Q3-S2 English for Academic and

Professional Purposes
Subject Teacher: Mrs. Fuentes

John Rey M. Vibar

11-ICT
 Important Subject Verb Agreement Rules

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #1

A Singular Subject takes a Singular Verb and a Plural Subject takes a Plural Verb.
➢ There is a man
➢ There are four men.
➢ He is happy
➢ They are happy
NOTE: But a Singular Subject takes a Plural Verb in the Subjunctive Mood:
➢ If I were a bird, I would fly in the sky.
➢ If I were the CM, I would abolish the exam.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #2

Nouns that cannot be counted take the Singular Verb even though it is plural in meaning.
➢ Her hair is grey.
➢ The grass is getting long.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #3

If the adjective is used as a noun, then the + adjective is followed by the plural verb.
➢ The old are generally respected.
➢ The poor are not always dishonest.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #4

Adding two or more Subjects by 'and' is Plural Verb. Again, if there is no or not in one of the
two subjects connected by ‘and’, the verb is formed according to the previous Subject of no
or not.
➢ Arpita and Paramita are two sisters.
➢ He and his friend have arrived here.
➢ I, and not my brother, have done this.
➢ Only boys and no girl are guilty.
➢ Only he and not his friends is the culprit.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #5

If two Singular Nouns combine a single person or object, then the Verb is Singular.
➢ The Headmaster and President of the school is coming.
➢ The Headmaster and the President of the school are coming.
➢ A black and white horse is my favourite.
➢ A black and a white horse are for sale.
• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #6
Even if there is a plural form in the title or name, if it deals with a subject, then Singular Verb
is used.
➢ ‘Star Wars’ was a very successful film.
➢ Two hours is a long time to wait.
➢ Five miles is too far to walk.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #7

Each or Every-connected Subject always takes Singular verb.
➢ Every pupil has a book.
➢ Each boy was wicked.
➢ Each boy and each girl was dressed in a new dress.
➢ Every man, woman, and the child was charmed.
➢ Every hour and minute brings its call for duty.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #8

If two or more Singular subjects are joined by 'or', 'nor', 'either ..... or', 'neither ..... nor', then
the Verb is Singular.
➢ The boy or the girl is fond of sweets.
➢ Either Amal or Bimal has eaten the mango.
➢ Neither you nor I was there.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #9

When a Singular and a Plural subject are joined by 'or', 'nor', 'either ....... or', 'neither ...... nor',
then the Plural subject comes at the end and the Verb -Is Plural.
➢ Either Nikhil or his friends have done this work.
➢ Neither Nilu nor her brothers were hurt.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #10

When 'or', 'nor', 'either… or', 'neither… nor' combine the Subject of different Person, then the
Subject of the Person at the end, the Verb is according to that Person.
➢ Either he or I have done this.
➢ Neither you nor he is to blame.
➢ Either you or he/I shall go to market.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #11

If the subject of different numbers or person is added by 'and' then the verb is plural.
➢ You, he, and I are friends.
➢ You and he are birds of the same feather.
➢ You and I (not, I and you) would enjoy the T.V.
• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #12
Collective nouns, when used to convey the sense of togetherness or unanimous action take
the singular form of the verb. But when they are used to convey the sense of separation they
take a plural verb. e.g. Audience, Class, Committee, Crowd, Flock, Jury, Parliament, Team,
etc.
➢ The Audience was listening attentively.
➢ The class was silent.
➢ The committee has issued its report.
➢ The flock is grazing.
➢ The jury were divided in their opinions.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #13

A lot of / A group of / A number of collectively takes the Verb of Singular Number and the Verb
of Plural Number in different entities.
➢ There is a lot of boys on the ground.
➢ A lot of boys are playing on the field.
➢ Here is a group of boys.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #14

Some Nouns which are Singular in form but Plural in meaning, take Plural Verb.
➢ The police (= policemen) are questioning a man. But, the policeman is watching outside the
house.
➢ People have to obey the rules.
➢ Two dozen (not dozens) make twenty-four.
➢ One dozen of eggs cost eighteen rupees.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #15

Some Nouns which are plural in form but Singular in meaning, take Singular Verb.
➢ The news is true
➢ The wages of sin is death.
➢ Physics is a branch of science.
➢ Politics is the business of his life.
NOTE: But some Nouns are always Plural and take a Plural Verb.
➢ The goods were found to be defective.
➢ My belongings have been destroyed.
• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #16
When a Plural Noun is preceded by 'one of', 'each of', 'either of', 'neither of', etc., then the Verb
is Singular, not Plural. In such cases Plural Verb is often mistakenly placed.
➢ One of the boys was ill. (not were)
➢ The quality of the oranges is not good. (not are)
➢ Each of the girls is clever. (not are)
➢ Either of the books is stolen.
➢ Neither of the books was interesting. (not were)

