Khóa luận A study on subject–verb agreement - Phạm Vân Anh

Nội dung text: Khóa luận A study on subject–verb agreement - Phạm Vân Anh

1. BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG ISO 9001 : 2008 KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP NGÀNH: NGOẠI NGỮ HẢI PHÒNG - 2009
2. HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVESITY FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT GRADUATION PAFER A study on subject – verb agreement By: Phạm Vân Anh Class: NA902 Supervisor: Trần Thị Ngọc Liên HAI PHONG - 2009
3. BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG Nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp Sinh viên: Mã số: Lớp: Ngành: Tên đề tài:
4. Nhiệm vụ đề tài 1. Nội dung và các yêu cầu cần giải quyết trong nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp ( về lý luận, thực tiễn, các số liệu cần tính toán và các bản vẽ). 2. Các số liệu cần thiết để thiết kế, tính toán. 3. Địa điểm thực tập tốt nghiệp.
5. CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN ĐỀ TÀI Người hướng dẫn thứ nhất: Họ và tên: Học hàm, học vị: Cơ quan công tác: Nội dung hướng dẫn: Người hướng dẫn thứ hai: Họ và tên: Học hàm, học vị: Cơ quan công tác: Nội dung hướng dẫn: Đề tài tốt nghiệp được giao ngày tháng năm 200 Yêu cầu phải hoàn thành xong trước ngày tháng năm 200 Đã nhận nhiệm vụ ĐTTN Đã giao nhiệm vụ ĐTTN Sinh viên Người hướng dẫn Hải Phòng, ngày tháng năm 200 HIỆU TRƯỞNG GS.TS.NGƯT Trần Hữu Nghị
6. PHẦN NHẬN XÉT TÓM TẮT CỦA CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN 1. Tinh thần thái độ của sinh viên trong quá trình làm đề tài tốt nghiệp: 2.Đánh giá chất lượng của khóa luận (so với nội dung yêu cầu đã đề ra trong nhiệm vụ Đ.T. T.N trên các mặt lý luận, thực tiễn, tính toán số liệu ): 3. Cho điểm của cán bộ hướng dẫn (ghi bằng cả số và chữ): Hải Phòng, ngày tháng năm 2009 Cán bộ hướng dẫn (họ tên và chữ ký)
7. NHẬN XÉT ĐÁNH GIÁ CỦA NGƯỜI CHẤM PHẢN BIỆN ĐỀ TÀI TỐT NGHIỆP 1. Đánh giá chất lượng đề tài tốt nghiệp về các mặt thu thập và phân tích tài liệu, số liệu ban đầu, giá trị lí luận và thực tiễn của đề tài. 2. Cho điểm của người chấm phản biện : (Điểm ghi bằng số và chữ) Ngày tháng năm 2009 Người chấm phản biện
8. Acknowledgements In the process of implementing this graduation paper, I have to face to many difficulties. But thanks to the help and guidance of many people, I overcame all troubles and completed my graduation paper. First of all, I do want to express may grateful thanks to Mrs Tran Thi Ngoc Lien – my supervisor for her encouragement and guidance. During my study process, she has willingly and readily suggested and given me valuable advice and detail comments about my study. Furthermore, never can I forget the help and enthusiastic guidance of teachers in foreign language department. It’s them that have led me through lectures during four year. Thank to that knowledge background, I could select this topic and fulfill my study. Last but not least, I am really grateful to may family and friends for their serious support and encouragement. Hai phong, June 2009 Pham Van Anh Symbol and abbreviation S Subject
9. V Verb O Object Od Direct object Oi Indirect object A Adverbial C Complement E.x Example Table of contents Acknowledgement Symbols and abbreviation Part I : Introduction 1. Rationale 1 2. Aim of the study 1 3. Scope of the study 2
10. 4. Method of the study 2 5. Design of the study 3 Part 2: Development Chapter 1: theoretical background 4 I. English sentence 4 1. Definition of English sentence 4 2. Kinds of sentence 5 2.1 Traditional division 5 2.2 Quirk’s division 6 3. Sentence element 7 3.1 Subject 7 3.2 Verb 8 3.4 Complement 8 3.5 Adverbial 9 II Subject 10 1 Definition 10 2. Part of speech function as subject 11 III. Verb 12 1. Definition 12 2. Classification 12 IV. Agreement 13 1. Definition 13 2. Kind of agreement 13 Chapter 2: Subject – verb Agreement 15 I. Noun 15 1. Single noun 15 1.1 Basic single noun 15 1.2 Collective noun 18 2. Coordinated in form of noun 18 2.1 Coordination with “and”, “both and” 18 2.2 Coordination with “or”, “either or”, “neither nor”, “not only but also” 19 2.3 Coordination with “as well as”, “along with”, “rather than”, “together with” 19
11. 3. Noun as an expression of quantity 20 3.1 Noun expressing number 20 3.2 Noun expressing fraction and percentage 21 4. Denominal subject 22 4.1 Nominal clause 22 4.2 Non-finite clause 22 II. Pronoun 23 1. Personal pronoun 23 2. Relative pronoun 26 3. Indefinite pronoun 28 Chapter 3: Problems possibly encountered by non – native learners When dealing with subject – verb agreement 32 I. Problems possibly encountered by non – native learners 32 1. Subject – related errors. 32 1.1. Errors caused by plural form of head noun 32 1.2. Errors caused by words coming between nouns and verbs 32 2 Confusion over singular and plural 33 2.1. Because of cardinal number 33 2.2. Because of contextual meaning and coordinators 34 2.3. Because of antecedent replaced by relative pronouns 35 2.4. Because of each structure’s requirement 35 3. Irregularities 36 3.1. Fields of study that end in “-ics ” 36 3.2. Certain illness that ends in “-s” 37 3.3. Name of the games ending in “s”. 38 3.4. Plural form of collective nouns 38 3.5. Existential sentence 39 3.6. “The + adj” as noun phrase 39 3.7. Title of works, company names 40 3.8. Foreign nouns 40 3.8.1 Nouns ending in “us”, “es” is added or “us” is changed into “i”41 3.8.2 Nouns ending in “um”, “s” is added or “um” is changed into
12. “a” 42 3.8.3 Nouns ending in “is”, “is” is change into “es” 43 3.8.4 Nouns ending in “on”, “subject” is added or “on” is changed into “a” 43 II Sugessions to overcome problems 43 Part 3: Conclusion 45 Reference 46 Appendix 47
13. Part I : Introduction 1. Rationale Language is an essential means of communication. Without language, people are unable to express their thoughts, their ideals, and inform to others. Moreover, English becomes the most popular language all over the world. Day by day, English express its role in society, and in tightening relations between people in global. In order to be a master of English, we need a good background of grammar. Actually, I approach English since I was at my junior secondary school. There were certainly a variety of grammatical structures to be fully grasped before we would like to use English effectively. At that time, the major difficulty facing me in particular and all pupils in general was how to conjugate verb correctly. We confused to make subject and verb agreement because of various types of subject and other irregular rules. This reason urges me to study this theme : subject – verb agreement. I hope that my study will help all students and pupils deal this problem easily and fell that English grammar is no longer difficult. 2. Aims of the study Any research all have their own purposes. Anyone who studies any fields all aims at certain achievements. As many other students, this research also have certain aims, that is: - Systemizing subject – verb agreement to have a research on this matter as full as possible, from then helping particularly new beginners to study this more easily and successfully; - Giving problems and irregularities when dealing with topic : subject – verb agreement; - Suggesting certain effective solutions to deal with the problems caused by subject-verb agreement 3. Scope of the study Agreement, or in other word, concord in English is a very wide theme. Beside subject – verb agreement, there are concords between sentence elements like subject – subject complement concord, object – object complement concord, etc. However, due to the limitation of time and
