SUBJECT – VERB AGREEMENT

A verb must agree in number with its subject.

1. A prepositional phrase (i.e. a phrase beginning with a preposition) between a subject
and a verb doesn’t affect the verb form
e.g.
- A high pile of dirty clothes is waiting for you at home.
- Five bags of money were stolen.
2. Indefinite pronouns have singular meaning therefore, the take singular verb
One, either, neither, each (+ sing N), each of (+ plural N) … + Singular V
❖ N.B
- We use “he”, “his”, “him” when the subject is “anybody”, “anyone”, “somebody”, “a
person”, whoever… (formal style).
- But we may use “they”, “their”, “them” and “themselves” in order not to distinguish
the sex (informal style)
- “one” has the reflexive pronoun “oneself”
- “more than one” is followed by a singular noun and verb
e.g. More than one person is going to lose his job.
- Many + a + singular noun + singular verb
e.g. Many a swimmer has drowned in the river.
- “none”, “either” and “neither” + plural noun (pronoun). The verb is either singular
(formal) or plural (informal)
- Either of + Noun(s) is/are +…
- Neither of + Noun(s) is/are +…
3. Subject + Verb
A and B
Plural verb
Both A and B
e.g.
• Tea and coffee bring about a lot of foreign currencies.
• Both fossil fuels and garbage disposal are sources of air pollution.
❖ N.B
Every/each and (each/every) + Singular V
A B
e.g. Each teacher and student has agreed to follow this process.
a.
- bread and butter
- cheese and wine
- lemon and oil
- fish and chips Singular verb
- war and peace
- the ups and downs
- early to bed and early to rise
b. A + B (one person/one thing) + Sing. V
e.g.
• My mother and (my) teacher is one.
• My mother and my teacher are discussing my future job.
A B Verb
along with
together with

Singular with Singular V

as well as
besides
Singular or Plural
but not
noun
instead of
including
Plural Plural V
in addition to
like/unlike
no less than
 or
Not only but also The verb
Not only A but B as well agrees with B
Either or not A
Neither nor
4. Inversion of subject and verb
- Inversion takes place when sentences begin with expression of place.
- When the normal verb order (S →V) is inverted (V→S), the verb agrees with the subject
after it.
e.g.
• At the door are standing her bodyguards.
• There comes the lecture.
5. All of, some of etc.
all
some
half Uncountable Noun + singular verb
most
a lot
of
part
fraction
the majority Plural noun + plural verb
the minority
¾; …
6. Nouns ending in “ICS”
- There are names of academic subjects or sciences and they take singular verb.
e.g. Mathematics is difficult subject.
- With other meanings, we use plural verb.
e.g. My mathematics are very slow.
7. Subject plural in form, singular in meaning + singular verb
a. Periods of time: Three weeks is a long time to wait.
b. Distances: 40 miles is a long way to walk.
 c. Amounts of money: 200 dollars is not too much to pay for that book.
d. Quantities (lượng): Three pints doesn’t make me drunk.
e. Disease: Measles is a contagious disease.
- Measles
- Mumps
- Shingles
- Rickets
f. Games: billiards, dominos…
g. Countries, territories: The Philippines, Wales, Naples etc.
8. The + ADJ
- We use “the” with some adjs to represent a group of people. this subject phrase takes
plural verb. We use “they”, “them”, “their” and “themselves”
e.g.
• The rich don’t want to share their wealth with the poor.
• The old are taken care of by tax – payers.
- “The Vietnamese”, “The French”, “The Chinese”, “The English”, “The Americans”
etc. + Plural V
e.g. The English never kick up a fuss in public. They are cold and reserve.
9. “the number of” and “a number of”
- The number of + plural N (con số) + sing. V
- A number of + plural N (một số) + plural V
e.g.
• A number of mistakes were found in your composition.
• The number of natural calamities has risen dramatically due to the greenhouse effect.
10. Pair of Plural Noun
- When there is singular - meaning work before “pair of + plural N”, the verb is singular
(e.g. “a”, “an”, “the”, “each” …)
e.g. Every pair of shoes in our shop was hand – made.
