Subject - Verb Agreement

Concept # 1: Compound Subjects

1. Ram and his brother are coming home.

• [Singular Sub 1 + And + Singular Sub 2] is always plural and takes Plural Verb.

2. Every man and every woman has equal rights.

• In [Singular Sub 1 + And + Singular Sub 2], if each subject is preceded by

Each/Every/No, it takes Singular Verb
3. Rajma and chawal is the staple food of Indians.

• If [Singular Sub 1 + And + Singular Sub 2] gives sense of one thing/idea/person, it

takes a singular verb.

4. Ravi or Suresh is responsible for this act.

• [Singular Sub 1 + Or + Singular Sub 2], always takes a Singular Verb

5. Ship after ship is sailing by.

• [Singular Sub + after + same Singular Sub], always takes a Singular Verb.

6. I, Sita, am a girl from Kolkata.

• Apposition has no effect on verb

 Subject - Verb Agreement
Concept # 2: Many, Both, Several, Each, Every
1. Many people are present today.
2. Many a man wants to get rich very quickly.
3. Each student has an i-card.
4. Every player has played well.

Many, Both, Several, A Always plural subjects Plural Verb

few

Each, Every, Many a Always a singular Singular Verb

countable noun
 Subject - Verb Agreement
Concept # 3: All & Some

1. All / Some animals are not non-vegetarians.

2. All the / some milk is in the fridge.
3. All is ready now.
4. I have just seen the players. All are here.

All / Some + countable noun Plural Verb

All / Some + Uncountable noun Singular Verb
All (When gives sense of everything) Singular Verb
All (When gives sense of number of people/objects) Plural Verb
 Subject - Verb Agreement
Concept # 4: Everybody, Everyone, Somebody, Someone,

1. No one was in the class.

2. Everybody is happy.
3. Neither of them is coming.

Everybody, Everyone, Someone, Somebody , No Singular Verb

one, Nobody, Either, Neither, None
 Subject - Verb Agreement
Concept # 5: **** + of

Either of / Each of / Neither of / None of / One of /+ Plural Noun / pronoun Singular Verb
Many of / Several of / A few of / Two of / The majority of + Plural Noun / Pronoun Plural verb
Half of / Most / Most of + Countable noun Plural verb
Much of/ Much /Half of / Most / Most of + Uncountable noun Singular Verb
A number of + Plural noun Plural verb
The number of + Plural noun Singular Verb
A lot of / lots of / A great deal of / Plenty of + Plural Noun Plural verb
Noun of Noun (First noun acts as subject) As per the First Noun
Singular Collective Noun (A group of etc.) Singular Verb
Fraction/percentage of + Noun/Pronoun As per the
Noun/Pronoun
 Prefix and Suffix

Affixes

 The English language contains an enormous and ever-growing number of words.

 Enhancing your vocabulary by learning new words can seem overwhelming, but if you
know the common prefixes, suffixes and roots of English, you will understand many
more words.

 Mastering common prefixes and suffixes is like learning a code. Once you crack the
code, you can not only spell words more correctly but also recognize and perhaps even
define unfamiliar words
 An affix is a set of letters generally added to the beginning or end of a root word or
base word to modify its meaning.

 The root is the portion of the word that remains when all prefixes and suffixes have
been removed.

 The two main types of affixes are prefixes and suffixes

Example:

• Conforming = Con + Form + Ing

Prefix Root Suffix

• Incredible = In + Cred + ble

Prefix Root Suffix
 Root Words

 A basic word to which affixes (prefixes and suffixes) are added is called a root word
because it forms the basis of a new word.

 Prefix and Suffix are not mandatory for making a complete word i.e., a root word may
or may not be an independent word.

 For example, the word lovely consists of the root word 'love' and the suffix –ly, where
love is an independent word. But in case of Hydrophobic (Hydro + Phob + Ic), Phob is
not an independent word.

 The roots are parts of a word that can't be broken down any further.
• For example, let’s examine the root reserve. This word can't be broken down further,
but it can be transformed into unreserved by the prefix un- or even unreservedly by the
suffixes -ed and –ly.

Common Root Words

• Mal – bad or evil

 Malignment – defame something badly

 Malice – evil intention
 Maltreat – Treat someone/something badly
 Malfunction – working badly
 Dismal – A gloomy situation
 Maleficent – Someone who deliberately try causing harm to someone
Phobia – Fear or Dislike
 Demophobia – one who fears public speaking.
 Zoophobia – people who fear animals.
 Theophobia – Thei is God/Religion, so a person who fears religion.
 Pedophobia – one who has fear of children has pedophobia.
 Gynophobia – One who dislikes girls/women because Gyno is a girl/woman.
Phil – To love
 Bibliophile – the one who loves books.
 Philologist – word lover who is a scholar of language.
 Philanthropist – is a person who loves mankind.
 Philosopher – A person who will love wisdom.
 Philodendron – A tree that curls up while growing and are called love trees.
 Prefix

 A prefix is an affix placed before a word, base, or another prefix to modify a term’s
meaning. For example, un- in unkind, re- in reinvent etc.

 Sometimes two or more prefixes can also work together like in un- and re- in
unrefundable.