14. ability, in this research proposal, I just study the subject – verb agreement and learner’s problems when dealing with this theme. 4. Methods of the study To achieve the above mentioned aims, the researcher has combined different research methods in her study. First, data corpus are collected from different reliable sources such as books, authorized websites. The data are mainly about the cases when subject and verb concord is presented and performex. Second, statistic analysis is used via survey questionnaires and informal interview in order to find out the common problems often encountered by non-native learners regarding subject-verb agreement. Further more, analysis are made into irregularities which often hinder the learners in the approach to subject-verb agreement. Finally, experimental analysis method is made use. During class hours, examples or cases of subject-verb concord is shown as compulsory exercise so that the students can work on them, which help to figure out what common problems they may face and how they can deal with the problems. 5. Design of the study A table of contents with page numbers in which they are presented will help the readers have a clear overview of the research proposal. It also helps readers to find the part they need more easily and quickly. Part I namely “Introduction” consists of rationale of the study, aims of the study, scope of the study, method of the study, and the design of the study. Part II called “Development” contains three chapters: Chapter 1, the theoretical background, deals with definition of English sentence, sentence elements, subject and verb. Chapter 2 is the main part which analyses types of subject affecting to subject – verb agreement.
15. Chapter 3 shows a lot of learner’s problems and irregularities when dealing with this theme Part IIIt is “conclusion” which restates all the presented information Part II: Development Chapter one: Theoretical background I. English sentence 1. Definition of English sentence You have used sentences all your life to communicate ideas. However, you may not have paid close attention to how sentences are correctly and effectively written. There are different ways to define a sentence but we’d prefer a traditional grammar – based definition: “sentence is the largest meaningful unit of grammar, consisting of a subject and a predicate. The subject answers the question “who/ what” is sentence about? And the predicate answers the question what does the sentence say about? The order of the sentence vary according to types of sentence (statement, question, request, etc) A sentence conveys a complete meaning or idea serving a definite purpose of communication. [1] David looks intelligent (Stating an opinion) [2] My bicycle has broken down (Stating a fact) [3] Do you know that man?
16. (Asking a question) [4] Can you help me? (Asking a favor) [Nguyen Van An, 2003:636] According to Oxford Advanced learner’s dictionary, sentence is “the highest unit of grammar, usually containing a subject, an object, a verb, etc, and expressing a statement, question, or command”. For example: [5] It is raining tomorrow [6] Many scientists believe there is a major earthquake in California in the next few years [7] What place have you been to since you came to this city [8] Put it in the desk [9] Let me show you a way to escape [AS Hornby, 1948:1715] 2. Kinds of sentence. 2.1 Traditional division In many traditional grammars, three major sentence types are distinguished: - Simple sentence: a simple sentence is one independent clause [10] I enjoy playing tennis with my friend every weekend. [11] I enjoy playing tennis and looking forward to it every weekend. [Tran Thi Ngoc Lien, 2003: 7] Notice that the second sentence has two verbs, but this is called compound verb not compound sentence. - Compound sentence: compound sentence is two or more independent clause joined together. Each clause is of equal important and could stand alone. There are three ways to join independent clauses to form a compound sentence. + With a coordinator: [12] I enjoy playing football, but I hate playing baseball. [Tran Thi Ngoc Lien, 2003: 8] [13] I enjoy playing football, however, I hate playing baseball [Tran Thi Ngoc Lien, 2003: 8] + With a semicolon: [14] I enjoy playing football; I have playing football. [Tran Thi Ngoc Lien, 2003: 8]
17. - Complex sentence: contain one independent clause and one dependent clause. In complex sentence, one ideal is generally important than the other one. The more important idea is placed in the independent clause, the less important idea in the dependent one. For example: [15] Although women could own property, they could not vote. [16] Women could not vote although they could own property. [17] Men who are not married are called bachelors. [18] Scientists believe that the earth’s temperature is rising. [Tran Thi Ngoc Lien, 2003: 8] - Compound – complex sentence: is a combination of two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clause. For example: [19] After I graduated from high school, I wanted to get a good job, but I couldn’t [20] Although women could own property, they could neither vote nor be elected to public house [21] While I was strolling along the riverside, the murmuring of the running water comforted my broken heart, and the whispering of the idle winds cooled my frustrated soul. [Tran Thi Ngoc Lien, 2003: 8] 2.2 Quirk’s division Quirk (1994) divides sentences by referring to possible arrangements of the sentence element. There are 7 types of sentence: - SV [22] She is crying - SVA [23] She is upstairs - SVO [24] She is learning English - SVOO [25] She gave me a book - SVOC [26] She makes me cry - SVOA [27] She laid the book on the shelf. - SVC
18. [28] She is a teacher [Quirk, 1994:28] 3 Sentence elements According to Quirk, 1994:29, element is usually a small amount of something, thus, sentence element is a small amount of sentence. A sentence may alternatively be seen as comprising 5 units called elements of sentence. Structure: Subject, verb, complement, object and adverbial, which are abreviated as S, V, O, C, A. [29] I am a teacher S V C [30] John does exercise carefully S V A [31] The girl is now a student at large university. S V A C A [32] He had given the girl an apple S V O [33] His brother grew happier gradually S V A [34] It rained continually all day S V A [Quik, 1994:29] 3.1 Subject Subject is a part of the sentence that performs an action or which is associated with the action. [35] He causes the motor accident. Subject is what (or whom) the sentence is about, while the predicate tell something about subject. To determine the subject of sentence, first isolate the verb and make a question by placing “who” or “what” before it. The answer is subject. Every subject is built around one noun or pronoun (or more), when stripped of all the worlds that modify it, is known as the simple subject.
19. Ex: a piece of pepperoni pizza would satisfy his hunger The subject is build around the noun: “piece” 3.2 Verb Verb also is a part of the sentence causes the action. This is called the main verb. [36] A dog bits the children The main verb may be stand alone of may be preceded by auxiliary verb which determine the mood, tense, voice, or aspect of the verb. 3.3 Object Object is a noun, noun phrase or noun clause which refer to a person thing, etc affected by the action of a verb, or which depends on a preposition. [37] He took the money Od [38] He took what he wanted Od [39] I gave him money Oi [40] I received money from her Prepositional Object [Quik, 1994:41] It should be understood that Od is by far the more frequent kind of object and what with most ditransitive verb (verb that require two object: one is Od, one is Oi). It must always be present if there is an Oi in the sentence. The Oi almost always preceded by the Od. For example: [41] He had given a child an apple Oi Od [Quik, 1994:41] In fact, we only need to distinguish two types of object: direct and indirect object. Prepositional object is only the replacement of the indirect object by a preposition phrase. It’s when SVOO sentence are transformed into SVOA sentence for the indirect object preceding it. For examples: [42] She sent him a card [42a] She sent a card to him [43] I left my friend the address [43a] I left my address for my friend. [Quik, 1994:41] “To” and “for” in their recipient sense, are the prepositions chiefly involved.
20. 3.4 Complement Complement are words, especially adjectives and nouns, used after linking verb such as be, become describing the subject of the verb. Complements are divided into subject complement (Cs), object complement (Co). For example: [44] Something must be wrong. Cs [45] Two bulldozers have been knocking the place flat. Co [Quik, 1994:45] Subject complement has a straight forward relation to subject of sentence. Object complement has similar relation to direct object (which the follows as the subject complement has to a subject). 3.5 Adverbial Adverbial is of, like or containing an adverb which is a word that adds more information about place, time, circunstance, manner, cause, degree, etc to a verb and adjective, a phrase or another verb. For example: [46] Somehow he got his friends done it for him [47] My cousin’s jokes always make me laugh [48] He got some of kids in the neighborhood cleared out his garage [Quik, 1994:49] II. Subject 1. Definition The subject is identified syntactically by the feature of position, concord, and reflection in tag question. Semantically, all most participant roles can be associated with the subject. It can be realized by a wide variety of group and clauses. According to Oxford advance learner’s dictionary, subject is word(s) in a sentence naming who or what does or undergoes the action stated by the verb, or words in a sentence about which something is stated. [49] I am keeping most of my money in the bank. [50] They are placing the blame on us.
21. [51] The kettle is now on the store. [AS Hornby, 1948:R42] As the comprehensive grammar of the English language stated, the subject is often describe as the constituent defining the topic of the sentence that which the sentence is about and which it presupposes as its point of departure. Contrary to above definition, which is more about syntactic, this one is more about semantic part of the sentence. 2 Part of speech become subject Subject can be express by a variety of groups and clauses but it’s usually a noun or pronoun. Besides, we have quantifier with noun and pronoun, without noun and pronoun, noun clause. - Noun [52] Jonathan loves chocolates [53] Crocodiles are very dangerous [Micheal swan-Catherine walter, 2000:25] - Pronoun [54] They went to sleep at 9:00 [55] Is anybody home? [Micheal swan-Catherine walter , 2000:25] - Quantifier with noun, pronoun [56] Some of the pie was gone [57] Both of them are nice [Micheal swan-Catherine walter , 2000:25] - Quantifier without noun, pronoun [58] Some are here. Some is not [59] Both are correct [Micheal swan-Catherine walter , 2000:25] - Noun clause [60] What you say is not important [61] How do you do it is up to you [Micheal swan-Catherine walter , 2000:26] III Verb 1. Definition Verb is word or phrase indicating an action, and event, or a state or condition of subject.
22. Every sentence must have a verb as the verb is the heart of a sentence. Small changes in its forms reflect many differences in meaning. One variable is number, a verb can either singular or plural. For example: [62] I am happy to be here (Singular) [63] We are not so sure about the date (Plural) [64] Jill loves chocolate chip cookies (Singular) [65] Mother and father love to go sailing (Plural) [66] The baby has a cold (Singular) [AS Hornby, 1948:R36] The function of verb element in English clause structure is realized by the verb phrase, which consists of one or more verb constituents. [67] She left yesterday [68] Did she leave yesterday? [69] She will comeback tomorrow [AS Hornby, 1948:R36] 2. Classification Verb, as class of word, can be divided into three major categories, according to their function within verb phrase, we distinguish the open class of lexical verb, auxiliary verb. - Lexical verb are verbs denote state or action [70] He eats icecream everyday - Auxiliary verb is those help complete meaning of the verb phrase. It contains primary verb and modal verb. + Primary verb: Do (does, don’t, doesn’t) Have (has, haven’t, hasn’t) Be (am, is, are, isn't, aren't) + Modal verb: can, could, may, might, must, will, shall, should, would, ought to, etc. [71] He has already finished his work [72] I am a teacher. [73] When he called, she was watching television [AS Hornby, 1948:R36]
23. IV Agreement 1. Definition Agreement or concord can be defined as the relationship between two grammartical units such that one of them displays a particular feature that accords with displayed( or semantically implicit). For example: [74] I know what is on your hand [75] Economic has become increasingly popular course at university 2. Kinds of agreement - Subject – verb concord: it is the concord between subject and verb in sentence. - Subject – object concord: it is the concord between subject and object in number, person, and gender when object is reflexive pronoun. For example: [76] He injured himself in the left [77] You should give yourself another chance [ ] - Subject – subject complement and object – object complement Between subject and subject complement; and between direct object and object complement there is usually concord of number. When subject is singular, subject complement must therefore, be singular and vice versa. For example: [78] My child is an angle [79] My children are angles It is the same with object – object complement. For example: [80] I consider my child an angle [81] I consider my children angles [ ]
24. Chapter two: Subject – verb Agreement I. Noun 1. Single noun 1.1 Basic single noun Noun and verb are the basic parts of a sentence, the two teammates upon whom all others depend. They need to agree on one major thing: number. When a word refers to one person, place, thing, or idea, it is singular in number. When it refers to more than one, it is plural. Ex: Singular: Book, woman, fox. Plural : Book, women, foxes. The sentences do make sense when the verbs agree with their nouns in number: [82] John and Mary is a couple. [83] John is a real estate dealer who makes over $67,000. [84] Mary is a farmer; she has a little lamb farm and gets a good deduction from the government, so her family doesn't get fleeced on their taxes. [Nguyen Van An, 2003:29] These are the basic practices for basic single noun - verb concord: Rule1: The number of the noun (singular or plural) determines the form of the verb, since verbs must agree with their nouns. [85] Some readers consider Kohlberg's theory of moral development problematic because he only examines ways of thinking and not how emotions and gender socialization affect moral development. [86] Carol Gilligan, in her book entitled In a Different Voice, challenges the premise of Kohlberg's theory. [ ] Rule2: There may be more than one noun-verb pair in a sentence; you need to make sure that each noun-verb pair agrees in number.
25. [87] Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, in her book On Death and Dying, outlines the stages of dying, and she illustrates that both the terminally ill person and the person's loved ones experience these stages. [Sidney Greenbaum,1996: 35] Rule3: The way the verb agrees with the noun depends upon the type of verb, regular or irregular. There are different agreement conventions for regular verbs and agreement conventions for irregular verbs. - Agreement - Regular Verbs + To agree with a singular noun, a regular present-tense verb should end in -s, -es, or no ending. [88] Michael walks every day, and every day a loose dog turns him into a marathon runner for a while. [89] The dog catcher regularly catches an average of ten loose dogs per day, at least five of whom add to the odor that pervades the back of the truck. "Hey, I don't mind that odor," the dog catcher exclaims. "To me, it's the sweet smell of success." [Sidney Greenbaum,1996: 35] + To agree with a plural noun, a regular, present-tense verb does not need any special letters at the end. [90] Michael and Melissa leisurely walk the streets of Paris every morning, and every day the street-cleaning trucks seem to direct their spray toward them a bit more aggressively. [91] You could say that they regularly catch a shower, which adds to their exhilaration and joie de vivre. . [Sidney Greenbaum,1996: 35] + Regular, past-tense verbs (showing action in the past) do not have to agree with their nouns; the past-tense ending (-d or -ed) overrides the need for further agreement. [92] Michael completed a long run. [93] Michael and Melissa completed a long run. [Sidney Greenbaum,1996: 35] - Agreement - Irregular Verbs You just have to memorize the singular and plural verb forms of the irregular, present-tense verbs in order to make the verb agree with its noun:
26. Singular Plural am/is are was were has have does do [94] I am one of the best grammarians in the class. [95] They are the best grammarians in the class. [Sidney Greenbaum,1996: 36] Rule4: Verbs do not have to agree with words that come between the noun and verb For example: [96] The highest percentage of voters is in favor of passing Proposition 94. [97] Either of the options is consistent with the company's mission. Interrupting words, especially those phrases that start with "of" or "to" are not considered part of the noun, so the verb does not have to agree with any of the word in the interruption. 1.2 Collective nouns A noun used to describe a group of people or things that is considered agreement singled unit is called a collective noun. Collective nouns may be either singular or plural. - A collective noun names agreement group of persons or things and is singular in form such as: Group family army audience Flock club fleet crowd Herd class troop assembly Swarm team squadron public A collective noun takes a plural verb when the noun refers to individual parts of member of the group. A collective noun takes a singular verb when the noun refers to the group as single unit. For example: [98] The family was arguing where to spend the next vacation
27. (Family here refers to individual acting separately [99] The family was dominated by the grandparents. (Family here refers to a group considered as a unit) [100] the team fights for victory [101] our class sings very well [102] the family disagree on the question of my dates [ Nguyen Van an,2003:707] 2. Coordinated subject in form of noun 2.1 Coordination with “and” or “both and” - Coordination by “and” or “both and” is usually treated as plural when it refers to two or more than two persons / things. For example: [103] Both Pauline and bob have gone fishing on Miramar Lake. [104] I and my mother are go shopping [ ThaiHoangNguyen – Do Van Thao, 2002: 7] - When the coordinated noun phrases by and are preceded by each, every, many a, the verb usually takes singular form. For example: [105] Every boy and every girl in this room is entitled to copy [106] Many a man and woman in this community finds himself or herself in need. [ ThaiHoangNguyen – Do Van Thao, 2002: 8] 2.2 Coordination with “or”, “either or”, “neither nor”, “not only but also” - The form of verb is singular or plural depends on noun after or, nor and but also. - But in informal style, items coordinated by “neither nor”, “not only but also” can sometimes be regarded as plural. [107] My sisters or my brother is likely to be home [108] Either my father or my brothers are come [109] Neither the players nor the coach was / (were) overconfident [110] Not only the switches but also the old wiring has / (have) been changed [ ThaiHoangNguyen – Do Van Thao, 2002: 8]
28. 2.3 Coordination with “along with”, “as well as”, “rather than”, “together with” The form of the following verb is determined by the first subject. For example: [111] His brother rather than his parents is to blame [112] Bill together with his sisters, was hurt in the accident [113] Mr Brown, along with his children, is coming to the party tonight [114] Her parents, as well as her brother, are coming to the party tonight [ ThaiHoangNguyen – Do Van Thao, 2002: 8] 3. Nouns as an expression of quantity 3.1 Nouns expressing number - When a definite quantity is regarded as a single unit, the verb takes the singular form. And when used in the sense of the individuals that constitute the quantity, the verb takes the plural form. For example: [115] He thought that 65 dollars was not too much to ask. [116] there were 6 silver dollars in each of the stockings. [AJ Thomson – A.V martinet, 1994: 29] - The subject is a noun phrase composed of “one in / out of + plural noun”, the verb takes the singular form. For example: [117] one in ten students has failed the exam. [118] One out of twenty was badly damaged. [AJ Thomson – A.V martinet, 1994: 29] - Noun with arithmetic expressing + If the subject is an expression of “A plus / and B” or “A multiplied by B”, the verb can either take the singular or the plural form. + If, on the other hand, the subject is one of “A minus B” or “A divided by B”, the verb can only be the singular. [119] Seven plus/and five makes/make twelve [120] Five multiplied by four is/are twenty [121] Forty minus fifteen leaves twenty-five [122] Forty divided by eight is five
29. [AJ Thomson – A.V martinet, 1994: 30] - A portion of A series of A Kind of + Noun V takes singular. A sort of (whatever forms of the noun) Type of [123] a substantial portion of the reports is missing. [124] A series of accidents has been reported. [125] this kind of man annoys me. [126] that type of car is old-fashioned. [AJ Thomson – A.V martinet, 1994: 30] - More than one + Noun V takes singular Many a (though notional plural noun) [127] Many a man has done his duty. [128] More than one game was lost. [AJ Thomson – A.V martinet, 1994: 30] 3.2 Noun expressing fraction, percentage If the subject is “a fraction / percentage + of-phrase”, the form of the verb is determined by the noun in the of-phrase. A plural noun in the of-phrase requires a plural verb. A singular or a mass noun in the of – phrase is to be followed by a singular verb. For example: [129] Over 60% of the city was destroyed in the war. [130] Two-thirds of the swampland has been reclaimed for farming. [131] nearly 50% of the doctors are women. [AJ Thomson – A.V martinet, 1994: 31] 4. Denominal subject 4.1 Nominal clause - When the subject is a nominal clause introduced by what, who, which, where, why, whether, etc, the verb usually takes the singular form, but when two or more clauses are coordinated by
