3. A noun is a naming word. It names a person,
place, thing, idea, living creature, quality, or
action. Examples:
policemen, General Razon, Traffic Management
Group. cadetr, thought, tree, kindness, arrival ,
A verb is a word which describes an action
(doing something) or a state (being something).
Examples:
walk, talk, think, believe, live, like, want
4. An adjective is a word that describes a noun. It
tells you something about the noun. Examples:
big, yellow, thin, amazing, beautiful, quick,
important
An adverb is a word which usually describes a
verb. It tells you how something is done. It may
also tell you when or where something
happened. Examples:
slowly, intelligently, well, yesterday, tomorrow,
here, everywhere
5. A pronoun is used instead of a noun, to
avoid repeating the noun. Examples:
I, you, he, she, it, we, they
A conjunction joins two words, phrases or
sentences together. Examples:
but, so, and, because, or
6. A preposition usually comes before a noun,
pronoun or noun phrase. It joins the noun to
some other part of the sentence. Examples:
on, in, by, with, under, through, at
An interjection is an unusual kind of word,
because it often stands alone. Interjections are
words which express emotion or surprise, and
they are usually followed by exclamation marks.
Examples:
Ouch!, Hello!, Hurray!, Oh no!, Ha!
7. 1. When the subject of a sentence is composed
of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by
and, use a plural verb.
2.When two or more singular nouns or pronouns
are connected by or or nor, use a singular verb.
8. 3. When a compound subject contains both a singular
and a plural noun or pronoun joined by or or nor, the verb
should agree with the part of the subject that is nearer
the verb.
4. Doesn't is a contraction of does not and should be used
only with a singular subject. Don't is a contraction of do
not and should be used only with a plural subject. The
exception to this rule appears in the case of the first
person and second person pronouns I and you. With
these pronouns, the contraction don't should be used.
9. 5. Do not be misled by a phrase that
comes between the subject and the verb.
The verb agrees with the subject, not with
a noun or pronoun in the phrase.
10. 6. The words each, each one, either,
neither, everyone, everybody, anybody,
anyone, nobody, somebody, someone,
and no one are singular and require a
singular verb.
11. 7. Nouns such as civics, mathematics,
dollars, measles, and news require
singular verbs.
Note: the word dollars is a special case.
When talking about an amount of money, it
requires a singular verb, but when referring
to the dollars themselves, a plural verb is
required.
12. 8. Nouns such as scissors, tweezers,
trousers, and shears require plural verbs.
(There are two parts to these things.)
9. In sentences beginning with there is or
there are, the subject follows the verb.
Since there is not the subject, the verb
agrees with what follows.
13. 10. Collective nouns are words that imply
more than one person but that are
considered singular and take a singular
verb, such as: group, team, committee,
class, and family.
In very few cases, the plural verb is used if
the individuals in the group are thought of
and specifically referred to.
14. 11. Expressions such as with, together
with, including, accompanied by, in
addition to, or as well do not change the
number of the subject. If the subject is
singular, the verb is too.
15. Some indefinite pronouns — such as all,
some — are singular or plural depending
on what they're referring to. (Is the thing
referred to countable or not?) Be careful
choosing a verb to accompany such
pronouns.
Some of the beads are missing.
Some of the water is gone.
16. Indefinite pronoun, none, can be either singular or plural;
it often doesn't matter whether you use a singular or a
plural verb — unless something else in the sentence
determines its number. (Writers generally think of none
as meaning not any and will choose a plural verb, as in
"None of the engines are working," but when something
else makes us regard none as meaning not one, we want
a singular verb, as in "None of the food is fresh.")
None of you claims responsibility for this incident?
None of you claim responsibility for this incident?
None of the students have done their homework. (In this
last example, the word their precludes the use of the
singular verb.
17. The pronouns neither and either are
singular and require singular verbs even
though they seem to be referring, in a
sense, to two things.
Neither of the two traffic lights is working.
Which shirt do you want for Christmas?
Either is fine with me.
18. When nor or or is used the subject closer to the
verb determines the number of the verb.
Whether the subject comes before or after the
verb doesn't matter; the proximity determines the
number.
Either my father or my brothers are going to sell
the house.
Neither my brothers nor my father is going to sell
the house.
Are either my brothers or my father responsible?
Is either my father or my brothers responsible?
19. The words there and here are never
subjects.
There are two reasons [plural subject] for
this.
There is no reason for this.
Here are two apples.
20. Fractional expressions such as half of, a part of, a
percentage of, a majority of are sometimes singular and
sometimes plural, depending on the meaning.
The expression "more than one" (oddly enough) takes a
singular verb: "More than one student has tried this."
Some of the voters are still angry.
A large percentage of the older population is voting
against her.
Two-fifths of the troops were lost in the battle.
Two-fifths of the vineyard was destroyed by fire.
Forty percent of the students are in favor of changing the
policy.
Forty percent of the student body is in favor of changing
the policy.
Two and two is four.
Four times four divided by two is eight.
