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Grammar Module 7
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Subject-verb agreement
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Most people with english as a first language
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will intuitively select the correct verb agreement,
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if they're able to accurately pinpoint the subject and the verb.
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And that's really the key here,
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selecting the correct subject and verb.
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Most people find it easiest to find the verb first
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and then to pick out the subject.
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In the sentence 'the baby owl will be leaving the comfortable nest soon.'
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The verb consists of several words,
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which makes it a verb phrase.
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'Will be leaving' is the verb in this sentence.
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It is then easy to tell who or what will be leaving.
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Clearly, the owl will be leaving.
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Owl is the simple subject in this sentence.
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From now on we will refer to the simple subject.
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That is, the subject without any adjectives as the subject.
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One of the most common mistakes in selecting the correct subject of a sentence
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One of the most common mistakes in selecting the correct subject of a sentence
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is taking the noun in a prepositional phrase as the subject.
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One of the light bulbs needs changing.
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One of the light bulbs needs changing.
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In this example there is a prepositional phrase between the subject and the verb.
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It is important to ignore the prepositional phrase in order to select the correct subject.
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It is important to ignore the prepositional phrase in order to select the correct subject.
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If you do not remove the prepositional phrase 'of the light bulbs,'
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you might accidentally use the verb 'need' to match the word lightbulbs,
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you might accidentally use the verb 'need' to match the word lightbulbs,
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instead of the true subject, which is 'one.'
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In the second sentence shown,
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Everyone except you and me has gone to the party.
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The propositional phrase 'except you and me' is crossed off
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in order to show the truth subject,
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which is 'everyone.'
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This requires the singular verb 'has.'
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In addition to prepositions, other words can often appear between the subject and the verb
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In addition to prepositions, other words can often appear between the subject and the verb
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and can interfere with subject verb agreement.
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The dresser, along with the two night tables, is for sale.
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My neighbour, as well as one of my co-workers,
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is interested in the furniture.
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The highlighted words are known as intervening words.
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These words can be thought of as an interruption to the original thought,
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and the verb must agree with the subject of the original thought,
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dresser and neighbour, not the interruption.
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dresser and neighbour, not the interruption.
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The verb is singular in both cases
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to match the singular subjects: dresser and neighbour.
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If the intervening words are not removed,
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the writer might be tempted to incorrectly use the words 'night tables'
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or 'co-workers' as the subject
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or 'co-workers' as the subject
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and then to use the plural verb, 'are,' instead of 'is.'
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and then to use the plural verb, 'are,' instead of 'is.'
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Other common intervening words to look for include in addition to,
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such as,
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together with,
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or including.
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These are often set apart from the rest of the sentence by a pair of commas,
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such as in the two examples shown,
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but this is not always true.
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When you have a sentence with two subjects joined by the word 'and,'
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you have what's known as a compound subject.
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Compound subjects require a plural verb,
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even if both of the subjects are singular.
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Running and swimming are my favourite activities.
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Running and swimming
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Running and swimming
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are the subjects of the sentence that are joined together by the word 'and.'
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And therefore require the plural verb 'are,'
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as opposed to the singular verb 'is.'
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as opposed to the singular verb 'is.'
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Although this rule looks simple enough off hand,
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note that there are a few things to watch for:
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When a company name has multiple nouns and the word 'and,'
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it is still one company
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and is therefore not a compound subject.
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In the example shown,
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Peterson, Peterson and Stanley Incorporated
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is a company I would not like to work for.
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There's only one company and not multiple subjects.
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So the singular verb 'is,' is used,
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as opposed to the plural verb 'are.'
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When the word each,
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or every appears with the nouns that are separated by 'and,'
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then the noun is still considered singular.
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Every second,
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minute, and hour
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feels like an eternity when one is separated from his beloved.
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In the example shown here,
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there are multiple subjects that are separated by the word 'and.'
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You will recall that the usual solution for compound subjects separated by 'and' is to use a plural verb.
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You will recall that the usual solution for compound subjects separated by 'and' is to use a plural verb.
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However,
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when the word each or every is used, each subject is thought of individually.
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Every second feels like an eternity.
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Every minute feels like an eternity.
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And every hour feels like an eternity.
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Be cautious when you see a sentence with a verb that appears before the subject.
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This situation is referred to as inverted order.
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Remember that the words here and their can never be the subject of a sentence.
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Here is the scariest ride in the park.
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When you see a sentence that starts with these words,
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the verb is usually shown in inverted order with the verb before the subject.
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The key is to revert the sentence back to the normal order of subject and then verb,
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The key is to revert the sentence back to the normal order of subject and then verb,
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as shown in the sentence:
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The scariest ride in the park is here.