30. “and” or “both and”, a plural verb is required. [132] what caused the accident is a complete mystery. [133] whether she leave is very important to him. [134] Where she learns is depends on her parents. [135] what caused the accident and who was responsible for it remain a mystery to us. [ ] - In SVC constructions with a what-clause as subject, the verb usually takes singular form. But when the subject complement is plural, or when the what-clause is plural in meaning, the verb of the main clause can be plural. [136] what were real to him were the details of his life. [137] what are often regarded as poisonous fungi are sometimes safely edible. [ ] 4.2 Non finite clause - Non finite clause subject generally counts as singular [138] To learn a second language is not easy for young children. [139] To treat them as hostages is criminal. [140] Climbing to the top of a mountain is really a matter. [141] Playing tennis is fun. [ ] - Non finite clause at subject is of three types. They contain to-infinitive which is introduced by WH – word, ing clause and bare infinitive. + To – infinitive: [142] To climb mountains requires courage ( To infinitive clause) [143] Where to leave the dog is the problem. ( WH + to infinitive) [ ] + Ing clause: [144] Playing tennis is a good exercise
31. [145] Having to go back for the ticket was a nuisance [ ] + Bare infinitive clause occurs as subject only in equaltive ( wh – cleft) sentence. [146] Run for president is what he may do. [147] Mow the lawn was what I did this afternoon. [ ] II. Pronoun 1. Personal pronoun - A personal pronoun is a substitute for a noun. Like a noun, it has a number, gender, and case. It also has person. Person is shown in pronouns by a change of form to indicate the person speaking (first person), the person spoken to (second person) or a person or thing other than the speaker and the one spoken to (third person). See the following table of forms of personal pronoun Singular plural Fist person I We Second person You You Third person She, He, It They - In present tense, verbs agree with their subjects in number (singular or plural) and in person (first, second, or third). + Personal pronoun with lexical verb: Verbs in the third person singular ends in “-s”, verbs in the first and the third do not usually and in “-s”. For example: [148] I invite a different girl for each dance ( I is first person, the verb “invite” doesn’s end in “–s”)
32. [149] They help us to do home assignment ( They is plural third person, the verb “help” doesn’s end in “–s”) [150] she shows us how to make a cake ( She is singular third person, the verb “shows” ends in “-s”) [ ] Note: if the verbs in the third person have ending sound: “o, s, sh, ch” they have to end in “-es”. For example: [151] He teaches his pupil how to pronounce correctly (The verb “teach” has –ch ending sound, it must end with –es instead of -s) + Personal pronoun with auxiliary verb: Auxiliary verbs are those used to help another verb in the formation of tense and voice form and they have very important grammatical functions. They consist of two groups: Primary and modal verb. Primary verb: Do, have, be Let's see the form of primary verb on the box below: Do Have Be Present Singular Does, doesn't Has, hasn’t Is, isn't tense Plural Do, don't Have, haven't Are, aren't Past tense Did, didn't Had, hadn't Was, wasn’t Were, weren't Depending on three type of personal pronoun, we choose suitable form of primary verb from box above. For example: [152] she doesn’t smoke. [153] Were you at the party lastnight? No, I wasn’t but my husband was. [154] I’m sorry, I did try my best.
33. [155] they hadn't done what they promised [ ] Modal verb: All personal pronouns can go with modal verb. Depend on each contextual meaning we use suitable modal verb. For example: [156] she could be right (Fairly certain) [157] He must be right (Almost certain) [158] I should have written a letter = but I haven't done it (Talk about thing which did not happen although they were suppose to) [159] we went to Paris. It must have been nice (Deduction about the past) [160] I could have married anybody I want to. = I was able to marry anybody but I didn’t. (The ability to do something but we didn’t try to do it) [161] she is very late. She might have missed the train (The ability that past events happened) [Nguyen Van An,2003: 338] 2. Relative pronoun - Relative pronoun plays the part of subject or object in sentences within sentences (clauses). They relate or connect a clause to its antecedent – the noun to which refers, making the sentence more compact – that is to say, relative pronoun do two job at once. They are used as subject or object of the verb, like other pronoun, at the same time; they joint clauses together like conjunction. For example: [162a] what’s the name of the blonde girl? She just came in [162b] what’s the name of the blonde girl who just came in? [Nguyen Van An,2003: 42]
34. In the second example, who replace she as the subject of came, and also allows us to join the two sentences into one - An antecedent may be a phrase or a clause instead of a word. An antecedent does not have to come before the noun. It may be place anywhere in the sentence. For example: [163] Swimming in the lake is what he likes to do (The phrase Swimming in the lake is the antecedent of the relative pronoun what) [Nguyen Van An,2003: 167] Futher more, the relative pronoun should be near its antecedent as possible. This will avoid vague. For example: [164] the man who stands at the door is my brother [165] the student who won the prize in English is the son of my brother, Mr.Long [Nguyen Van An,2003: 167] If we separate the relative pronoun far from the antecedent, the meaning of the sentence would be change. For example: [166] The student is the son of my brother, Mr.Long, who won the first prize in English [Nguyen Van An,2003: 338] - The most common relative pronoun as subject is who, which, that - A relative pronoun (who, which, that) may be singular or plural depending upon the word to which the pronoun refers. For example: [167] the man who told me the story is your doctor. [168] the book which you lend is contains some very exciting stories [169] the woman flier that took her plane on a round the world trip has been awarded a medal [Nguyen Van An,2003: 338] - Like most pronoun, the relative pronoun who, which and that have antecedents, noun or pronoun to which they refer. Relative pronoun used as subjects of subordinate clauses takes verbs that agree with antecedents. For example: [170] our team is the only one of the bowling groups which has kept rigidly to the schedule. (“Which” is the subject of the relative clause. It refers to one and is therefore singular). [171] Monieka is one of the six mission stations that are supported by our church.