- When there is a relative clause after “a pair of + plural noun”, the verb in the relative
clause is plural.
e.g. He has bought a pair of Italian shoes which look very luxurious and groovy.
11. “The former” and “the latter”
- The verb form depends on the nouns that “the former” and “the latter” replace.
e.g. Lead and many other chemicals are found in petrol. The former is dangerous.
12. EACH
- Each take singular verb when it begins a subject phrase.
e.g.
• Each of us has our own duties to fulfill.
• They each have their own shoes.
• Each of the students was given the deadline for the work.
13. Special plural form and singular form of noun
- Some nouns have the same singular form for both singular and plural. The verb depends
on the context.
e.g. “craft”, “aircraft”, “spacecraft”, “deer”, “sheep”, “reindeer”, “salmon”, “offspring” etc.
- On the contrary, some nouns have the same plural form for both singular and plural.
e.g. means, crossroads, works, series, species etc.
The black rhinoceros and the whale are species of wildlife which are on the edge of
extinction.
14. Collective nouns
- A singular noun that may refer to a group of people (things) is called a collective noun.
e.g. audience, class, club, committee, council, crew, crowd, family, firm, company,
government, the public, staff, team, union etc.
- When we think of them as units, they have singular meaning.
+ They take singular verb
+ They are used with “its”, “it”, “which”
e.g.
• The team is at the bottom of the 3rd division.
• An average family which consists of four is considered as an ideal one.
- They have plural meaning and can combine with “who”, “they”, “their”, “them” when
we refer to the members doing things that only humans can do.
e.g. My family are happy. They do all they can for me. I love them very much.
- When these nouns have such singular meaning words as “a”, “an”, “each”, “every”,
“this”, “that”, “one”, we use singular verb.
- Some collective nouns can have their regular plural forms. We use plural verb.
e.g. governments, teams, classes etc.
• Governments are trying to reduce pollution.
• Some families are moving into the apartment building.
- Some collective nouns are uncountable and take singular verb.
e.g. hair, equipment, machinery, paper, furniture, luggage, baggage, correspondence,
homework, work etc.
• All the equipment in this factory is being repaired.
- Some collective nouns take plural verbs.
e.g. cattle, the army, the police, the military, the youth, the rich, the poor, the
Vietnamese, people etc.
- “people” (mọi người) should not be confused with “a people/peoples” (dân tộc)
e.g.
• A people must have its own language.
• There are 54 people living in peace in this country.
- “the public”, “staff” may be used with singular of plural verb
e.g.
• Our staff (don’t want) doesn’t want any change.
• The public have/has the right to know the truth.
• The public is shocked by the news
- “mankind”, “human race”, “human being”, “humankind”, “man”, “human” etc.
These are uncountable nouns and required singular verb.
e.g. Mankind has spent centuries trying to find a solution.
*humans, human beings + Plural V
e.g. Human beings are reasoning animals.
15. Nouns always in plural form + plural verb
- Garments consisting of two parts.
e.g. pants, trousers, jeans, shorts, glasses, sunglasses, slippers, shoes etc.
- Tool consisting of two parts
 e.g. binoculars, pliers, scissors, clippers, shears, pincers etc,
- Some other words: belongings, clothes, goods, prospects, earnings, qualifications,
savings, stairs, shortcomings, thanks etc.
e.g.
• The prospects took good.
• The good have not arrived yet. They have gone astray.
DETERMINERS AND ARTICLES
Articles belong to a group of words used before nouns which are called “determiners”.
Determiners consist of:
- Articles: a/an/the
- Possessive: your, her, his etc.
- Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
- Numbers: one, two, one hundred etc.
- Expressions of quantities: some, any, all, both, much, many, a lot, a few, a little
GOLDEN RULES FOR ARTICLES
1. Do not use “the” (with plural and uncountable nouns) to talk about things in general.
2. Do not use singular countable nouns without articles
3. Use “a/an” in a noun compliment to say what person’s profession or job is
A. Indefinite articles “a/an”
- “a” is used before a consonant or a vowel letter with a consonant sound
- “an” is used:
• Before words beginning with a vowel letter (a/e/i/o/u)
• Before a mute “h”
• Before individual letters spoken with vowel sounds
I. The use of “a”, “an”
- Before singular countable nouns when it is mentioned the 1st time
e.g. a beach, a student, an umbrella
- We use a/an to say what kind of thing something is, or what kind of person somebody is
e.g. That’s a nice table.