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In this case, the phrase 'in the park'
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In this case, the phrase 'in the park'
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is also removed to reveal that the word 'ride' is the true subject.
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As another example:
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'On my list of things to try is skydiving,'
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can be reversed to read
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'Skydiving is on my list of things to try.'
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To identify the subject, 'skydiving,'
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To identify the subject, 'skydiving,'
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and the verb, 'is.'
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and the verb, 'is.'
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A final type of inverted order sentence is the question.
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Notice that the verb in the question,
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'Is one of the rides broken?'
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actually starts the sentence.
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In this case the sentence is reverted to normal order.
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One of the rides is broken.
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With the subject before the verb
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and once again the prepositional phrase, 'of the rides,'
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beginning with the preposition 'of' is removed
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and it is revealed that 'one' is the true subject of the sentence and therefore
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requires the singular verb 'is.'
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requires the singular verb 'is.'
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We discussed how to make the verb agree with the compound subjects of the
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sentence joined by the verb 'and.'
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Now we will look at a compound subject that is joined together by the word or or nor.
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Now we will look at a compound subject that is joined together by the word or or nor.
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When a compound subject is joined by or or nor, you make the verb agree with the
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subject that is near the verb.
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The examples shown here are almost the same,
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accept that the subject order is reversed.
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Either rabbits or my dog is destroying my garden.
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Either my dog or rabbits are destroying my garden.
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When the subject 'dog' is closer to the verb,
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such as in the first sentence,
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the verb must agree with the singular subject of 'dog.'
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But in the second example,
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with the subjects reversed,
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the verb must agree with the plural subject of 'rabbits.'
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Look at the words shown in this table:
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These are all called indefinite pronouns.
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Singular indefinite pronouns include each,
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nobody, something, everyone, either,
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or neither.
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Plural indefinite pronouns include both and many.
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Plural indefinite pronouns include both and many.
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Indefinite pronouns that could be singular or plural include none, some,
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more and most.
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more and most.
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Words like another, many and most
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can all be used in a sentence as indefinite pronouns.
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The problem with indefinite pronouns is that they can make the verb behave in different ways.
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The problem with indefinite pronouns is that they can make the verb behave in different ways.
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Some indefinite pronouns are always singular, such as each and nobody.
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And would therefore require a singular verb.
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Nobody likes rice pudding.
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Others, like both and many, are always plural
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and require a plural noun.
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Many like chocolate sundaes.
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Many like chocolate sundaes.
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Much more tricky, however, are the indefinite pronouns that can be either
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singular or plural, such as none, some,
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more,
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and most.
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When you have one of these indefinite pronouns that can be either plural or
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singular, depending on the context of your sentence,
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then you must consider the prepositional phrase to determine subject-verb agreement.
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then you must consider the prepositional phrase to determine subject-verb agreement.
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In the first example: All of the cupcakes have been eaten.
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Using the indefinite pronoun 'all,'
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you will notice that the noun 'cupcakes' in the prepositional phrase is plural
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and therefore the plural verb 'have'
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is used, as opposed to the singular verb 'has.'
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However,
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the exact same indefinite pronoun 'all' is used with a singular verb 'is' in the second sentence.
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the exact same indefinite pronoun 'all' is used with a singular verb 'is' in the second sentence:
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All of the cake is gone too.
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Because the noun 'cake' in the prepositional phrase is singular.
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Because the noun 'cake' in the prepositional phrase is singular.
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Indefinite pronouns that can be singular or plural
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such as none,
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some,
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more,
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most,
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and all,
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should always be carefully considered.
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Let's end by talking about collective nouns.
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A collective noun names a group of people or things.
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Some examples include audience,
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committee,
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family,
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and team.
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Whether you use a singular or plural noun depends on whether the group is acting as a unit,
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Whether you use a singular or plural noun depends on whether the group is acting as a unit,
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or if the members of the group are acting individually in the group.
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In the first example shown:
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My family has many different pets.
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The family is acting as a single unit,
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and so a singular verb is required.
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My family are coming to my wedding from various parts of the world.
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In the second example shown,
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the family members are acting separately and traveling from different places.
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And this sentence requires a plural verb.
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It is often easiest to include the word 'members'
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if the group members are acting separately,
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as the word 'members' makes it very easy and clear to remember that a plural verb is required.
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as the word 'members' makes it very easy and clear to remember that a plural verb is required.
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My family 'members' are coming to my wedding from various parts of the world.
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My family 'members' are coming to my wedding from various parts of the world.