UNIT 2: SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
S T U D E N T S’ N O T E S
The concept of ‘number’ (singular vs. plural) and of subject-verb agreement may seem fairly
simple to you, but students do make lots of mistakes with it. This first part (sections I-IV) of this
unit is designed to take you over familiar territory, but also to make you think in a new way
about it, and to work out your own ‘rules’ for how agreement works. The second part
provides additional notes and exercises to strengthen your grasp of this aspect of grammar.
In addition to the questions, which will help you figure out the grammar for yourselves, you’ll
also find a certain amount of explanation. We try to keep this to a minimum in the units
themselves, as we do not want you to rely too much on explanations, but on your own
analytic and problem-solving powers instead.
If we think there’s a need to elaborate on the simple explanations given in the units, we’ll do
it here in the Students’ Notes. In this unit, the count/mass noun distinction may need some
further explanation.
Count and Mass Nouns
First of all, you must bear in mind that grammatical ‘explanations’ are almost never
completely reliable. This is because the grammar of a language is not the result of ‘rules’
made by someone at some time in the past. Grammar develops naturally over time, and
though many things in it are highly systematic or regular, it is rarely as simple as black and
white. The so-called explanations offered by linguists (people who analyze language
scientifically) are merely attempts to generalize over the language phenomena that they
observe. So if an explanation seems to make sense to you, and to fit (to a high degree) the
language phenomena that you yourself have observed, then by all means make use of it for
whatever it’s worth. If not, just forget it!
The distinction cited in this unit between count nouns and mass nouns (which we’ve
borrowed from Cognitive Grammar) is based on the perceived distinction between things in
this world which are inherently bounded, and things which are not. Take water and lake.
Both words refer to things which are made up of the same substance, i.e. water. But the
word water does not carry within itself a ‘natural’ or ‘inherent’ boundary. Sure, we can put
an arbitrary limit on water, and say ‘this much’ or ‘that much’ water. But the point is that
water itself is not naturally bounded. This means that water is infinitely expandable or
contractible; it can be as little or as much as you want it, but whether it is a drop, a tankful, or
an ocean of water, it is still water. Lake, on the other hand, is an inherently bounded body of
water. It may be large or small, but the concept of a boundary is essential for it – without a
boundary, there is simply no lake, and you cannot take a part of a lake and say, ‘this is a
lake’. Think of the relationship between other mass and count nouns – e.g. money vs. dollar,
time vs. hour, and you will see a similar distinction.
The ‘bounded’ vs. ‘unbounded’ explanation will go some way towards helping you
understand the ‘count’ vs. ‘mass’ noun distinction. Ultimately, the ‘authority’ rests with the
users of the language – whether they treat a particular noun as count or mass – or as both,
with a fine distinction between the different senses of the noun. When in doubt, consult a
dictionary.
Answers to the questions are provided below. Again, it must be emphasized that they are
meant only as a check on how well you did. Learning these answers is of little value in itself –
working them out is what really matters.
LANG0010: English Proficiency Course (Semester I, 2002-3) Unit 2 (Key)
1
SUGGESTED ANSWERS
QUESTION 1:
Some examples are:
He took a breath of air.
There were lumps of earth on the bathroom floor.
A grain of sand stuck to his nose.
An ounce of gold isn’t worth much these days.
He has loads of money in the bank.
She was away for a period of time.
Let me offer you a piece of advice.
He doesn’t have a bit of courage.
QUESTION 2:
*I can see soldier everywhere.
*Tree is essential for parks.
*After school, I have to read a lot of book.
The above nouns cannot be used here in the singular form, since the context implies a
number greater than one. They should all be in the plural: soldiers, trees, books.
QUESTION 3:
MASS NOUNS (notice that these are all ‘unbounded’ entities): water, sand, money, literature,
vegetation, furniture.
COUNT NOUNS (notice that these are all ‘bounded’ entities): lake, pond, dune, dollar, cent,
novel, poem, flower, tree, chair, table.
QUESTION 4:
From the given data, it seems that, if the subject is singular, the verb should be in the
‘singular’ form (with a suffix –s added), and if the subject is plural, the verb should be in the
‘plural’ form (with no suffix added).