- We say that somebody has a long nose/ a nice face/ blue eyes/ small hands etc.
- Remember to use a/an when you say what somebody’s job is
e.g. John is a doctor.
- In expression of quantities: a lot of, a great deal, a few, a great (large) number, etc.
- With certain numbers: a (one) dozen, a (one) hundred, one (a) thousand etc.
- Before “half” when “half” follows a whole number: one and a half kilos (but we say
half a kilo)
- In expressions of prices, speeds, frequencies etc.
 • Prices: £5 a (per) kilo
• Fuel consumption: 30 miles a (per) gallon
• Frequencies: twice a day, once a week etc.
- In exclamations before a singular, countable noun.
• What a pretty girl!
• I have never seen such a long queue!
- Before “Mr./Mrs./Miss”
e.g. I met a Mrs. Smith. (i.e. I don’t know him; he was a stranger to me.)
II. Omission of “a/ an”
- Before a plural noun
- Before an uncountable noun
- Before names of meals
- When there is an adjective before names of meals “a/an/the” is used
- When meals are given to celebrate special occasions, “a/an/the” is used
B. Definite article “THE”
I. The uses of “the”
- When an object or group of objects are unique
e.g. the sun, the moon, the earth, the world, the universe, the sky, the sea, the ground, the
environment, the internet etc.
• Have you ever crossed the equator?
• What’s the longest river in Vietnam?
• I’m going to a business trip at the end of this month.
- We say go to sea/ be at sea (without the) when the meaning is “go/ be on a voyage”
e.g.
• Kevin works on ships. He’s at sea most of the time.
• I’d like to live near the sea.
- We say “space”, “outer space” and “nature” without “the”
e.g. Man has been travelling in outer space for years.
- However, we say: “man, human, human beings, mankind, humans, human being,
humankind, human race” without ‘the’
e.g. Man started exploring the sky for a long time ago.
- “humans/human beings” + plural verb
e.g. Humans are reasoning animals.
- Before an object which can be considered unique in a certain place.
e.g.
• Ann is in the garden.
• Look at the black board, please.
- We say “the police, the postman, the post office, the milkman, the fire-brigade, the army
etc.”
- We say “go to the doctor/the bank/the dentist”
e.g.
• I have to go to the bank and then I’m going to the post office.
• Tim isn’t very well. She’s gone to the doctor.
• I don’t like go to the dentist.
- Before a noun which has become definite as a result of being previously mentioned.
e.g. He bought a cub. His wife doesn’t like it and never feed the cub.
- Before a noun made definite by the addition of a phrase or a clause.
- Before the superlative and ‘first/second/last/only/left/right etc.’, when these words are
used as adjectives or pronouns
e.g. Go to the third floor. His office is on the left of the elevator.
- When we say (go to) the cinema/ the theatre, we do not necessarily mean a specific
cinema or theatre.
- We usually say the radio, but the television/TV (without the)
e.g. I listen to the radio a lot. But I watch television a lot.
- We heard it on the radio. But we watched it on TV.
- The television/ the TV = the television set
e.g. Can you turn off the television, please?
- We also use “Earth” (without the) when we think of it as a planet in space (like: Mars,
Jupiter etc.)
- We say “Space” (without the) when we mean “space in the universe”
e.g. There are millions of stars in space.
- We don’t use the before noun + number.
 e.g. Room 130 is on the second floor. (not the room 130)
- We use prison/ jail, university, college, church, hospital, school. We use the when we are
thinking of the specific idea of these places and what they are used for.
e.g.
• Her brother is in prison for robbery.
• She comes to the prison to visit her brother.
- We say go to bed/ be in bed.