35. (“That” is the subject of the relative clause. It refers to the stations and is plural). [172] Jerry is the only one of the golfers who has maintained a consistently good score. (“Who” is the subject of the relative clause. It refers to the one is singular). [Nguyen Van An,2003:712] The three examples above also rise problem with the structure one of the and only one of the. As a rule, treat one of the constructions as plural, and only one of the constructions as singular [173] Carmen is the only one of the applications who has abilitiy to step into this position (Who is the subject of the relative clause, the antecedent of who is one not applications, therefore the verb has need agree with this antecedent) [Nguyen Van An,2003:712] 3. Indefinite pronoun The indefinite pronouns are so named because they refer to things or people in a vague or general way. The indefinite pronoun is classified into indefinite person of thing and indefinite quantities. - Indefinite person or things such as: Somebody Anybody Nobody Someone Anyone No one Something Anything Nothing Everybody Everyone [174] Her children means everything to her. [175] No one can understand him [Nguyen Van An,2003:713] Because indefinite person or things refers to nonspecific person or thing, treat them as singular even though they seem to have plural meaning. And we should learn the number of all the indefinite person or things so that you will not make an error in agreement when they are the subject of the sentence. For example:
36. [176] every one of these answers is wrong. [177] everything was destroyed. [178] everybody is joining in chorus [179] nothing gives me more pleasure than listening to Mazart [Nguyen Van An,2003:713] - Indefinite quantities such as: One Both Some Either Many Any Neither Few None Each Several All + One, either, neither, each are frequently followed by prepositional phrases. Remember verb always require singular form. For example: [180] One of the chairs looks comfortable [181] Either of the answers is correct [182] Neither of these satisfies me [183] Neither of the Senators shows any uncertainty [184] Each of the boys plays some game well [Nguyen Van An,2003:710] + Both, many, few, several are plural indefinite quantities pronoun and take plural verb. For example: [185] Many of the students walk to school [186] Both of the pies are good [187] Few of the guests know of the robbery [188] Several of our states have Indian names
37. [189] Many are called, but few are chosen [Nguyen Van An,2003:118] + The words some, any, none, all may be either singular or plural. The number of the subjects some, any, none, and all is determined by a word in the prepositional phrase that follows the subject. If the word the subject refers to is singular, the subject is singular, if the word is plural, the subject is plural. For example: [190] All of the fans rush home [191] All of my work is finished [192] Some of the birds have gone south [193] Some of the glare has disappeared [Nguyen Van An,2003:118] In conclusion, here are all rules for thesis subject – verb agreement. As usual, students can apply these rules in practice. However, there are still a lot of exceptions that don’t comply with these rules. That is reason why chapter 3 is presented to present some common errors possibly encoutered by non-native English leaners, suggest certain irregularities and some ways to overcome the problems.
38. Chapter three: Problems Possibly Encountered by Non- native Learners When Dealing with Subject – verb Agreement I. Problems possibly encountered by non – native learners 1.Subject – related errors 1.1. Errors possibly caused by the plural form of the head noun - For example: [194] Wrong: One of the chairs are broken Right: One of the chairs is broken [195] Wrong: To climb the mountains require courage Right: To climb the mountains requires courage ( Advanced English grammar Exercise, 8) In example [194], the subject refers to only one chair in many which is broken. In example [195], the subject is “to climb the mountains” regarded as a unit rather than the head noun “mountain” In two wrong examples above, verbs take singular plural form. All of the learners said that because the adjacent noun is used in plural form. That is the first error on account of plural form of head noun. 1.2. Errors possibly caused by words coming between noun and verb. For example: [196] Wrong: The highest percentage of voters are in favor of passing proposition 94 Right: The highest percentage of voters is in favor of passing proposition 94 [ ] + Noun: “The highest percentage” + Verb: be + Prepositional phrase or “of voters” separate subject from its verb
39. However, the prepositional phrase doesn’t affect to basic agreement. Therefore despite of plural form of “voters”, verb still take singular form. Another example: [197] Wrong: That book on political parties are interesting Right: That book on political parties is interesting [ ] + Noun: That book +verb: be + Prepositional phrase or “on political parties” separates subject from its verb As in [197], interrupting prepositional phrase “on political parties” does not change the fact that the verb “is” must agree with the subject “book” Another example for you to compare: [198] The dog, as well as my cats, likes cat food [199] That book that I got from my parent was very interesting [200] The ideas in that book are good for children’s health [ ] 2. Confusion over singular or plural verb 2.1. Because of cardinal number before noun. For example: [201] Wrong: He thought that 65 dollars were not too much to ask Right: He thought that 65 dollars was not too much to ask [202] Wrong: There was 6 silver dollars in the wallet Right: There were 6 silver dollars in the wallet [ ] In the example [201] we have cardinal number 65, thus the noun coming after the cardinal number has to take the plural form. However, this doesn’t mean that the noun phrase “65 dollars” require plural verb. In this sentence the phrase “65 dollars” is regared as a single unit but not the quantity. Therefore singular verb is required. In contrast to the example [202], the phrase “6 silver dollars” is mentioned with quantity. More detail, there are 6 coins in the wallet. So, plural verb is required. Another example for you to compare: [203] a thousand dollars is a large sum of money [204] Twenty year is a long period of time
40. [205] Fifty miles is not a short distance [ ] 2.2. Because of the contextual meaning and coordinators For example: [206] Right: Galileo and Copernicus were famous astronomers Wrong: Galileo and Copernicus was famous astronomers [207] Right: The father and the victim was crying Right: The father and the victim were crying [Nguyen Van An, 2003:708] In [206], the subject refers to two persons Galileo, Copernicus and they are coordinated by coordinator “and”, therefore the verb must be plural. However, in [207] the verb can be either plural or singular. It depends on the contextual meaning. In case, the father and the victim refers to one entity, the verb is singular, but when the father and the victim are two different persons, the verb must be plural. This can be regarded as appositional or non-appositional coordination. Similarly, please have a look at: [208] Last year a library and a museum were built in our town (Two things were built) [209] The captain and the quarterback of the team is the speaker (One person is both the captain and the quarter back) [210] My sister and my teacher is very wonderful ( One person is both my sister and my teacher) [210] My sister and my teacher are very wonderful (Two persons) [ ] 2.3. Because of the antecedent replaced by relative pronouns For example: [211] Carmen is only one of the applications who have ability to step [Nguyen Van An, 2003: 712]
