welcome back friends so to ah we start our
next week or week three that is grammar and
i am your instructor professor aysha iqbal
viswamohan and we are going to do or we are
going to rather start the grammar module with
subject verb agreement
so lets look at the objectives now ah the
objectives of todays lecture or class ah first
is to introduce the concept of subject verb
agreement and understand its application in
various scenarios in various situations and
also we are going to do a touch up on the
use of definite and indefinite articles that
is a and the
now what is subject verb agreement s v a popularly
known as this is agreement in grammar that
is to ensure that parts of a sentence ah connect
with one another in the right manner so let
me again repeat we use agreement in grammar
to ensure that parts of a sentence connect
with one another in the right manner thus
the manner in which we use as subject should
agree with the way you have rendered or used
your verb this is not so complicated
now the verb form in sentences changes depending
on the subject look at the examples shirley
manages the entire office staff shirley is
singular and the regular verb manages is also
singular i work for a financial corporation
singular first person and singular verb the
group meets every week to discuss updates
just because its a group doesnt mean that
you have to use the plural ah form of the
verb she watches the oprah show a lot of money
is donated to developing nations every here
so look at the way subject agrees a lot of
money is the subject here just because its
a lot doesnt mean that we have to say a lot
of money are donated to developing nations
every year its a lot of money is a lot takes
a singular
subject verb agreement and how to identify
the subject and the verb you need to identify
the subject of your sentence i we are he she
they so thats the way you need to identify
the subject every verb must have a subject
in a sentence when the verb expresses and
action ah for example to read work manage
the subject is who or what does the action
who is doing the action what is doing the
action
in the ah previous slide ah right now we havent
seen it but if we take example mark zuckerberg
sachin binny bansal they are the subjects
ok and mark zuckerberg is the founder of so
and so sachin bansal and binny bansal are
the are the founders of so and so ok so thats
the way it goes now the subject and subject
verb agreement subject and verb must agree
in number and in person for example number
look at number both must be singular or both
must be plural person parts of a sentence
must match in first person second person you
or third person he she or it so first person
is i also we and are second person you third
person he she it all these are singular when
you make them plural they become they
singular subject and verb for example mark
zuckerberg is the founder of facebook the
single subject here calls for the usage of
singular verb usage this is very elementary
very basic but many a time in our when we
are in a hurry or when we are confused or
nervous we tend to make mistake in this very
important area of grammar
another example plural subject and verb so
sachin bansal and binny bansal are the are
the co founders of flipkart so two people
together form a plural subject its not just
because sachin and binny are singular so the
verb will also be singular when two singular
subjects come together we use a plural subject
i know that you are aware of all these rules
but we are just refreshing and revising
now lets look at subject verb agreement and
regular verbs regular verbs follow a predictable
pattern first person the first column first
person second person third person and then
you look at the singular and plural i work
we work you work he work he she it works and
they work ok and then notice you are given
a rule very important rule in third person
singular the regular verb always ends in s
binny managers john wrights mary reeds sherly
walks mother cooks for regular words that
end in ah s h or x or c h and s add e s in
the third person singular form you are going
to get several such examples ah during the
course of remaining part of this ah course
now look at the rules and try to understand
them you can look these up on the internet
or if you have any good ah book of grammar
so please look at the rules here first the
verb agrees with the subject in number and
person we have already done this ah second
rule if the singular subjects are preceded
by each or every the verb is usually singular
each of the boy each of the boy or every boy
and girl must bring his or her textbook so
its a usually singular verb two or more singular
subjects connected by or nor either or neither
nor take a verb in the singular this is also
important to remember
when the subject join by or nor are of different
numbers the verb must be plural and the plural
subject must be placed near the verb this
is also extremely important join by or ah
nor and of different numbers the verb must
be plural remember that and the plural subject
maybe placed near the verb
a collective nouns takes a singular verb we
have already seen that a lot of money the
group the group meets every tuesday the committee
is functioning as per the procedures just
because its a group of people doesnt mean
that it is going to take a plural verb collective
noun takes a singular verb when the collection
is thought of as a whole
lets do some exercises now exercise first
write the correct verb form for each of the
following sentence so first one he walk or
walks to the office everyday second they conduct
conducts the interview third i calculate calculates
the yearly gross income of the company four
satya nadella fix fixes meeting with his clients
every thursday
number five you read reads before you go to
bed and here are the answers first walks third
person singular so add s thats the rule conduct
third person plural calculate first person
singular i calculates wrong i calculate yes
fixes third person singular satya nadella
fixes a meeting and read second person singular
you read whats written not you reads not i
reads remember these are the basic rules of
grammar subject verb agreement
now lets look at this this particular rule
convention subject verb agreement and what
happens with irregular verbs irregular verbs
are those which do not follow a fixed pattern
for example be do have be have several forms
you should know that do has several forms
ok so be has seve[ral]- performs like m and
s and r and being do has forms like they then
ah does and have has has and had
so learning the forms of these words in present
tense will be helpful in everyday conversations