- The + adj refers to a specific a class of people/animal/thing
- The + nationality words: the French, the Americans, the English, the Chinese etc. These
subject phrases take plural verb and replace by “they”.
e.g. The English never want to kick up a fuss in public areas. They are known to be cold
and reserved.
- We use the in many expressions of time and place
e.g. the beginning, the end, the middle, the corner, the top, the right, the left etc.
- We use the + Mr./Mrs./Miss to refer a specific person among many who have the same
name.
e.g. I met the Mrs. Sugar in the Sales Department yesterday.
II. Omissions of ‘THE’
- Before abstract nouns
e.g. Men fear death.
- After nouns in possessive case
e.g. The tail of the cat → The cat’s tail
- Parts of human’s body and items of clothing (possessive adjs are preferred)
e.g. Raise your hand, please.
❖ Note: V + O + preposition + the + body parts
e.g. I tapped his shoulder = I tapped him on the shoulder.
- Games
III. Geographical Names
- We often use ‘the’ with such words as: ‘country’, ‘countryside’, ‘sea’, ‘seaside’ and
‘mountain’ etc. even when it is not clear which sea or which mountain we refer to:
e.g. I love the mountain. I hate the sea.
- Continents: articles are not used
e.g. He lives in Europe.
- Countries: articles are not used
e.g. He comes from France.
- But ‘the’ is used with the names which include the word: “Republic”, “Union”,
“Kingdom”, “United”
e.g. I come from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
- We use ‘the’ with plural names these subject phrases take singular verb.
e.g.
• The Netherlands (Holland)
• The Philippines is a member of the ASEAN.
- Cities, towns, provinces, districts etc.: articles are not used
e.g. Ho Chi Minh City, London, Seoul etc.
❖ Note: ‘the Hague’ (in Netherland)
- Islands: island group (archipelago) have plural names with ‘the’
• The Bahamas; The Canaries; The British Isles
• The Spratly Islands
• The Paracel Islands
- Individual islands have singular names without ‘the’: Spratly Island
- Regions: we use ‘the’ with names of regions
e.g. The Middle East, the Far East, the Mediterranean, the Amazon, the Persian Gulf
- When ‘east, eastern, west, western, south, southern, north, northern’ are used as
adjectives, we do not use articles.
e.g. He worked for 5 years in Eastern Europe.
❖ Note: The + N + of + name → The west of India, The south of Vietnam
- Mountains
- Mountains ranges have plural names with “the”
e.g. The Rocky Mountains (the Rockies, The Alps, the Himalayas
- Individual mountains have names without articles: Everest, Ben Nevis, Mount Etna
e.g. ‘Mt’ = Mount/Mountain → Mt Kenya
- Lakes without articles: Lake Ky Hoa, Lake Superior, Lake Constance
- Rivers, oceans, canals, seas, channels: these names have ‘the’
- The Atlantic (Ocean), The Red Sea, The English Channel
- Desert with ‘the’: the Sahara Desert, the Gobi
- Parks without ‘the’: Central Park, Hyde Park
IV. Other proper names
- We do not use articles with names of streets, roads, squares etc.
- Names (airports, universities etc.) consist of two words:
• When the first is the name of a person or a place, we do not use articles.
• But we say: ‘the White House’, ‘The Royal Palace’
- We use ‘the’ before: hotels, restaurants, theatres, cinemas, museums
❖ Note: when these names are names of persons who started the shops, restaurants
etc. and the names end in ‘s’ or ‘s → do not use ‘the’
- Churches are usually named after Saints (St.) without articles
- We use “the + N + of + names” or “the + adj + name”
- Newspapers and magazines
• We use ‘the’ with names of newspapers: the Tuoi Tre, the NY Times
• We do not use ‘the’ before names of magazines.
• Names (airports, universities etc.) consist of two words:
V. Some special notes on the usage of articles
‘hospital’ vs ‘the hospital’, ‘school’ vs ‘the school’, ‘church’ vs ‘the church’ etc.
- “the” is not used before these nouns when they are used, visited for the primary
purposes.
- When these places are used or visited for other reasons, ‘the’ is necessary.
e.g. Mrs. Ken went to the prison to meet her husband, who had been imprisoned for 5 years.
