my trousers? There are a lot of goods in this supermarket. The police have been following the thief for an hour. |
| Rule 19 | Collective nouns (army, group, club, class, family, jury, opposition, crowd, orchestra, committee, team, university, etc.) are used with a singular verb if the focus is on a unit and a plural verb if the focus is on a collection of individuals: The committee usually raise their hands to vote. The school is to open next year. |
Task 1. Distribute the nouns/pronouns and the expressions given below in the appropriate column. Some nouns may refer to the both columns:
everybody stairs knowledge all
a number of people orchestra none
clothes the elderly fish and chips few
hair 2% of postgraduates police advice
mumps neither of workers many members cards
| used with singular verbs | used with plural verbs |
| ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. | ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. ……………………. |
Task 2. Complete the following sentences with a singular or plural form of the verb in brackets. Use the present tenses only:
1. Knowledge ___________ (be) everything you need to reach your goal.
2. _______ everybody ___________ (follow) me now?
3. My children’s clothes __________ (need) washing.
4. There ________ (be) two blonde hairs on your jacket.
5. Her hair _______ (be) so beautiful.
6. Neither of workers _____________ (complain) about working conditions yet.
7. Fish and chips ________ (be) my favourite food.
8. The police _____ still _________ (follow) the criminal.
9. Your advice __________ (seem) to have helped Kevin.
10. Nowadays people _____________ (become) more closed.
11. Be careful! The stairs __________ (be) too steep.
12. Recently a number of witnesses ___________ (be) called in evidence.
13. The elderly often ________ (lack) warmth and attention of their children.
14. 2% of postgraduates of this university ________ (be) involved in this programme.
15. None of us __________ (be) ready to take responsibility.
16. Cards _________ (be) their favourite game.
17. All the information _______ (be) kept secret.
18. Mumps __________ (be) an acute viral disease.
19. All the strikers _____________ (live) in tents for already three days.
20. Few doctors __________ (be) afraid of blood.
21. The orchestra __________ (perform) classical concerts every Saturday.
22. The orchestra ________ just _______ (raise) their buttons to start the concert.
23. _______ (be) there many members in the committee?
Task 3. Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the verbs given below. The verbs can be used more than once. Use active or passive of present or past tenses:
