AGREEMENT OF VERBS AND NOUNS OR PRONOUNS

As well as the pronouns in the previous chapter there are a number of other pronouns. Because some of these are singular and some are plural, the verb is often incorrectly used with singular pronouns. Look at the following examples:

Each of you have been given a pencil.

Each of you has been given a pencil.

The second example is correct. ‘Each’ is a singular pronoun and therefore ‘has’ should be used as it refers to one person or thing. Look at the following examples:

She (one person) has a pencil, (singular)

They (several people) have been given pencils, (plural)

Some other pronouns which are singular and should always be followed by the singular form of the verbs are: everyone, nobody, anything, something:

Everyone comes to the match.

Nobody likes her.

Anything is better than that.

Something has fallen off the desk.

Mistakes are often made with the pronoun ‘everyone’, which is singular:

Everyone has their own books.

This is incorrect. Everyone is singular. ‘Their’ and ‘books’ are plural so ‘his’ or ‘her’ and ‘book’ should be used. Following is the correct version.

Everyone has his or her own book.

Collective nouns, like singular pronouns, must always be followed by the singular form of the verb. Look at the following common mistakes:

The Government are planning a new divorce Bill.

This is incorrect. ‘Government’ is a singular noun. There is one Government. The correct version is:

The Government is planning a new divorce Bill.

Most collective nouns can, of course, be made plural by adding an ‘s’. They are then followed by the plural form of the verb.

The Governments of France and England are both democratic.

CLAUSES

A clause is the section of the sentence containing a noun or pronoun and one finite verb. You can have more than one clause in a sentence but they must be linked correctly.

Conjunctions (Connectives)

Conjunctions are words that link two parts of the sentence together. If there is more than one finite verb in a sentence, a conjunction is usually necessary to link the clauses. Look at the following example:

She was late for work she missed the train.

The above sentence is incorrect as there are two finite verbs – ‘was’ and ‘missed’ – and no punctuation mark or conjunction. A full stop or a semi-colon could be placed after train:

She missed the train. She was late for work.

or

She missed the train; she was late for work.

However, the example could be made into one sentence by the use of a conjunction. This would make a better sentence:

She missed the train so she was late for work.

or

She was late for work because she missed the train.

Both ‘so’ and ‘because’ are conjunctions and link together the two sections of the sentence. Other conjunctions are: although, when, if, while, as, before, unless, where, after, since, whether, that.

If there is only one clause in a sentence, it is a main clause. The clauses can be linked together by using conjunctions which can be placed between them as in the previous examples or they can be put at the beginning of a sentence.

Because she missed the train, she was late for work.

Notice that there is a comma after the first clause. If a sentence starts with a conjunction it must be followed by two clauses and there should be a comma between them. The clause that is introduced by the conjunction is a dependent clause because it ‘depends’ on the main clause.

Although he had been unsuccessful, he was not discouraged.

or

He was not discouraged although he had been unsuccessful.

When her daughter came to stay, she put flowers in the spare room.

or

She put flowers in the spare room when her daughter came to stay.

Look at the following:

This is the coat that I prefer.

When ‘that’ is used in this way, it can sometimes be omitted without damaging the sentence:

This is the coat I prefer.

‘That’ is ‘understood’ and does not need to be included.

‘And’ and ‘but’ are also conjunctions but they should not usually be used to start a sentence. Their place is between clauses and they join together main clauses:

I waited for two hours but she did not come.

He sat at the computer and wrote his article.

‘And’ can be used at the end of a list of main clauses.

The radio was on, the baby was banging her spoon on the table, Peter was stamping on the floor and Susan was throwing pieces of paper out of the window.

Each main clause is separated from the next by a comma; ‘and’ precedes the last clause.

‘Or’ can also be used between two clauses.

For your birthday, you may have a party or you can visit Alton Towers.

Relative pronouns

Relative pronouns have a similar function to conjunctions. They link dependent clauses to main clauses and usually follow a noun. They are the same words as the interrogative pronouns:

The house, which had once been beautiful, was now a ruin.

‘Which’ is a relative pronoun, because it and the dependent clause both follow the subject of the sentence (the house). It is placed in the middle of the main clause and commas are used to separate it. The main clause is: ‘The house . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . was now a ruin’. The dependent cause is ‘. . . . . . . . . had once been beautiful . . . . . .’.

Other relative pronouns are: who, whose, whom, which, that.

‘That’ can be either a conjunction or a relative pronoun. It depends on how it is used.

The man, who had been bitten by a dog, became very ill.

The boy, whose bike had been stolen, cried.

The player, whom I supported, lost the match.

PHRASES

A phrase is a group of words that does not contain a finite verb.

Leaping off the bus.

This is a phrase as ‘leaping’ is the present participle. There is no subject or tense.

Leaping off the bus, Sheila rushed across the road.

‘Sheila rushed across the road’ is the main clause and it could stand alone but it has been introduced by ‘leaping off the bus’ which is a phrase. When a phrase starts the sentence, it is followed by a comma as in the example. Phrases add information that is not essential to the sense of the sentence.

Mr Ransome, the retiring headmaster, made a stirring speech at his farewell dinner.

Mr Ransome is described by the phrase ‘the retiring headmaster’ but it is not essential for the sense of the sentence.

ADJECTIVES

You now have the basic ‘tools’ with which to write a variety of sentences. Some types of writing only require the ‘basics’. However, other writing needs to be more colourful. You will need to evoke atmosphere, describe vividly and paint a picture with words.

Adjectives are words that describe nouns. They add colour and flesh to your sentence. They must always be related to a noun:

He bit into the juicy apple.

‘Juicy’ is an adjective which describes the noun ‘apple’. It makes the sentence more vivid.

If there is a list of adjectives before a noun, separate them with a comma:

You are the most rude, unkind, objectionable person I have ever met.

If the list of adjectives is at the end of the clause, the last one will be preceded by ‘and’:

She was elegant, poised, self-confident and beautiful.

The participles

Both the present and the past participles can be used as adjectives:

The crying child ran to its mother. (present participle)

The howling dog kept the family awake. (present participle)

The broken doll lay on the floor. (past participle)

The wounded soldier died in hospital. (past participle)

Make sure that you use the correct participle. The present is used when the subject is doing the action. The past is used when something has been done to the noun. Look at the following:

The bullied schoolboy appeared on television. (past participle)

In the above sentence the schoolboy has been bullied. In the following sentence he is the one doing the bullying.

The bullying schoolboy appeared on television.

ADVERBS

Adverbs describe or modify verbs. They are often formed by adding ‘. . . ly’ to an adjective:

She dances beautifully.

He hastily wrote the letter.

Adverbs can also be used to modify or help other adverbs:

The doctor arrived very promptly.

‘Very’ is an adverb modifying the adverb ‘promptly’.

They can also modify adjectives:

The patient is much better today.

‘Much’ is an adverb modifying the adjective ‘better’.

Other adverbs are: too, more and however.

PREPOSITIONS

A preposition is a word that ‘governs’ a noun or pronoun and usually comes before it. It indicates the relation of the noun or pronoun to another word. In the following examples the prepositions are underlined. Notice they are all followed by a noun or pronoun.

I knew she was at home.

She ran across the road.

The clouds were massing in the sky.

Her book was under the table.

He told me about it.

There has been a tradition that a preposition should be not be placed at the end of clause or sentence but should always precede the noun or pronoun which it governs.

Who are you talking to?

should therefore be:

To whom are you talking?

‘To’ is the preposition and ‘whom’ is a relative pronoun. However, as the second example sounds very pompous, this ‘rule’ is often ignored.

Some other prepositions are: from, above, with, by, of, on, after, for, in, between.

CHECKLIST

• Conjunctions or connectives are words that link clauses together.
• If a sentence begins with a conjunction, there must be two clauses following it and they must be separated by a comma.
• Sentences should not start with ‘and’ or ‘but’.
• Relative pronouns are used to introduce a dependent clause in the middle of a main clause.
• A phrase is a group of words that does not make sense on its own.
• Phrases add extra information to the sentence.
• Adjectives describe nouns and add colour to your writing.
• They can be used singly or in a list.
• They can precede the noun or be placed after the verb, ‘to be’.
• Present and past participles can be used as adjectives.
• Adverbs modify or help verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.
• When modifying a verb, they usually end in ‘. . . ly’.
• Prepositions ‘govern’ nouns or pronouns.

EXERCISES

• 1.Correct the following sentences:
  • (a)The Government are preparing to discuss the new divorce Bill.
  • (b)That class are very noisy today.
  • (c)Everyone had done their work.
  • (d)The crowd were enthusiastic.
• 2.Add appropriate conjunctions or relative pronouns to the following passage and set it out in paragraphs.
  . . . it was so cold, Judith decided to play tennis at the club. Then she discovered . . . her tennis racquet,. . . was very old, had a broken string. . . . there was no time to have it mended, she knew she would not be able to play . . . she angrily threw the racquet across the room. It knocked over a china figurine . . . broke in half. She started to cry. . . . the telephone rang, she rushed to answer it ... it was a wrong number. She picked up the broken ornament. . . . she found some superglue, would she be able to mend it? . . . she broke it, she’d forgotten how much she liked it. ... she had nothing better to do, she decided to go to the town to buy some glue. . . . she was shopping, she met Dave . . . invited her to a party that evening. She was thrilled . . . she had been feeling very depressed.
• 3.Add suitable phrases to complete the following sentences:
  • (a). . . . . . . . . . he hurtled into the room.
  • (b)He broke his leg . . . . . . . . . .
  • (c)Mr Samson, . . . . . . . . . ., walked on to the stage.
  • (d). . . . . . . . . ., she thought about the events of the day.
  • (e). . . . . . . . . ., the child giggled.

See pages 171-2 for suggested answers.