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #17

'More than one' takes Singular Verb; But 'More than two / three' or more takes the Plural Verb.
➢ More than one boy is guilty.
➢ [But] More than two boys are guilty.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #18

If more than one subject is added by with, together with or as well as, then the verb is according
to the first subject.
➢ They with their father deserve praise.
➢ Subhas as well as his friends was punished.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #19

When Parenthesis sits after the Subject in the corner, it does not affect the subject-verb
agreement in any way. The part of Bacchus that is not associated with the structure of the
original sentence is called parenthesis .
➢ He, and not you, (used parenthetically), has won the prize.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #20

In case of not only… but also, the verb is according to the last subject.
➢ Not only George but also his friends are buying books.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #21

If the Relative Pronoun is the Subject, then the verb is according to the Number and Person
of the Antecedent, i.e. its previous Noun or Pronoun.
➢ I who am your friend should stand by you.
➢ He who is my friend should stand by me.
➢ You who are my friend should stand by me.
• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #22
Pronouns and verbs of masculine gender or feminine gender are used according to the
context in case of anybody, everybody, anyone, everyone, each etc.
➢ I shall help each of the girls in her studies.
➢ Each of the boys will do his duty.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #23

One always sits in place of One.
➢ One should be careful of one’s (not his/her) duties.
➢ One cannot be too careful about what one (not he) says.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #24

After than or as, the case and verb of the pronoun have to be placed according to the meaning
of the context.
➢ He is taller than I (am).
➢ I like you better than he (likes you).
➢ I like you better than (I like) him.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #25

When Many a / Many an is added before the Noun, then it becomes Singular form and the
verb also becomes Singular.
➢ Many a rose is born to blush unseen.
➢ Many an admirer praises him.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #26

Plural Verb sits after Pair Noun like trousers, scissors, glasses etc.
➢ Here are the scissors.
➢ These trousers need cleaning.
➢ Your new glasses are very nice.
NOTE: We cannot use or number before the Pair Nouns.
➢ "Not a trouser and Not two trousers."
We can use pair (s) of + such Pair Nouns with a singular or a plural verb.
➢ This pair of trousers needs cleaning.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #27

The auxiliary verb sits once when the two principal verbs are related, following the structure
of an auxiliary verb.
➢ I have lost the pen but (have) got the book.
• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #28
If a clause or phrase is the subject, then take the Singular Verb.
➢ To err is human.
➢ That he is honest is known to me.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #29

When two numbers are joined by 'and',then the verb is singular. However, in this case now
Plural Verb is also being used.
➢ Two and two makes (make) four.
➢ Four and five makes (make) nine.

• Subject Verb Agreement Rules #30

Half of, two-thirds of, three-fourths of the greater / greatest part of, etc. When the quantity is
indicated, then it is a Singular verb, and when the number is indicated then it is Plural Verb.
➢ Half of the apple is rotten.
➢ Half of the apples are good.
➢ Half of the land is cultivated.
➢ Two-thirds of the boys are absent.

Guides:
Noun: is a word that represents a person, place, or thing. Everything we can see or
talk about is represented by a word. That word is called a "noun." You might find it useful
to think of a noun as a "naming word."

Verb: is a word used to describe an action, state or occurrence. Verbs can be used
to describe an action, that’s doing something. For example, like the word ‘jumping’ in this
sentence: The rabbit was jumping in the field. They can also be used to describe a state
of being, that’s feeling something.

Subjunctive: is a verb form in English that is relatively rare, but is structurally very
simple. It is a special kind of present tense; for all verbs except the past tense of ‘be’
(‘were’), the subjunctive is the same as the infinitive without ‘to’.

Collective nouns means “of or characteristic of a group of individuals taken

together.” A collective noun is a noun that appears singular in formal shape but denotes
a group of persons or objects. The words army, flock, and bunch are all examples of
collective nouns.
 The Use of Punctuation Marks

➢ Full stop (.)