41. It is important to notice all learners that defining what is the antecedent is very important because it affects to the form of verb. In this sentence, the antecedent is “one” not “applications”, therefore the verb is “has” not “have” 2.4. Because of the each structure’ requirements though the form of the noun is singular of plural A portion of A series of A Kind of + Noun V takes singular. A sort of (Whatever forms of the noun) Type of Many a More than one These structures are presented above, but I want to restate to give out why students still make mistake. Remember that, when facing these structures the singular verb is always used despite plural nouns. For example: [212] A series of accidents has been reported [213] More than one person has known the news [214] More than one proposal was brought in at the meaning [ ] 3. Irregularities 3.1. Fields of study that end in “-ics” - Words ending in “ics” to refer to academic subjects usually take a singular verb. For example: Mathematics Phonemics Acoustics Physics, Mechanics Statics Aerodynamics Aeronautics Electronics Economics Esthetics Linguistics
42. Physics Phonetics Thermodynamics Therapeutics [215] Mathematics is easy for her [216] Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with sound and sound waves [217] Statistics is a branch of economics [Nguyen Van An, 2003: 52] However, these nouns can takes plural verb when they refer to quanlities, condition, data, etc of the subject or when the reference is specific. For example: [218] the acoustics in this room are very good [219] your statistics are unreliable [Nguyen Van An, 2003: 52] - Words ending in “ics” refer to subjects of art, technique to perform feats, stunts, exercises, and science of management, can take singular of plural verb depending on the meaning of the sentence: Acrobatics Aerobatics Aerobics Athletics Calisthenics Gymnastics Politics Tactics + Singular verb is used when we express the art, principle, technique of performing feats, stunts or exercises or science of management. For example: [220] Politics is the art or science of government [221] Aerobics is a good way to get your body in shape + Plural verb is used when we express the feats, stuns, exercises, activities, performances, positions, skills, or maneuvers themselves. For example: [222] His politics are conservative [223] the aerobics in this show are very exciting
43. [Nguyen Van An, 2003: 53] 3.2. Certain illness that ends in “-s” are singular In english, there are a lots of words refering illness which naturally end in “s”. And they often make users confused when selecting the verb form For example: Diabetes Rickets Measles Rabies Mumps Shingles [224] Diabetes is an illness [225] Measles manifests by red spot [226] Mumps is very dangerous for man [227] Shingles takes a long time to get over [Nguyen Van An, 2003: 51] 3.3. Name of the games ending in “s” is singular Some games in English have their name ending in “s” and they also make users confused when selecting form of verb. For example: Billiards Dominoes Bowls Draught [228] Draughts is an easy game [229] Dominoes is a strange to Vietnamese [Nguyen Van An, 2003: 50] 3.4. Plural form of collective noun Beside the rule collective noun take singular verb presented in chapter 2, there are some other collective nouns take plural verb such as:
44. Cattle The police Poultry Vermin The military The youth People [230] the military have occupied the city [231] Cattle are selling for record prize this year [232] the youth today don’t know what they want [233] the poultry are running about the farm yard [234] the police are searching a tall dark man with a beard [235] the vermin are the most destructive [Nguyen Van An, 2003: 56] Note: [236] how many people are coming tonight? (People in this sentence mean person) Beside, people have “the world people” meaning Especially people ending with “-s” means national population. For example; [237] The peoples of the Arab world have a common language. [238] The English speaking peoples are more than the Chineses speaking peoples. 3.5. Existential sentence The proximity of there and verb is the agreement of verb with whatever noun or pronoun closely preceding it. For example: [239] there is a desk and two chairs [240] there is two chairs and a desk [Quirk, 1994:25] 3.6. “The + adj” as noun phrase - “The + adj” with plural meaning describes the human character or condition. They are used to represent a class of person. For example:
45. [241] The poor get poorer [242] the rich aren't always happy - “The + adj” with singular meaning doesn’t represent a class of person. For example: [243] The beautiful is what all people look for [Quirk, 1994:51] 3.7. Titles of works, company names, words mentioned as words and gerund phrases are singular A title of book, play, film, painting, musical composition, or other such work takes singular verb For example: [244] Delmonico Brother specializes in organic produce and additive – free meats [245] Pride and Prejudie is my favorite novel [246] the frogs is a play by Aristophanes [247] A lost cities describes the discoveries of many ancient civilizations [248] Controlled substances is a euphemism for illegal drugs [249] Encountering busy signals is troublesome to our client, so we have hired two new switchboarch operators [Nguyen Van An, 2003:708] 3.8. Foreign nouns There are a number of foreign words that have become part of the English language and retain their foreign plural form. So, be careful of the plural of the foreign noun because they retain the plural form of the foreign language from which they have been taken. Though they may look like singular noun, they are plural and require plural verb 3.8.1 Noun ending in “us”, “es” is added or “us” is changed into “i” Plural Singular Apparatuses = Apparati Apparatus Bacilluses = Bacilli Bacillus
46. Cactuses = Cacti Cactus Focuses = Foci Focus Funguses = Fungi Fungus Geniuses = Genii Genius Nucleuses = Nuclei Nucleus Radiuses = Radii Radius Stimuluses = Stimuli Stimulus Terminuses = Termini Terminus 3.8.2 Noun ending in “um”, “s” is added or “um” is changed into “a” Plural Singular Addenda = Addendums Addendum Agenda = Agendums Agendum Bacteria = Bacteriums Bacterium Curricula = Curriculums Curriculum Data = Datums Datum Errata = Erratum Erratum Gymnasisa = Gymnasiums Gymnasium Memoranda = Memorandums Memorandum Media = Mediums Medium Effluvia = Effluviums Effluvium Millennia = Millenniums Millennium Presidia = Presidiums Presidium Referenda = Referendums Referendum Symposia = Symposiums Symposium Strata = Stratums Stratum
47. 3.8.3 Noun ending in “is”, “is” is change into “es” Plural singular Analyses Analysis Antitheses Antithesis Axes Axis Crises Crisis Ellipses Ellipsis Hypotheses Hypothesis Oases Oasis Parentheses Parenthesis Prognoses Prognosis Prophylaxes Prophylaxis Synopses Synopsis Theses Thesis 3.8.4 Noun ending in “on”, “subject” is added or “on” is changed into “a” Plural Singular Criteria =Criterions Criterion Phenomena =Phenomenons Phenomenon In general, all problems are present here are my efforts to study and find out difficulties when dealing this subject: subject- verb agreement. May be my study doesn't cover all aspects of the problem. However I hope that it can help to the learners in some part. II Suggestions to overcome problems
