Today’s lesson is about clarifying another confusing mixup for many students. With a little practice, you’ll get it!
Which is which?
Category: Grammar
Subject-Verb Agreement
Singular subjects take singular verbs and plural subjects take plural verbs.
Here are some common errors:
1. There are two or more subjects, so you think the verb needs to be plural.
2. There is more than one noun before the verb, so you make the verb agree with the wrong one.
3. There is a pronoun in the sentence that makes it confusing whether to use a singular or plural verb.
Examples:
1. The cat and dog are friends.
Cat and dog are singular, but together they form a plural subject.
2. The keys in the door are stuck.
Door is a singular noun, but is not the subject.
3. Any of them is fine for use in the rain.
Any refers to just one object in a bunch.
Try It:
1. Friday and Saturday ____ my favorite days of the week.
a. is
b. are
2. The library with many computers ____ a good place to study.
a. is
b. are
3. Communities with a park ____ important to have.
a. is
b. are
4. I will take whichever bus ____ first.
a. come
b. comes
Click Read More to see answers.
Read More »Grammar Check – Questions with “Why”
Here is a common mistake students make when asking a question with “Why”:
X Why you don’t work?
The mistake is incorrect grammatical structure.
(Question word + Subject + Auxiliary Verb + Main Verb)
The correct structure is: Question word + Auxiliary Verb + Subject + Main Verb
✓ Why don’t you work?
What are Auxiliary Verbs?
Practice More:
Either, Neither, and Both
| either = one OR the other | Would you like tea or coffee? ∼ Either; I don’t mind. (= ‘You can give me tea OR coffee; I have no preference.’) |
| neither = not one and not the other | Would you like ham or beef in your sandwich? ∼ Neither; I’m a vegetarian. (= ‘I don’t want ham and I don’t want beef.’) |
| both = the first AND the second | I take both milk and sugar in my coffee. (= ‘I take sugar. I also take milk.’) |
| We use either with a singular noun. We use either of with a plural noun. We use a singular verb with either and either of. | either car either of the cars Either day is fine for me. Either of the days is fine for me. |
| We use neither with a singular noun. We use neither of with a plural noun. We use a singular verb with neither and neither of. | neither house neither of the houses Neither day was suitable. Neither of the days was suitable. |
| We use both with a plural noun. | both houses both of the houses Both (of) my brothers are tall. |
| We use of before the pronouns us, you, them. | both of us, both of you, either of them, neither of them, etc. |
| Between of and a noun we use these, those or my, your, John’s, etc., or the. | both of those houses, neither of my brothers, both of John’s sisters, either of the cinemas |
Click Here to Study More!
Gerunds and Infinitives
Count Vs. Non-Count Nouns
Ready for some more grammar? Good.
This time we’re going to look at count and non-count nouns. Remember that nouns are people, places, or things.
Count nouns can be counted, which means you can also make them plural. Remember that plural means more than one. For example, the word “teacher.” Can you count teachers? Of course – one teacher, two teachers, three teachers, four teachers. The noun “teacher,” then, is a count noun.
Non-count nouns can’t be counted, and they’re almost always singular. Remember that singular means one. For example, the word “air.” Can you count air? Of course not – we never say one air, two airs, three airs, etc. So “air” is a non-count noun.
To learn more, watch the video above, then take the quiz to test your knowledge:
Irregular Past Tense Verbs
Regular past tense verbs are easy to remember – you usually just add an “ed.” But with irregular past tense verbs you need to change the spelling even more. Here’s a list of some very common ones that you might find useful:
BASE FORM PAST TENSE
be was/were
begin began
break broke
bring brought
build built
buy bought
choose chose
come came
do did
drink drank
drive drove
eat ate
fall fell
feel felt
forget forgot
get got
give gave
go went
have had
hear heard
keep kept
know knew
leave left
lose lost
make made
meet met
pay paid
put put
read read (pronounced “red”)
ride rode
run ran
say said
see saw
sell sold
send sent
sit sit
sleep slept
speak spoke
spend spent
stand stood
take took
teach taught
tell told
think thought
understand understood
wear wore
write wrote