Other names: period, full point
Usage:
1. As a full stop, it is used at the end of a declarative or imperative sentence.
2. As a full point, it is used at the end of abbreviations.
3. As a full point, it is also used at the end of initials.
Examples:
• The food is delicious. (declarative)
• Open a window. (imperative)
• Dr. Goldberg is a well-known doctor. (abbreviation)
• A. A. Milne wrote Winnie-the-Pooh. (initials)
Nowadays, it’s quite common to drop full stops for certain words. Some popular
examples are MJ for Michael Jackson (initials), NASA for National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (acronym), and FYI for for your information (initialism).

➢ Question Mark (?)

Usage: Used at the end of a question
Example: Do you want some chocolate?
Indirect questions don’t use a question mark, but direct questions do. That includes
rhetorical questions (where you don’t expect an answer). Can the government find a
solution? We’ll find out next week.

Exclamation Mark (!)

Other names: exclamation point

Usage: It shows strong emotion and is used at the end of an exclamatory sentence.
Example: I got a promotion!
Avoid using them in formal writing. This is bad: Dear Mr. Smith, I regret to inform you
that your mother had a serious accident yesterday! The exclamation makes you sound
happy or excited.

Now, let’s move on to punctuation marks that are used within a sentence. Some
of them are tricky…

Comma (,)

Usage: A comma is used:

1. In a list of 3 or more things
2. When a number is over 999
3. With dates
 4. With addresses
5. With quotations
6. Between adjectives
7. Between adverbs
8. After introductory words and clauses
9. To join independent clauses
10. During pauses in breath, or for nonrestrictive elements
Examples:
• My pets are a cat, a dog, and a goldfish. (list)
• The genie in Aladdin’s lamp spent 10,000 years in captivity. (number)
• Martin Luther King delivered his memorable ‘I have a Dream’ speech
on August 28, 1963. (date)
• We visited Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. (address)
• “We are all fools in love,” said Charlotte to Elizabeth. (quotation – note it
goes before the quote marks here)
• The food in the restaurant was delicious, filling, and cheap. (adjectives –
putting the comma before the third item is called an Oxford Comma and
that’s how I use commas)
• The repaired car ran smoothly, quietly, and quickly. (adverbs)
• Hey, look at that. (introductory)
• My mother works in a bank, and my father owns a store. (independent
clauses with a conjunction)
• Uncle Benny, the donut shop owner, lives in our building. (pauses –
separating relative clauses)

Semicolon (;)

Usage: It separates two complete sentences that are closely related in thought.
Example: I am vegetarian; I don’t eat meat.
Imagine you read this in a story:

He’s rich. I want to marry him.

These are two separate statements. You might think there’s a connection between the
two statements, but someone else might not think there’s a connection.

He’s rich; I want to marry him.

Here the semicolon removes the distance between the two statements. It’s much
clearer here that she wants to marry the dude BECAUSE he’s rich.
Colon (:)

Usage: You can use a colon:

1. To list things
2. To emphasize one thing
3. Between two complete sentences where the 2nd sentence is an
explanation for the first
Examples:
• Mitch plays three instruments: piano, guitar, and flute. (list)
• My dad gave me the best gift ever: tickets to my favorite Broadway
show. (emphasis)
• The teacher was amazed at Jose’s progress: He has been practicing day
and night. (two related complete thoughts)

Apostrophe (’)

Usage: An apostrophe is used:

1. To show ownership
2. In place of missing letters
Examples:
• These are Jon’s shoes. (ownership)
• The class president hasn’t missed a single day of school. (missing letters)
Note – when talking about ownership with the word ‘its’ there’s no apostrophe.

The dog is chasing its tail. It’s a happy dog!

Quotation marks (“”)

Usage:
1. Quotation marks are used to show someone’s exact speech or words.
2. They are also used for titles of books, movies, stories, etc.
3. Sarcasm.
Examples:
• “Creativity is intelligence having fun,” said Albert Einstein. (exact words)
• “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” is a good fantasy novel for
both children and adults. (book title)
• He married a “dancer”. (She’s actually a stripper.)

Parenthesis ()
Other names: Curved brackets
Usage:
1. Parenthesis are used to enclose words that either add more detail or
clarify.
2. They are also used for enumerating within a sentence.
Examples:
• I paid 40,000 Won (around $35) for this skirt. (more detail)
• The guest speaker talked about 1) productivity, 2) focus, and 3)
momentum. (enumeration)

Slash (/)

Usage:
1. A slash is used to show alternatives and is used in set phrases like and/or,
if/when, and man/woman.
2. It can also be used to show opposite ideas or relationships.
Examples:
• If a person dies without a will, what happens to his/her
property? (alternatives)
• I have a love/hate relationship with food. (opposite concepts)
My favourite example is from the movie Zoolander. A male model wins a prize for being
the best ‘Actor/Model’ and not ‘Model/Actor’. In other words, we recognise him for his
acting, first.