48. 1. Distinguish appositional and non appositional coordinated subjects Please look at again the example [207]: The father and the victim was crying The father and the victim were crying Apposition is two expression one entity. Therefore the singular verb is used in the first sentence because the father and the victim are two expressions of one person. Another way, there is only one person is crying. Contrast to the first sentence, there are two person are crying. One is father, and one is victim. That is reason why plural verb is used. 2. Pay attention to number before noun As usual, the cardinal number (except from one) require plural noun, but when the cardinal number and noun are in a phase, you should takes a few minutes to think and decide singular verb or plural verb. If the phrase is regard as single unit, singular verb is used. And if the phrase indicates quantity, the plural verb is used. Please look at again the example [201], [202] [201] He thought that 65 dollars was not too much to ask [202] There were 6 silver dollars in the wallet 3. Pay attention to structures that always carry singular verb There are some structures always carry singular verb despite the plural form of subject. These special structures are presented in 2.4 and we should learn by heart all of them. Now look at again some example: [212] A series of accidents has been reported [213] More than one person has known the news 4. Pratice frequently Praticing frequently is the best way to remember all the rules and irregularities. As I present above, there are a lots of irregularities such as: title of works and company, foreign noun and it is difficult to learn by heart and remember only in one time. When practicing, that is one more
49. time for us to learn and remember them easily. Therefore, praticing frequently is really an effective solution. I hope that my suggestions will be useful for all learners. Part 3 conclusion Sentences are not simply random strings of words and morphemes, but conform to specific patterns determined by syntactic rules of language. From then we have grammatical sentences (in which string of words and morphemes are arrange based on those rules) and ungrammatical sentence (in which string are not arrange in such way). Subject – verb agreement is one of those rules. As this rule stated, when one of them (usually the subject) contains a particular feature then the other (usually the verb) also has to have that feature. It can be drawn that its subject which determines the concord between subject and verb to make a grammatical sentence. Therefore subject – verb agreement is dispensable part in sentence. Subject – verb agreement is a part of concord in simple sentence which comprises subject – verb concord, subject- object concord, subject – subject complement concord, object – object complement concord. Among them, subject - verb agreement is the most important and prominent. In this paper, the thesis subject – verb agreement is studied according to types of subject. And then how verb agree to subject. As you can see that, noun and pronoun are part of speech can function as subject. They are classified into varies of type such as: single noun, coordinated subject in form of noun, noun as an expressing of quantity, nominal subject, personal pronoun, indefinite pronoun, and relative pronoun. The last part of thesis presents possibly problems faced by learners and suggests some effective measures to overcome. I hope my study can help student in some part in doing exercise.
50. Although the paper is carried out with much effort and hard work, however, shortcomings are unavoidable. Therefore, all kinds of comments are welcome. Reference 1. Nguyen Van an, Modern English grammar. Vietnam national university HO CHI MINH city publishing house, 2003. 2. Thai Hoang Nguyen – Do Van Thao, Advanced English grammar exercises. Education publishing house, 2002. 3. A.J Thomson – A.V Martinet, A practical English grammar. Oxford university press 4. Tran thi ngoc lien, academic writing, Haiphong private university 5. Micheal swan – Catherine walter, The good grammar book, Oxford university press 6. Sidney greenbaum, English grammar, Oxford university press, 1996. 7. Quirk, R.et-at, A university grammar of English. Vietnam transportation publishing house, 2002 8. A S hornby, Oxford Advanced learner’s dictionary,oxford university press, 1948 9. google.com 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 ml 9.7
51. Appendix Exercise 1 Choose the correct word to complete the sentence. 1. Most of people here (know/knows) each other. 2. Some of my friends (live/lives) abroad. 3. All of us (think/thinks) he is wrong. 4. Some of people (has/have) difficulty with the lecture, but most (understand/understands) 5. Children (like/likes) ice-cream 6. Marie (have/has) a red car. 7. The children (have/has) been playing in the show. 8. Mr and Mrs Brown (were/was) reading their mail. 9. Fax machine (transmit/transmits) written messages. 10. Experience (develope/developes) talent. 11. A sonnet (consist/consists) of fourteen lines. 12. Agatha Christie, the famous British author, (write, writes) detective stories. 13. Having time to paint often (mean/ means) having a good time. 14. Trusting people (require/requires) faith 15. That he has angered the boss (please/pleases) the workers. 16. John, along with twenty friends, (is/are) planning the party. 17. The quanlity of these recordings (is/are) not very good. 18. If the duties of these officers (isn’t/aren’t) reduced, there will be not enough time to finish to project. 19. The television news (is/are) at ten o’clock 20. Advertisements on television (is/are) becoming more competitive then ever before 21. Darts (is/are) often played in the pubs 22. Physics (seem/seems) to interest Janet 23. Neither Bill nor Mary (is/are) going to the play tonight. 24. Anything (is/are) better than going to another movie tonight 25. A number of reporters (was/were) at the conference yesterday 26. Everybody who (have/has) a fever must go home immediately 27. Each student ( have/has) answered the first three question 28. Every policeman (is/are) given special training for the job 29. None of the officers here ( is/are) allowed to have gun
52. 30. One of our jobs (is/are) to help prevent crime Exercise 2: put each verb in the blanket into correct form of present tense The terrorist (1) (phone) the police station. He (2) (leave) a message about a bomb in the Black swan Hotel bar. The police (3) (close) the streets as soon as they can. They warn the public to stay away. Unfortunetly, not all the public (4) (obey) them. Some people (5) (disregard) the police warning. They stubbornly (6) (Stay) in the hotel. Others who (7) (Be) more sensible (8) (leave) the hotel but only (9) (go) to the end of the street. They (10) (watch) the activities from a safe distance. They (11) (hear) the explosion, which (12) (destroy) the front entry of the hotel. Pieces of glass (13) (fly) through the air. People living two block away (14) (see) a cloud of black smoke above the building. The ambulance sirents (15) (sound) above the noise. They (16) (take) the injured to the hospital. Exercise 3: From the four underlined words or phrases (A), (B), (C), (D) identify the one that is not correct. 1. One of history’s most spectacular executions were that of Damiens, the (A) (B) (C) unsuccessful assassin of Louis XV of France (D) 2. The average adult get two to five colds each year (A) (B) (C) (D) 3. Psychological experiments indicate that people remember more maths (A) problems that they can not solve than those they are able to solve (B) (C) (D) 4. Because vitamins is contained in wide variety of foods, people seldom lack (A) (B) (C) (D) most of them
53. 5. All surface of the tongue are covered with tiny taste buds (A) (B) (C) (D) 6. A million tourists from all over the world visits New York every year (A) (B) (C) (D) 7. The scientific method consist of forming hypotheses, collecting data, and (A) (B) (C) testing results (D) 8. Many of the early work of T.S Eliot expresses the anguish and barrrenness (A) (B) (C) of modern life and the isolation of the individual (D) 9. A farmer’s tractor is like a powerful horse, as it plows fields, pulls trailers, (A) (B) (C) and move heavy loads (D) 10. During the ceremonies in the United states guests is usually silent (A) (B) (C) (D)