sentence error (sva) & tenses

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BBI2424 ACADEMIC WRITING
SEMESTER 1, 2017/2018
LECTURE NOTES 5 (WEEK 10 - WEEK 12)
Topics:
1. Sentence Error (Subject-Verb Agreement)
2. Tenses

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SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT
In academic writing, you have to construct sentences based on the correct subject
verb agreement rules. The basic rule is singular subjects need singular verbs; plural
subjects need plural verbs. Being able to find the right subject and verb will help you
correct errors of subject-verb agreement.The following are some of the rules that
you can use as a guide:
No Rules Examples
1 A singular verb follows a
singular subject and a
plural verb follows a
plural subject.
 The boy laughs loudly.
 The boys laugh loudly.
2 When two or more
singular subjects are
joined by the conjunction
“and”, a plural verb is
used.
 Michelle and Matthew sing well.
 Lara and Sam study very hard for the test
3 Phrases such as
“together with", “as well
as” and "along with” do
not affect the actual
number of subject before
them. They are not the
same as the conjunction
"and”.
 Jim, together with his sister, is leaving for
Korea on Sunday.
 The manager as well as the employees, has
to go for the blood test.
 The doctors, along with their nurses, are
taking a break at the cafeteria.
4 A singular verb is used
after “neither” and
"either".
 Neither of the two traffic lights is
working.
 Either dress is fine with me.
5 When two subjects are
joined by "neither…nor”
or “either...or”, the verb
agrees with the subject
nearest to it.
 Neither Jasmine nor Megan knows the
answers.
 Are either the boys or the girls required to
stay in the venue?
6 The indefinite pronouns
such as "anyone",
"anybody", "anything",
"everybody”, "everyone",
“everything', "nobody",
"no one”, “nothing",
"someone", "somebody",
“something” and “none”
require singular verbs.
 Everyone likes durians.
 Someone has taken my dictionary
 None of the students has done the
assignments.

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7 When the subjects follow
"each", “even” and "one
of", a singular verb is
used.
 Every boy and girl has to pay for the entrance
tickets.
 Each of the students is responsible for
success or failure of the event.
8 lndefinite pronouns such
as “all” and “some” can
be singular or plural
depending on whether
they are referring to
countable
or uncountable nouns.
 Some of the umbrellas are missing.
 Some of the rice is stale.
9 When the subjects are
separated by “all but"
and “both...and", a plural
verb is used.
 All but the lecturer have left the lecture hall.
 Both Mary and Kay enjoy singing and
dancing.
10 When two singular
subjects refer to the
same person or thing, a
singular verb is used.
 My good friend and neighbour is a musician.
 Ryan, my supervisor and mentor,
teaches me how to be a good
technician.
11 When two subjects are
used to express one idea,
a singular verb is used.
 Bread and butter is all I usually take for my
breakfast.
 The horse and carriage is beautifully
decorated for the competition.
12 "There" and "here" are
never a subject.
 Here is your shirt.
 There are your shirts.
13 A collective noun takes a
singular verb when it is
used to mean agroup.
 The team wins all the competitions.
 The committee has not decided on where to
hold the camp yet.
15 Words such as
"glasses", "trousers",
"pants", “scissors” are
regarded as plural
unless they are used
with the phrase "a pair
of".
 My glasses are missing.
 My trousers are torn.
 A pair of trousers is on the table for you.
16 Plural numbers take a
singular verb when they
are used in a phrase to
mean an amount or a
unit.
 A million dollars is a lot of money.
 Three years is a long time.

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17 Some words end in
“s” but are singular in
meaning. ln this case,
a singular verb is
used.
 Physics bores me to death.
18 Some nouns are
singular in form but
plural in meaning. In
this case, a plural
verb is used.
 The police have caught the culprit.
 Poultry continue to rise in price.
EXERCISE 1
Fill in the blanks with suitable verb forms.
It is customary for Malaysians to work at least eight hours per day if they
(1)_________(work) in an office. However, this is considered as long working hours
in Europe. Working long hours (2)_________(be) common for most Asian countries
such as Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea – all countries with developing
economies.
Malaysia (3)________(have) been ranked as one of the top countries with
workaholic employees as they also work on holidays. (4)_________(Do) this
reputation harm or benefit Malaysia? Japan and South Korea (5)________(have)
taken the initiative to reduce the number of working hours as they fear longer
working hours may cause health problems and (6)_________(reduce) the quality of
life for the workers. Nevertheless, if Malaysia reduces its working hours, productivity
will suffer. The Malaysian economy largely (7)________(depend) on a productive
workforce. If working hours are decreased, workers may not be able to make up for
lost hours or meet employer demands. It is also feared that employers will put more
expectation on workers to complete their tasks in a fairly short deadline.
Moreover, if employees (8)_________(take) long leave, it may reflect
negatively on their careers. As one travel survey found, Malaysian employees take
the least amount of leave for travel. The survey mentioned that this trend
(9)_________(be) worrisome as taking annual leave for travelling is important for
workers’ well-being. Malaysian employees are reluctant to take long work holidays
because they have the option of carrying forward the unused leave to the next year