- Bed, work, home, town, sea
- We say: ‘to bed’, ‘out of bed’, ‘in bed’ → to sleep or to invalids
- We say: ‘go to work’, ‘be at work’, ‘finish work’ → place of work
- We say “the office”
- We say: ‘go home’, ‘be at home’, ‘stay at home’
- But we say: the tsunami destroyed the homes of thousands of people.
❖ Note that there is no preposition ‘”to” before “home”
❖ Note that we say: ‘in town’, ‘out of town’, ‘go to town’ without “the” → the
speaker’s own town.
❖ Note: to go to the sea/ to be at the sea = to go to (be at) the seaside
- Musical instruments: we use the definite article “the” in these expressions like play the
piano/guitar etc.
- Seasons
• We can say ‘in spring’ = ‘in the spring’, ‘in summer’ = ‘in the summer’
• We always say “in the fall”
- Ships: “the” is used in the names of the ships
- Illnesses: without articles
- Expressions with “a/an”: a headache, a sore throat etc.
- Other aches (e.g. toothache, earache, stomachache, backache) are uncountable noun →
no articles
- Parts of human body
• We normally use possessive adj: his, her etc.
• When the person is the object of a verb and the part of the body follows in a
preposition phrase, we use ‘the’.
e.g. The ball hit him in the stomach.
VI. Other determiners and quantifiers
1. both/ both of/ both… and
‘both’ means ‘one and the other’. It is used for two people or things. It can be used in noun
group or with verb group.
With noun group:
- I have met both children.
- Both (of) the children have been to Hanoi.
With verb group:
- The children have both been to Hanoi.
- We can both working hard for the exam.
1.1 With NOUN GROUP
- The noun and the verb are always plural. “Both” (with or without ‘of’) can be followed
by:
- The + N
- Possessive + N
- Demonstrative + N
- “Both” is used without ‘of’ when there is no article, possessive or demonstrative
e.g. Both children have been to Hanoi.
- “Both” is used with ‘of’ before personal pronouns. We can’t say “both we”, “both
them” →”both of them”, “both of us” etc.
1.2 With VERB GROUP – possible positions
- After “be”
e.g. You’re both wrong.
- Before the other verbs
e.g. We both worked overtime to earn extra money.
- After the first auxiliary, when the verb has several parts.
e.g. We have both studies economics in the UK.
❖ Note: ‘Both’ can be used as pronoun (without a noun)
e.g. We saw 2 bikes. Both looked equally good to me.
1.3 BOTH… AND to make combination of affirmative ideas; adj(s), nouns, verbs, phrases
etc. The sentence must be balanced (i.e. the same kind of words follows “both… and” –
parallel structure.
e.g. We shall order both cubed roasted beef and catfish casserole.
- The following sentences are considered ungrammatical.
e.g. She both plays the piano and she sings.
The rules for “ALL” are the same as for “both”  when they are more than two
people/things
2. “Neither/ Neither of/ Nor” and “…neither…nor…”
- “neither” means “not this me and not the other”; it is used for two people/things (for
more than 2 people/things, we use ‘none’)
- “Neither” without ‘of’ is used before a singular noun when there is no article,
possessive or demonstrative. The verb is singular.
• Neither parent realized what is happening to their son.
• Neither car was brand – new.
- “Neither of” is used when there is an article, possessive and demonstrative before the
noun. The noun is plural and the verb is either singular (formal) of plural (informal)
e.g.
• Neither of the parents realizes (realize) what is happening.
• Neither of these cars is (are) exactly what I want.
- “Neither of” can be used before object pronouns (e.g. us/them/him/ etc.)
e.g.
• Neither of us is capable of running the department.
• Neither of them speaks French well.
- “Neither” can be used as a pronoun.
• Which one do you want? → Neither suits my purpose.
• Which bike would you like to choose? → Neither
- “Neither” or “Nor” are used at the beginning of the sentences and in short answers to
mean “also not”. They are followed by inverted word order.
e.g.
A: I can’t dance.