Hyphen (-)

Usage:
1. A hyphen joins two or more words to make compound words.
2. We often use hyphens for numbers like Social Security numbers or phone
numbers.
Examples:
• The company needs a long-term solution. (compound word)
• The phone number to the emergency center is 1-800-273-TALK. (string of
numbers)
When should you use a hyphen? That needs its own article! Often when English gets a
new word it is hyphenated, and over time it loses the hyphen. So e-mail becomes email,
and ice-cream becomes ice cream.

Dash (–)

Usage: There are two kinds of dashes – the en dash and the em dash.
 1. Longer than a hyphen, an en dash is used to show a range or
connections.
2. An em dash is twice as long in size as a hyphen. It can be used instead of
a comma, a parenthesis, or a colon.
Examples:
• Millennials are those born in the years 1983‒2000. (en dash)
• Everyone—including picky Aunt Matilda—loved the freshly baked
donuts. (em dash)

Uncommon Punctuation Marks

➢ Brackets [ ]

There are 4 types of brackets. Out of the 4, only one is commonly used. The others are
used more in Math.
Types and Usage:
1. Curved Brackets or Parenthesis – the most used out of all 4; already
discussed above.
2. Square Brackets – used to provide additional information
3. Curly Brackets – used in prose for a list of similar choices
4. Angle Brackets – used to emphasize information
Examples:
• I paid 40,000 Won (around $35) for this skirt. (parenthesis)
• The policeman [Officer Jones] said he would report the lost
bicycle. (square brackets)
• Choose your yogurt toppings {fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, granola, gummy
bears} and then pay at the cashier. (curly brackets)
• The French word /foh pahz/ is spelled <faux pas>. (angle brackets)

➢ Ellipsis (…)

Usage: It is used to show an omission of either letters or words. Because of this, an

ellipsis is often used within quotations when unimportant parts need to be taken out.

Example: When Newton stated, “An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion
stays in motion…” he developed the law of motion.
 Types of Sentences
➢ Declarative sentences:
As the name suggests, a declarative sentence simply declares a statement or an opinion.
A declarative sentence has a neutral tone, meaning it ends with a period mark “.” A few
Examples of declarative sentences:
➢ I live at 24, East street.
➢ I like ice-cream.
➢ The wind is blowing from the west.

Notice how both these sentences declare some feelings but not very strong feelings,
feelings like “I absolutely love ice cream!”. This sentence becomes an exclamatory
sentence ending in the exclamation mark – “!”

➢ Exclamatory sentences:
As the name suggests, exclamatory sentences express strong feelings and excitement or
extreme dislike. These sentences are quite loud, in the sense that they explain full
emotions. These are declarations just like declarative sentences but with much stronger
emotions. That’s why they end in the exclamation mark.
➢ Wow, she must love scuba diving!
➢ Red sea blue holes are out of this world!
➢ I can’t believe she ran that fast to grab the bone!

➢ Imperative sentences:
Whenever a demand is expressed, it’s an imperative sentence. It could also be
instructions, requests, a wish or demands. Basically, anything you want to make happen
can be expressed in what we call, imperative sentence.
➢ Come to the ball dance with me! (Expressing an invitation)
➢ Sop moving in circles! (Expressing a command)
➢ Move in circle just once a day. (Expressing an instruction)
➢ Have fun at the ball dance! (Expressing a wish)
➢ Please get out of the room! (Expressing a command)
Notice how imperative sentences above are expressing something to happen, maybe
strongly or mildly followed by an exclamation mark or a period respectively. Remember
this while forming imperative sentences. Depending upon the sentence’s mood, the
sentence is followed by an exclamation mark or a period. Very strong emotions are of
course followed by an exclamation mark.

Important note: Do not confuse imperative sentences with exclamatory sentences. One
clear cut difference is that there’s always a command in the imperative sentence whereas
there never will be a command in the exclamatory sentence. Exclamatory sentences are
declarations but really strong ones. Both sentences have exclamatory marks at the end,
but they are two different ones.
➢ Interrogative sentences:
Interrogative sentences as the name suggests, express e=interrogation or questions and
naturally end in the question mark – “?” Remember that these sentences
have which, when, where, how and what in them.
➢ When do you get off work?
➢ Who do you trust the most in the world?
➢ Where do you live in California?
➢ Which city is your favourite?
➢ How can I get to this karate teacher?
➢ It may not contain the “wh” questions but could simply be a yes/no question.
➢ Is she a student of Arts?
➢ Do you like to eat ice-cream?
➢ Now you should just identify the following sentences:
➢ Where is her house?
➢ Wow, she swims like a fish!
➢ I would love to take you to the dinner!
➢ She is sitting on the couch.