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calendar. Therefore, instead of reducing working hours for Malaysian workers, a
more viable solution for their productivity and the economy of the country
(10)_________(be) to allocate more hours for lunch break, currently practised by
workers in Spain. The workers in Spain take a ‘siesta’, or a long break in the
afternoon for resting and doing leisure activities after lunch, and they resume
working at about 4pm. Thus, reducing working hours may be counterproductive for
the Malaysian economy in the long run.
EXERCISE 2
The text below contains SIX errors on Subject-Verb Agreement. Identify and correct
the errors.
Many people have diversity of thoughts about the importance of early
childhood learning. Better academic achievement, of course, is one of them.
According to Ethridge (2010), the president of the National Association of Early
Childhood Teacher Educators, children who attend early learning programmes
demonstrates higher levels of school achievement and better social adjustment than
those who have no formal early education. These children are less likely to repeat a
grade or be placed in special education classes, since learning issues can be
identified and mediated early. In addition to that, research also indicate that children
who have had formal early learning experiences are also more likely to graduate
from high school with better grades as they learn best when educational activities is
exposed at the very early age. Thus, it will help them perform better in examinations.
On the other hand, critics of pre-kindergarten education highlights the
differences between children enrolled in pre-school programmes and children not
receiving formal education. Most childhood education specialists claim that it is not
good for young children to be separated from their parents for extended periods of
time. One reason for this is children who are educated by their parents during their
early developmental years experiences the same benefits as children enrolled in pre-
school programmes, especially children receiving a lot of attention from parents.
While some children benefit immensely from pre-school, it may not be the best
educational setting for other children. In fact, they usually do not benefit in
programmes with inexperienced teachers and large classroom sizes. Parents must

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evaluate a child's unique personality before determining which programme are best
suited for a child since not all programmes benefit children the same way.
Adapted from John, W. (2003). What is so important about early childhood education?. Retrieved
from http://www.educationcorner.com/importance-of-early-childhood-education.html
TENSES
In academic writing, it is important to use the correct tenses depending on the
context of your writing. You will probably need to use different tenses to indicate
ideas/truth, to give a particular meaning or to emphasise certain functions. Below are
the three common tenses used in academic writing:
1. SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
The simple present tense is used to describe, to express opinions and to write about
facts or general truths. It is one of the most frequently used verb forms in writing.
Notice how the writer uses the simple present to express feelings and to describe
habitual actions.
USE EXAMPLE
To indicate general ideas and truths Text messaging causes the deterioration
of proper English usage.
Organic farming is an approach that
seeks to create an integrated,
sustainable and humane agricultural
system.
To express habitual actions The campus election in all public
universities in Malaysia is done every
semester.
All students sit an examination before
entering the course.
To express mental perceptions, emotions
or opinions
I prefer exercising in the morning rather
than in the evening.
She claims that her research is published

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in a high impact journal.
2. SIMPLE PAST TENSE
The simple past tense is used to write about events and situations in the past. It is
especially useful when writing a story or narrative that happened in the past. Like the
simple present, the simple past can be used to express general ideas and truths,
habitual actions and mental perceptions and emotions. The only difference is that
they happened in the past and are completed.
USE EXAMPLE
To indicate general ideas and truths In 1980s, people chose to listen to
classic rock songs.
In the past, students did not have the
chance to benefit from online learning.
To express habitual or completed actions During my school days, my teacher used
the blackboard in class.
The teacher appeared at the door before
the class started.
To express mental perceptions, emotions
or opinions
I felt afraid of the punishment.
I thought about my selfishness.
3. PRESENT PERFECT TENSE
When you are analysing or explaining, you will often use the present perfect tense
(has or have + past participle). The present perfect is used to refer to an event in the
past, but the past time of the event is not the important focus. The real focus is the
effect that the past action or event has on the present time and on the writer. The
present perfect always ties the past to the present.
USE EXAMPLE
Events that occurred at some unspecified
time in the past (often with recently,
already, just, or yet)
He has already decided to major in
business studies.
Recently, research has shown that
abnormal behaviour is often associated
with anxiety.

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Events that occurred more than once in
the past
He has changed his major three times.
The lecturer has failed the students twice
due to their poor performance in the
tests.
Events that began in the past and
continue into the present (often with for
or since)
Many students have matured a lot since
they started college.
Mr Smith has worked in Malaysia for 10
years.

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EXERCISE 3
Fill in the blanks with suitable verbs using correct tenses.
The hectic pace of life today causes most people to disregard the importance
of exercising. One of the options for people to exercise is cycling. Bicycles
(1) ________ (date) back to as early as the 18th century, yet they do not seem to
take centre stage in everyday lives. Interestingly, people (2)_______ (learn) to ride
the bicycle when they (3) ________ (be) young, but the moment they (4) ________
(obtain) their driving license, they abandon these two-wheelers for cars.

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Perhaps, this is because people (5) _______ (be, not) aware of the health
benefits of cycling. Health experts say that cycling (6)________ (offer) many health
advantages. For instance, it may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and fight
obesity. One of the advantages of cycling (7)________ (be) that it helps one to have
a healthy heart. Cycling also (8) ________ (reduce) the incidences of cardiovascular
diseases such as stroke, high blood pressure and heart attack. This is because
regular cycling (9) ________ (improve) blood circulation and (10) _________ (keep)
blood pressure in check.
Furthermore, cycling is one way to fight obesity. It (11) _______ (help) people
to control body weight by boosting their metabolic rate and building muscles.
However, this only (12) _________ (work) if cyclists (13) ________ (practise) healthy
eating habits since childhood. These health advantages, however, (14)________ (do
not, seem) to encourage people to cycle. Many people (15)________ (do not, take
up) cycling as a routine activity. It is a shame though if an easy and low impact
activity like this is not promoted for the purpose of healthy living.