 Prefixes can make a word negative, show repetition, or indicate opinion.

Some common prefixes are:

Prefix Meaning Example

Non-, un-, im-, in-, il-, Not, opposite Nonsense, unhappy
ir-
Re- Again, back Revisit, replay
Mis- Wrongly, not Misunderstanding
De- Reverse, remove, out Destruction,
of department
Co-, com-, con-, With,together Construct, computer
Dis-, dif-, di-, Separation, away, Disease, dissect
apart
Rules for adding Prefixes

 When you add a prefix to a word, you shouldn’t change the spelling of the original
word or the prefix.

 The words disappear (a combination of dis- and appear), unhappy, and undo all
illustrate this guideline.

 Follow this rule even if the spelling results in double consonants, such as in the words
misspell, irredeemable, and cooperation.
 Prefixes and Hyphens
 From time to time, you might see a hyphen placed between a prefix and a root word.

 This is common when the prefix ends in the same letter as the root word begins. For
example, in anti-immigration policy, we need to place a hyphen between the prefix and
the base.

 Hyphens are required when a prefix is about to join a proper noun. For example, in
trans-Atlantic flight we need a hyphen before the proper noun “Atlantic.”
Four prefixes almost always take a hyphen before joining their root word or base word.

Prefix Meaning Example

All- The whole amount, quantity, Her knowledge of 15th century Ireland
or extent of was all-encompassing.
Cross- To pass in a different directionHe refused to submit for cross-
or intersect examination.
Ex- Former, out of She had a coffee meeting with her ex-
business partner.
Self- A person`s essential being that Hygiene is the Danish practice of self-
distinguishes them from care.
others
 Suffix

 When attached to the end of word, the affix is called a suffix, such as, –ly in
kindly.

 Some suffixes add to or change a word’s meaning.

 Others can signal the word’s part of speech or indicate verb tense.

 When you add a suffix to a word, the original word usually keeps its original
spelling.
However, there are some exceptions to this rule:

 If the original word is one syllable and ends with a single consonant, double the
last letter.

For example, tip becomes tipping or tipped, and run becomes running.

 If the word ends in multiple consonants, as in the word bank, last letter doesn’t
get doubled.

For example, bank becomes banking.

Some common suffixes are -ed, -ing, and -ly.

 The suffix -ed changes verbs to the past tense.

 The -ing suffix makes the verb take place in the present.

 The suffix -ly is commonly added onto adjectives to form adverbs (words that
describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs). Examples of adverbs with the -ly
suffix include joyfully, quickly, and loudly.

 The suffixes -s and -es make words plural, as in foxes, lamps, and chairs.

 More than one prefixes or suffixes can be added to the words.

 You can see it in words like disenfranchisement and nonconformist

Some common suffixes are
 Spellings and Suffixes
While adding the suffixes, please remember the following rules and exceptions.

Rule 1
When adding the suffixes –ness and –ly to a word, the spelling of the word does not
change.

Examples:
dark + ness = darkness
scholar + ly = scholarly

Exceptions to Rule 1
When the word ends in y, change the y to i before adding –ness and –ly.

Examples:
ready + ly = readily
happy + ness = happiness
Rule 2
When the suffix begins with a vowel, drop the silent e in the root word.

Examples:
care + ing = caring
use + able = usable

Exceptions to Rule 2
When the word ends in ce or ge, keep the silent e if the suffix begins with a or o.

Examples:
replace + able = replaceable
courage + ous = courageous
Rule 3
When the suffix begins with a consonant, keep the silent e in the original word.
 Examples:
care + ful = careful
care + less = careless

Exceptions to Rule 3
Examples:
true + ly = truly
argue + ment = argument

Rule 4
When the word ends in a consonant plus y, change the y to i before any suffix not
beginning with i.

Examples:
sunny + er = sunnier
hurry + ing = hurrying
Rule 5

When the suffix begins with a vowel, double the final consonant only if (1) the word
has only one syllable or is accented on the last syllable and (2) the word ends in a single
vowel followed by a single consonant.

Examples:

tan + ing = tanning (one syllable word)

regret + ing = regretting (The accent is on the last syllable; the word ends in a single
vowel followed by a single consonant.)

cancel + ed = canceled (The accent is not on the last syllable.)

prefer + ed = preferred
 American vs. British Spellings
There are some differences between the American and British spellings.
 Suffixes and Parts of Speech
 Below is a list of common suffixes (word endings) that help indicate what part of speech
a word is. Sometimes a word can be identified as a noun, adjective, adverb, or verb by
its suffix.
Below is a list of common suffixes (word endings) that help indicate what part of speech
a word is. Sometimes a word can be identified as a noun, adjective, adverb, or verb by
its suffix.
 Combining Forms
 While combining forms aren't exactly an affix, they do act similarly.

 By definition, a combining form is a new word that is created by combining two

independent words (para + trooper) or two affixes (micro- + -scope).

 While affixes are added to existing root words or roots to modify the meaning,
combining forms work to create new words.

 For example, the para- in paratrooper represents the word parachute. Trooper and
para- are combined to create a word for military officers that parachute out of planes.