tailieunhanh - Grammar and Usage for Better Wirting_8

Tham khảo tài liệu 'grammar and usage for better wirting_8', ngoại ngữ, anh ngữ phổ thông phục vụ nhu cầu học tập, nghiên cứu và làm việc hiệu quả | These are the past tense forms I had we had you had you had he she it had they had Most native speakers of English tend to use the right form in sentences in which the verb follows the subject. Here is an example A tree stands at the front gate. In other sentences subject-verb agreement is not as simple as in the sentence above and mistakes are commonly made. Study the following few rules they will help you avoid such mistakes. 1. Confusion can result when there are words those in parentheses below between the subject and the verb. _ --------- ------ A tree with green leaves stands at the front gate. Some people would mistakenly write stand in the belief that leaves is the subject. It is not. 2. Expressions like with together with according to including as well as plus and no less than do not affect subject-verb agreement. r-------- --- -- ------- The coach as well as the players is going to the game by plane. Coach is the subject not players or coach and players . 3. Another common difficulty arises when the subject is compound. The words and or nor either. or neither. nor signal the presence of a compound subject. a. When two subjects are connected by and the subject is plural and the verb is usually plural. 1 ------ High seas AND dense fog have slowed the rescue operation. b. When two singular subjects are joined by or or nor the subject is singular and the verb is singular. 7 -------- m An apple OR an orange was in every box lunch. c. When two subjects of different number are joined by neither . . . nor or either . . . or the verb agrees with the nearer subject. 182 COMMON USAGE ERRORS h m NEITHER Stacy NOR her brothers are going to the state convention. _TTT_ _ ---m EITHER these telephone numbers OR that address is wrong. 4. You always takes a plural verb. You was is wrong. You were listed on today s honor roll. Were you expecting the honor 5. When the subject comes after the verb find the subject and make the verb agree with it. Was Were the .