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agreement shifts

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The number of nouns and pronouns and the person of pronouns must remain consistent within a sentence. Standardized examinations will present questions that contain agreement shifts, making instant recognition of these errors essential.

All of my friends want to be a rock star.

"All of my friends" is a noun phrase that is plural. "Rock star" is a singular noun. All of my friends cannot be one rock star. The sentence has an agreement shift in number. To correct the sentence, make both nouns either singular or plural.

Each of my friends wants to be a rock star.

or

All of my friends want to be rock stars.

"Each" is a singular indefinite pronoun and agrees with the singular "rock star." "All" is an indefinite pronoun that can be singular or plural depending on the object of the preposition. Since "friends" is a countable noun, "all" is plural and it agrees with the plural "rock stars."

Anyone can play the guitar; all you have to do is practice.

"Anyone" is a singular indefinite pronoun and is in the third person. "You" is a personal pronoun in the second person. This sentence has an agreement shift in person. Correct the error by using two pronouns in the same person.

Anyone can play the guitar; all one has to do is practice.

or

You can play the guitar; all you have to do is practice.

Scarlett chooses the wrong noun

"It is obvious to me that there is an overwhelming amount of women, of actors I look at, and they're too thin for my taste." - Scarlett Johansson, on the pressure in Hollywood for women to stay exceedingly slim

Scarlett has made an error in diction. She has used "amount" in place of "number."

The word "amount" is used to quantify nouns that are uncountable. Since "women" is a countable noun, the correct word to use is "number."

This version of Scarlett's statement corrects the error:

"It is obvious to me that there is an overwhelming number of women, of actors I look at, and they're too thin for my taste."

pronoun/antecedent agreement

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An antecedent is the noun, compound noun, or pronoun to which a pronoun refers. The referent pronoun and its antecedent must agree in person, number, and gender.

To check for pronoun/antecedent agreement, first find the referent pronoun. Then figure out to which word the pronoun refers; this is the antecedent. Finally, confirm that the pronoun and antecedent are in agreement.


This entry continues with an analysis and description of the grammatical rules related to this concept.


Continue reading "pronoun/antecedent agreement"

number/amount

There is a difference between the proper usage of “number” and “amount.” If something can be counted, use “number” and the related number terms (”few,” “many,” etc.); if something cannot be counted, use “amount” and the related amount terms (”little,” “much,” etc.).

Countable nouns are easy to spot: one cookie, two cookies, three cookies; one class, two classes, three classes; one chair, two chairs, three chairs.

Try counting uncountable nouns: one rice, two rices, three rices? No! One mathematics, two mathematics, three mathematics? No! One furniture, two furnitures, three furnitures? No!

This table lists the terms that are associated with countable nouns (number terms) and uncountable nouns (amount terms), as well as terms that can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns:

number amount both
  • many
  • both
  • several
  • few/fewer/fewest
  • a few
  • one of the
  • a couple of
  • much
  • less
  • little
  • a little
  • very little
  • some
  • any
  • most
  • more
  • all
  • a lot of
  • no
  • none of the

Notice that the terms that can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns include the indefinite pronouns that can be either singular or plural (mnemonic = SAMAN).

Let’s look at some examples of the usage of these terms.

I have many CDs, but I have less music than my brother has.

CDs are countable (one CD, two CDs, three CDs) but music is uncountable (one music? two musics? three musics? No!). Use “many” with a countable noun and “less” with an uncountable noun.

I had too much ice cream and very little milk. I had several cookies. Now I want some coffee. Hey, someone ate all the hamburgers!

“Ice cream” and “milk” are uncountable (Two ice creams? Three milks? These are colloquial and they sound awkward.) “Much” and “very little” are amount terms to be used with uncountable nouns. “Cookies” are countable, and “several” is a number term to be used with countable nouns. “Some” and “all” are terms that can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. “Coffee” is uncountable; “hamburgers” are countable.

nouns

A noun is a person, place, or thing.

  • musician
  • New York
  • guitar

Nouns may be common (musician, city, guitar) or proper (Elvis, New York, Stratocaster).

Nouns can be subjects or objects.

Bob ate the cookie.

  • "Bob" is the subject: he ate.
  • "Cookie" is the object: it was eaten.

Bob gave the cake to Sam.

  • "Bob" is the subject: he gave.
  • "Cake" is the direct object: it was given.
  • "Sam" is the indirect object: the cake was given to him.

A linking verb links a subject with a predicate that describes the subject. When a subject is linked to a noun, the noun is called a predicate nominative.

Bob is a man.

  • "Bob" is the subject.
  • "Man" corresponds to the subject: it is the predicate nominative.

Some nouns are countable (one guitar, two guitars, three guitars), and others are uncountable (one music? two musics? No.) The difference between countable and uncountable nouns is important in distinguishing between the usage of "number" and "amount."

Collective nouns describe groups and some can take singular or plural verbs and pronouns depending on context. These are a few common collective nouns:

  • team
  • jury
  • class
  • flock
  • police
  • herd

When a collective noun is performing an action as a single unit, use singular verbs and singular pronouns to refer back to the noun.

The class is going on a field trip with its teacher.

The class is going as a unit. The whole class has a teacher.

When the individual members of a collective noun are acting individually within the group, use plural verbs and pronouns to refer back to the noun.

The class are taking their books with them.

The individual members are taking individual books.

Certain forms of verbs can act as nouns. A gerund is a verb ending in "-ing" that acts as a noun.

I like swimming, hiking, and dancing.

An infinitive is the base form of a verb combined with "to." An infinitive can act as a noun.

I like to swim, to hike, and to dance.

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