Abbreviation: a shortened form of a written word or phrase used in place of the whole
word or phrase
Examples:
➢ "Amt" is an abbreviation for "amount."
➢ "USA" is an abbreviation of "United States of America."

Capitalization Rules in English

➢ First word in a sentence - In English, a capital letter is used for the first word of a
sentence and for all proper nouns (words that name a specific person, place,
organization, or thing). In some cases, capitalization is also required for the first word in
a quotation and the first word after a colon.

Capitalize

People - Names (and words derived

from them); nationalities; titles when
used as part of a name
• the works of Aristotle • the Eiffel Tower
• a Freudian psychoanalyst • the River Thames
• the Brazilian actor
• the campaign of Senator Time - Days of the week and months of
Sanders the year; historical eras and named
Places - Names of specific continents, events; holidays
countries, states, cities, regions, • a Monday in July
monuments and landmarks • the Middle Ages
• South America • the Napoleonic Wars
• the West Coast of the US • Christmas Day
 Don’t capitalize
Occupations; titles when not used as Centuries, decades, seasons
part of a name • an eighteenth-century painting
• the magazine’s managing editor • the fashion of the fifties
• an elderly professor • a summer vacation
• the left-wing senator
Others
Directions and general areas • Animal and plant species
• head north • Elements
• the west of the city • Minerals
• the longest river in the world • Theories and models
• Medical conditions

Recognizing proper nouns

A proper noun is the specific name of a person, place, organization, or thing. All
proper nouns (as well as adjectives derived from them) should be capitalized.

➢ Michelle Obama, the former first lady, was raised in Chicago and is a graduate
of Harvard Law School.
A common noun, on the other hand, refers to a general, non-specific category or
entity. Common nouns are not normally capitalized (unless they are the first word of a
sentence or part of a title).

➢ Monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy are forms of government classified according

to which people have the authority to rule.
There are no proper nouns in the example above. Words like democracy, government
and authority refer to general concepts and categories rather than specific names.

Common nouns often become proper nouns when used to name a specific entity

Common noun Proper noun

The nations of the world The United Nations

The local church The Catholic Church

A conservative viewpoint The Conservative Party

A vast canyon The Grand Canyon

An application for business school Columbia Business School

Times and events

Specific periods and named events in history are proper nouns and thus capitalized.
Centuries, however, stay in lowercase.

• The Middle Ages were dismissed as backward by Renaissance thinkers.

• The Paleozoic Era began 541 million years ago.
• The Great Depression affected virtually every country in the world.
• Impressionism was a pivotal artistic development in the nineteenth century.

Days of the week (e.g., Wednesday), months of the year (e.g., August), and holidays
and festivals (e.g., Christmas, Ramadan) are capitalized. However, the four seasons are
common nouns and therefore not capitalized unless they appear as part of a proper noun.

• I plan on visiting New York in the summer.

• I plan on attending the Summer Olympics next year.

Directions and regions

North, east, south, and west are not capitalized when they refer to a direction or general
area. This also applies to derivative adjectives and adverbs:

• I live five miles north of London.

• Warm, westerly winds passed through the city.
• The fire affected only the northern region of the forest.

However, capitalization is required for these words when they are part of a proper name
or when they refer to a distinct region.

• The North Pole has a wider variety of animal life than the South Pole.
• The scope of the book is limited to the history of Western civilization.
• Cameroon’s East Region borders the Central African Republic.

Whether a geographical area is named as a distinct region can vary between countries.

• They took a road trip down the West Coast of the United States.
• We took a road trip up the west coast of Scotland.

If you’re unsure whether to capitalize the name of an area or region, check a dictionary
or consult academic sources for common usage.

Proofreading Symbols

Insert something; the text Add space

to be inserted will likely be
provided in the margin
Transpose

Delete
Spell out

Close up space
Make uppercase

Delete and close up

Make lowercase
 Let stand
Insert brackets

Make equal space

Insert quotation marks
Insert a comma
Set as bold
Insert period

Insert semicolon Set as italics

Insert colon Wrong font

Move left
Insert hyphen

Move right
Insert en dash

Move up
Insert em dash

Insert apostrophe Move down

Insert question mark

Insert exclamation mark Center

Begin paragraph
Insert parentheses