QUESTION 5:
These additional data show that the hypothesis made under Question 4 is true only for verbs
in the present tense. In other words, generally speaking, subject-verb agreement applies
only in the present tense. [NOTE: There is one verb in English – the verb be -- which obeys its
own laws when it comes to agreement. Luckily, it is the only verb that behaves this way, so
it’s a simple matter of learning a few special forms:
I was, we/you/they were, he/she/it was
The student is/was, the students are/were
QUESTION 6:
29. My friends visit me very often.
30. My best friend lives in the next block.
31. One of my friends is a disc jockey.
32. Most of our teachers prefer to teach in Chinese.
33. He spends most of his money on CDs.
34. He and his wife spend most of their money on CDs.
35. Many of the soldiers have deserted.
36. One of the soldiers is staying behind.
37. A troop of soldiers is/are on the way here.
38. Each of these books costs more than $200.
39. Few of these books cost less than $250.
40. Most of the money has been lost.
41. Most of the furniture has been stolen.
42. Most of the students have signed up.
2
LANG0010: English Proficiency Course (Semester I, 2002-3) Unit 2 (Key)
QUESTION 7:
Sentences (a-e) are all about the ‘boy’. ‘Boy’ is the noun head of all the underlined noun
phrases. All these noun phrases, no matter how long, can be replaced by the pronoun ‘he’.
QUESTION 8:
Only when the noun head (‘boy’) undergoes change does the verb need to undergo
change, because it agrees with the noun head (not any other noun) in the subject noun
phrase. So only the following sentences need to change the form of the verb (the noun
following the verb also changes where necessary):
(f) The boys are geniuses.
(g) The young boys are geniuses.
(j) The young boys who played chess against ten adults simultaneously and beat them all
are geniuses.
QUESTION 9:
1. (The schedule showing the jetfoil arrivals and departures) is out-of-date.
2. (His collection of old photographs) is displayed around the room.
3. (The recent development of new public facilities) has led to an increase in tourism in the
area.
4. (The trees in the park) need trimming.
5. (The floods which hit Hunan Province recently) have caused untold damage.
6. (The search for Osama bin Laden and his followers) goes on.
7. (The new neighbour who moved in yesterday with 11 dogs) seems a little weird.
8. (The Olympic athlete with the greatest number of gold medals) is Mark Spitz.
9. (A car with four doors) costs a little more than one with two.
10. (The mathematician whose Nobel Prize surprised many people) is John Nash.
Section 5.1-Exercise:
1. There are many people who would just keep quiet about it.
2. There is a quality which is universally admired in all cultures.
3. In the middle of the square stands a statue of the great leader.
4. On the shelf are many books on music.
ADDITIONAL EXERCISES:
EXERCISE 1:
Just for interest, here are the original texts from which these exercises are constructed. You
need not, of course, come up with exactly the same words, as long as your words make
sense in context and observe subject-verb agreement:
Passage 1:
There have been many articles and letters in the South China Morning Post about the
proposed ban on smoking in restaurants.
As a teenager, not only must I endure second-hand smoke when I am out eating, but I
also have to put up with it when I play sports in public playgrounds, play video games in a
games centre, and when I surf the Net at Internet cafes.
I understand that a smoking ban is already in place in certain public areas, however, I
see little being done to punish those who flout the regulations.
Unless the government decides to take action, for example, increasing fines for people
who disobey the law, there is little point in extending the ban if smokers continue to ignore it.
LANG0010: English Proficiency Course (Semester I, 2002-3) Unit 2 (Key)
3
Passage 2:
Two men have been caught using a video camera to record a preview of a film - the first
arrest of its kind since an amended copyright law came into effect in April last year.
The two, aged 26 and 27, were arrested at the Broadway Theatre in Sai Yeung Choi
Street, Mongkok, during a preview of the Hong Kong-made action movie So Close on
Saturday. They were caught with a digital video camera and two cassettes.
The new film stars Taiwanese actress Shu Qi and Shaolin Soccer's Karen Mok Man-wai
and Vicky Zhao Wei. It centres on an international conspiracy involving murders and
computer viruses.
Passage 3:
Cinemas expect attendance levels to double from today when ticket prices are cut to $25
for films screened on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Box-office takings have slumped to record lows this summer, diving more than 45 per
cent from $386 million last year.
In July last year, the local smash hits Shaolin Soccer and Love on a Diet together grossed
$90 million, but this year the biggest releases, Men In Black II and Minority Report, have taken
only half that amount.
EXERCISE 2:
1. Young people today are just as likely to read for pleasure as older Americans.
2. The reading survey has some good news for those who appreciate reading as a pastime.
Today's Americans are more likely to read to their children than their parents were.
Reading to very young children stimulates them to learn to read sooner.
The impact of reading to children at an early age is dramatic.
There are signs of a coming surge in reading in America.
Despite television and its influence, reading seems to be coming back into favor.
4
LANG0010: English Proficiency Course (Semester I, 2002-3) Unit 2 (Key)