B: I can’t, too/ I can’t also dance. → I can’t, either/ Neither can I/ Nor can I
- “Neither… nor….”: this structure is used to join two negative ideas together (it’s
opposite of ‘both…and’)
e.g. I don’t like him. I don’t trust him. → I neither like him nor trust him.
- If 2 subjects are joined by “neither…nor…”, the verb agrees with the nearest part (but
in an informal style, the verb can be plural)
e.g. Neither the parents nor the child wants to go.
❖ Note that we have to balance the sentence, so that the same kind of words follows
‘neither’ and ‘nor’
e.g. I trust neither the manager nor the accountant.
3. “Either/ Either of/ Either… or … (for 2 people/things only)
‘either’ means “one or the other”; “any of the two”
e.g. Either proposal is workable.
- Sometimes it means ‘both’
e.g. There were roses on either side of the path. (both sides of the path)
- “Either + N” (without ‘of’) + singular N + singular V. There can’t be other
determiners.
e.g.
• Does Monday or Tuesday suit you? → Either day is OK.
• Either road leads to the city center.
- “Either + of + plural nouns + must be a determiner”. The verb is usually singular.
e.g.
• Either of the children is capable of looking after the house.
• Either of the cars is good.
- But in negative sentences, plural V is used.
e.g. I don’t think either of the boys are at home now.
- “Either + of + objective pronoun” (e.g. either of them, either of us etc.)
e.g.
• She will choose either of them.
• Either of you has made mistake.
- “Either” + negative V = “Neither” + affirmative V
e.g. I haven’t read either of these books. = I have read neither of these books.
- “… either… or …”: we use this to express a choice btw 2 options.
e.g. Either you leave my house or I call the police.
C. EXPRESSIONS OF QUANTITY
1. “Much” and “many” (mostly in interrogative and negative sentences)
- Much + uncountable N + sing. V
- Many + countable, plural N + plural V
- “Much” and “many” can also be used in affirmative sentences (esp. in formal style)
e.g. Much research has been carried out in order to explore the cause of cancer.
- “Much” and “many” are used in affirmative sentences after ‘too/ so/ as/ very’
2. “So much/ so many” + THAT CLAUSE
3. “Too much/ too any”
- We use “too much/ too many” with nouns
- But we use “much too” before adj(s) and adverb(s)
4. In affirmative sentences, we use “a lot of/ plenty of/ lots of”. These can be used with
uncountable words or plural words, mostly in conversational English.
5. “A great deal of” + uncountable N
“A large (great) number of + plural N
6. “Few/ a few” + plural N (not many)
“a few” has more positive meaning. “Few” has rather negative meaning.
7. “Little” and “a little” + uncountable nouns (not much)
Similarly, “little” has rather negative meaning; “a little” has positive implication.
8. “Some” can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.
- It is chiefly used in affirmative sentences.
e.g.
• I have some questions to ask you.
• There is some money left in his bank account.
- “Some” can be used in questions, esp. when you expect a “Yes” question.
e.g.
• Have you got some money? (I think you have.)
• Have you got some questions to ask me? (I guess that you have.)
9. “Any” can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. It is chiefly used in
negative and interrogative sentences.
e.g.
• Have you got any money to spend?
• If you don’t have any question to ask me, let’s finish our lesson.
10. “Most” + uncountable N + sing. V (general sense)
e.g. Most water on the earth is sea water.
- “Most” + plural N + plural V
e.g. Most students don’t like to wear uniforms.
- For a particular situation, we use “most of”
e.g. Most of the classrooms in this school are equipped with PCs and projectors.
❖ Notes:
- The most + long adj/adv
e.g.
 • She’s the most attractive girl in our school.
• He drives the most carelessly of all.
- Most of long adj/adv
e.g.
• He drives most carefully.
• This is most interesting place in Europe.
- The most + noun
e.g.
• She has the most English friends of all.
• You always make the most mistakes.
- Almost = Nearly
e.g.
• The steps were very slippery, so I almost fall.
• We almost finish the lunar year.
• She was so exhausted that she almost became faint.
- Mostly = chiefly = mainly
e.g. The soup was nothing, mostly water and rice.