Tag: grammar

Subject-Verb Agreement

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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

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Either, Neither, and Both

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either = one OR the otherWould 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 otherWould 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 secondI 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
from speakspeak

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Count Vs. Non-Count Nouns

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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:

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Irregular Past Tense Verbs

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Vintage Alarm Clock

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

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Countable vs. Non-Countable Nouns

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Image result for count noncount

Count (also known as countable) 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 (or non-countable) 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 following video, then take the quiz to test your knowledge:

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