Subject and Verb Agreement | The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation

Should We Use There Is and There Are?

GrammarBook.com — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 11:00:04 +0000

There are too many orange M&Ms in this bowl. There is a lot of congestion on I-88 into the city. There’s a piece of confetti in your hair. If you’re an American communicating in American English, such statements are as common as corn in the Midwest. There is, there are, and the contracted there’s are […]

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Compound Subject: Definition and Examples

GrammarBook.com — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 11:00:34 +0000

Michael plays basketball. Jeremiah doesn’t trust pirate radio stations. Hailey dances in a ballet company. You likely recognize these statements as simple, declarative sentences that include basic components of grammar—namely a singular subject and a verb that agrees. When the subject position has two or more nouns or pronouns joined by a coordinating conjunction, we […]

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What Is Subject-Verb Concord?

GrammarBook.com — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 11:00:04 +0000

Subjects and verbs are the principal components of language. Before we can provide descriptive or informative details in a sentence, we must know the actor and the action. Subjects and verbs are so fundamental to communication in English that they can form complete thoughts alone. Examples Jon runs. You walk. Jennifer jogs. English subjects and […]

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What Are Simple Subjects?

GrammarBook.com — Mon, 27 Jun 2022 11:00:50 +0000

One interesting thing about grammar is that we may often use it correctly without even realizing how or why. In other words, we might know the best way to apply a word or a phrase even if we can’t explain it. As natural to us as the air that we breathe, simple subjects appear in […]

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None Is vs. None Are: Which Do You Use?

GrammarBook.com — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 11:00:05 +0000

Even among those who pay attention to grammar, the none is versus none are debate can be a spirited one. Do you know which one is correct? We don’t want you to get it wrong or to follow misguided advice. That’s why we are going to clear things up in today’s post. As a starting […]

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Subjunctive Mood: What Is the Subjunctive Mood?

GrammarBook.com — Mon, 19 Apr 2021 11:00:26 +0000

A GrammarBook reader came across this sentence: If I were very lucky, I would get the chance to go. She asked, “Shouldn’t I be followed by was, not were, since I is singular?” This is type of question is common within English grammar, particularly because it walks the line between the conditional tense and the subjunctive mood when a dependent if clause is […]

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Is None Plural or Singular?

GrammarBook.com — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 15:00:51 +0000

If you have friends and family members with an interest in grammar, asking whether the word none is singular or plural is a good way to start a spirited discussion (and if you have this kind of social circle, we would enjoy knowing how the discussion concluded, but we digress). For many, the presumed wisdom […]

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We the People, or…?

GrammarBook.com — Tue, 20 Oct 2020 12:00:03 +0000

For much of the last two months, we have been analyzing why the subject pronouns I, he, she, we, they and the object pronouns me, him, her, us, them are chronically misused and confused. In this final installment, we’ll deal with flawed sentences like Politicians should respect we the people and It’s a happy outcome […]

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The Subjunctive Mood

GrammarBook.com — Tue, 11 Aug 2020 12:00:26 +0000

An e-newsletter fan came across this sentence: If I were very lucky, I would get the chance to go. She asked, “Shouldn’t I be followed by was, not were, since I is singular?” Let us answer that by asking you a question: Are you old enough to remember the ad jingle that began, “I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener …”? […]

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American vs. British English: Grammar

GrammarBook.com — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 05:00:22 +0000

We hope you’re enjoying our exploration of American and British English as much as we are. So far we’ve considered variations in spelling and vocabulary between the dialects. Our review continues with a closer look at American and Commonwealth grammar. Prepositions Different phrasing involving prepositions between American and British English may not be as pronounced […]

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