or everyday communication present tense form
of the verb to be so look at the chart here
first person second person third person i
am plural we are you are you are in second
person third person he she it and they are
now one is implying that you dont know the
basic rules but perhaps some of you have forgotten
therefore we are revising them so dont get
ah disturbed that why we are doing something
that is so basic
exercise two write down the different forms
of the following ah irregular verbs in present
tense in the table given below to have to
do first person and you have to write have
i you he she it they and then second person
third person second person you and third person
he is she it and you have to look at singular
as well as plural look at the solved exercise
here
forms of the verbs to have in the present
tense first person i have plural we have second
person to you have plural you have third person
singular he she it has and plural they have
and look at the forms of the verb to do in
the present tense first person i do plural
we do second person you do plural you do third
person he she it does plural they do those
are the conventions
lets look at the third exercise first forty
eight lack central government employees am
are seeking a pay hike he does do not know
does or do not know the difference between
f d i and f i i third you has have to make
adjustments and prices rise four it is are
mandatory to link your aadhaar card to your
bank account and answers are third person
plural they are seeking a pay hike second
does that is third person singular have second
person singular is third person singular do
first person singular
look at this slide and try to understand the
rules cases of common errors in subject verb
agreement so when do we make errors in subject
verb agreement in written sentence when the
subject comes after the verb when the subject
and the verb are far apart in sentence while
using compound subjects so these are the common
pitfalls when the ah subject of the sentence
is an indefinite pronoun and when the subject
of the sentences a collective noun
so these are the places these are the areas
that errors may occur while writing and speaking
so here is an example when the subject comes
after the verb at times subject of the verb
may not appear where you expect to usually
see it there could be sentences where the
subject comes after the verb instead of preceding
it this could happen when you are asking a
question or starting a sentence with here
or there the key here is to correctly identify
the subject and the verb and apply the rules
learned before
when the subject comes after the verb for
example here is your key so key is the subject
remember its not here where are the reports
reports are coming or following the subject
i am sorry reports are the subject following
the verb third sentence there is an elephant
in the room how are the students when we interrogate
subjects the subject goes generally after
the verb
so you have to remember this tip while figuring
out subject and verb in a sentence that asks
a question is by try answering the question
for example how are the students the students
are doing well so you will find the where
are the subjects how are the students when
the subject and the verb are far apart sometimes
in a sentence the subject and verb are far
apart with phrase or clause that comes in
between they are usually to add more information
to the sentence
again one needs to identify the subject and
verb correctly you have already seen how we
have how we generally identify the subject
and look at the examples the dog under my
table is a golden retriever the car that rukma
bought is fuel efficient so the car is the
subject here the dog is the its not my table
the dog so who is under my table what did
rukhma buy and thats the subject
now again rule using compound subject when
two or more subjects that are joined by coordinating
conjunctions like and neither nor either or
they are called compounds subjects and subjects
combined with these and take a plural form
he and i are at business school together he
and i are generally we do not say i are at
i i t i am at i i t he is at i i t but together
he and i are at business school together we
dont even say i and here thats the convention
second person precedes the first person so
the verb has to agree ah because you see there
are two singular so we have to use a plural
verb
when the subject a subjects are combined by
or or nor the verb must agree with the subject
closest to it neither the management this
is an example please look at it neither the
management nor my boss was interested in the
proposal so boss join by neither nor and the
verb agrees with the subject closer to it
so singular third person therefore was
again remember you could always use the word
they instead of a compound subject here the
sentence takes the form of third person plural
now this is an exercise for you identify the
subject and verb in each sentence and correct
the subject verb agreement if any what is
artificial intelligence it is a field of science
and engineering that attempts to simulate
characteristics of human senses and intelligence
systems thus developed can behave intellectually
and think rationally deepmind google are the
top companies that lead the research in the
area a i with its superior speed great durability
and flexibility have replaced humans for many
tasks now you have to identify the subject
and verb in each sentence and correct the
errors if any look at the solved exercise
same passage what is artificial intelligence
it is a field of science and engineering that
attempts to simulate characteristics of human
senses and intelligence systems thus developed
can behave intellectually and think rationally
deep mind and google and the top companies
that lead the research in the area a i with
its superior speed greater durability and
flexibility has replaced humans for many tasks
now lets move on to this notion this concept
when subject is an indefinite pronoun what
happens now indefinite pronounce a non specific
words like someone we are not talking about
any one particular we are not saying he or
she some several all nothing in particular
no one in this specific so when the subject
of sentence is an indefinite pronoun one often
uses a singular verb form
someone is knocking at my door there are exceptions
and usage of some indefinite pronouns where
they take plural verb forms so please look
at the table here always taking a singular
verb anybody anyone anything can take singular
or plural verb ok so look at the two columns
always take a singular verb anybody anyone
anything each either everybody everyone everything
much and can take either singular or plural
verb depending on the contexts all any none
more some some of the boys are here some of
them arent example
again when subject is an indefinite pronoun
and look at the table here always take a singular
verb somebody someone something one many always
take a singular verb one of the ways important
way to decide on using a singular or plural
verb with an indefinite pronoun is to think
about the noun that the pronoun would refer
to if the noun is plural naturally the verb
is also going to be in plural
and when subject is an indefinite pronoun
what happens a few examples are given here
all telephone line are busy all is indefinite
pronoun each company has its own work ethic
none of the proposals are feasible so none
of the proposals remember when subject is
a collective noun another area of confusion
collective noun what is it it denotes a group
of individuals like group committee assembly
ensemble family so those are groups
if the collective noun refers to the group
as a unit then it takes a singular verb we
have seen that already if it refers to the
individuals in the group or the parts that
make up the group then the verb should be
plural and now look at the examples here the
class of two thousand eighteen graduates with
distinction ok here class although is a group
of a students is considered as one unit so
the class of two thousand eighteen graduates
so class after this a group but we are using
a singular verb
the jury members have been considering the
case here the jury are acting as individuals
hence the verb is plural but you can also
say the jury is considering the case but we
are saying jury members have so therefore
when it comes when ah we are referring to
member then naturally the the subject ah sorry
the verb becomes plural agreeing with the
plural subject
the jury is out there although jury comprises
several people but here its functioning as
a single unit collective noun now here look
at this particular exercise five and make
correction to the letter given below dear
sir i believes that miss rajashree warrier
for the receptionist position at your company
she have three years of experience as a reception
is in a company that works in the same domain
as yours
her phone skills and written communication
is excellent these skills and others that
she has learned on the job will make her a
valuable addition to your company she go she
go three extra mile to get the job done right
as her current employer i feel that she am
an asset to the team she am efficient and
organised is there any other details about
her that you would like to know if so please
contact me i looks forward to speaking with
you in person thanking you so and so
take a moment look at it and identify the
errors lets look at the corrections here now
solve exercise exercise five dear sir i believe
that miss rajashree warrier has applied for
the receptionist position at your company
she has three years of experience as a receptionist
in a company that works in the same domain
as your her phone skills and written communication
is excellent the verb is agreeing with something
that is closer to it
these skills and [other/others] that she has
learned on the job will make her a valuable
addition to your company she goes extra mile
to get the job done right as her current employer
i feel that she is an asset to the team she
is efficient and organized are there any other
details about her that you would like to know
if so please contact me i look forward to
speaking with you in person thanking you and
it should also and with yours truly or yours
sincerely but here not we are not practicing
letter writing we are doing subject verb agreement
here we continue look at the way we have look
ah fragmented the sentences i believe so subject
pronoun is first person singular she has she
goes she is so subject pronoun she is third
person singular i look subject pronoun is
first person singular
from here we will move on to use of indefinite
articles a and an now remember these are something
that we use all the time but many most of
us keep making mistakes in this very ah elementary
area of grammar that is the articles
indefinite articles that is a and an they
are used before a noun that is general or
when is when its identity isnt known general
rule regarding the use of a and an is one
uses a when the succeeding word begins with
a consonant or a voiced vowel that is when
the vowels have a consonant sound for example
a car car is a c is a consonant so a a european
because although european starts with a vowel
e
the pronunciation is the sound is you therefore
its a consonant sound therefore we say a european
a university not an university and remember
when uses an before a noun beginning with
an unvoiced vowel a e i o u or a vowel sound
for example an apple an m s c graduate unvoiced
vowel use of a a w t o directive a planning
commission so these are the examples commission
decision a u n initiative a tax break policy
and use of an an e u proposal an m b a degree
an economic road map an i m f fund
so here look at this dialogue and look at
the usage of a and an are we proceeding with
the i m f project yes hopefully it is an so
look at the way an is used it is an initiative
thats been in the pipeline for long but china
is a planned economy keeping that in mind
are we adjusting the project proposal yes
indeed an n g o so look at the way the way
see an but dont think why a n g o is not correct
its an n g o because the sound is vowel sounded
because then a an therefore we go according
to the sound and therefore an n g o is ah
aiding us through the changes they have been
given a one year contract
now remember one year contract so the sound
is verb not a so therefore a one year contract
there is a european funding that is also coming
through next month so a european funding there
will be an interview for the volunteers who
have registered do send them an email intimating
them the same also schedule a meeting with
an artist in an in in an hour to go through
the charity fundraises event ok
so in an hour to go through the charity so
hour is also an hour so it takes the indefinite
article text the indefinite article an and
lets who want to look at the use of in a definite
article that is the definite article the is
used to refer to specific and particular noun
it is used with the believe that the reader
or listener knows exactly what we are talking
about what you are talking about for example
the president of india is visiting the region
today the moon is brighten is bright tonight
we are going to do more of the definite article
soon in our next class
thank you very much
