FEDERAL UNIVERSITY WUKARI

TARABA STATE
FACULTY OF HUMANITY MANAGEMENT AND
SOCIAL SCIENECE

DEPARTMENT: ENGLISH AND LITERARY STUDIES

 INTRODUCTION

Without grammar, English-and all other languages-would be gibberish. Grammar- the art of writing and
speaking correctly by adhering to usage standards and rules- allows people to communicate.

Without common form and structure and left to their own devices, people would not understand each
other’s word order or sentence construction. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the
prescriptive approach to grammar, in which rules had to be memorized and sentences parsed, has been
replaced with a descriptive approach, in which analysis and observation are key concepts of language
change and development. When learning a foreign language, it is imperative to study the grammar to
understand how it is structured, that is, whether it is generally descriptive or prescriptive by nature. In
concord analysis, rules are clearly spelled out and grammatical accuracy is measured by ones adherence
to these rules (prescriptive grammar).

MacIver (1986) has the belief that “Concord means agreements or harmony”. Thus in grammar, we apply
this word as meaning, perfect agreement between a subject and verb having the same number and
person”.Concord is one essential aspect of grammar that cannot be overlooked as it brings about the
relationship in every sentence in grammar.
DEFINITIONS OF CONCORD
The word concord is derived from the Latin, for agreement. when applied to English grammar, the term is
defined tense. some linguist use the term concord and agreement interchangeably, although traditionally,
concord is used in reference to the proper relationship between adjectives and the nouns they modify
while agreement refers to the proper relationship between verbs and their subjects and objects.

Concord can also be defined as the agreement between the subject and the verb or the agreement
between a verb/predicate and other elements of clause structure m

In grammar, concord refers to the way a word has a form appropriate to the number or gender of the
noun or pronoun it relates to. For example, in 'she hates it' there is concord between the singular

form of the verb and the singular pronoun 'she'

“Concord” or “agreement,” according to Aronoff and Fudeman (2010), “Occurs when one element in a
sentence takes on the morphosyntactic features of another element.” In basic terms, concord refers to
agreement between two or more words in a sentence. English grammatical concord is very important for
correct English usage.

Lutrin and Pincus (2004) define concord as that in which the words in a sentence must match or agree
with one another.

Tuurosong(2012) defines concord (subject-verb) as a grammatical relationship in which a predicate/verb

must agree with the subject in number and person. By number, he means the relationship between the
speaker and what he/she is speaking about. The term “agreement” according to him is used to describe
the type of grammatical changes that take place between the subject of a sentence and its verb. He adds
that it has to do with the “cordial” relationship that must exist between the subject and the main verb or
the first element of the verb phrase. Tuurosong’s definition is aspect-specific of concord, that is subject
and verb concord.

TYPES OF CONCORD
1 Grammatical concord– the principle of grammatical concord holds with nouns that are grammatically
marked for plural. It is the easiest type of concord. Simply put, the rule says, if the subject is singular, the
verb will also be singular and if the subject is plural, the verb will also be plural. E.g The boy is here, The
boys are here, The man likes food, The men like food.

2. Proximity concord-—- Proximity means “nearness”. The principle of proximity concord says that if two
or more subjects are coordinated (joined) by the correlative coordinators “either……. or” or “neither…..nor”,
the subject that is closest to the verb determines the concord- the rest (first one (s)) are ignored. E.g If
Sandra fails her exams, either her parents, her friends or her sister is to blame.
3. Notional Concord. The principle of notional concord holds with collective nouns. Collective nouns are
words like “committee”, “club”, “choir”, “audience”, “congregation” etc. These words mean a group of
people, and they can take either singular or plural verbs depending on how they are used. The rule is that,
if the collective noun performs an action, it takes a plural verb, but if no action is involved, it takes a
singular verb. E.g. The choir sing very well (not sings, since an action is involved, the verb will be plural),
The Choir is very disciplined (not are), The audience is quite large (not are), The audience were clapping
their hands (not is)

THE RULES OF CONCORD

RULE 1

Subject and verb concord

When the subject in a sentence is singular, the verb should also be singular.

For example,

She (singular subject) goes (singular verb), not: She go ( plural verb). Also, when the subject is plural, the
verb should be plural.

The girls (plural subject) go (plural verb), not The girls (plural subject) goes (Singular verb).

RULE 2

Subject and Object concord

When everybody or everyone is used, the object must be singular, not plural.

For example

Everybody knows his or her name, not: Everybody knows their name.

RULE 3

Mandative subjunctive concord

When prayer, suggestion, wish, demand, recommendation, or resolution is used in a sentence, the verb
that follows must be plural, whether the subject is singular or plural.

For example;

It has been suggested that he go not goes away.

The board has Recommend that the manager resign not resigns.

I pray that God help me on my upcoming examination, not God helps.

RULE 4
The Principle of proximity

This principle states that when there is a list of nouns or pronouns at the level of the subject, it is the
nearest noun or pronoun to the position of the verb that will determine the choice of the verb.

Example: If James fails his examination, his teachers, his parents, his friends, or John ( ) to be blame.

The correct option to fill that blank space is, “is” not “are” because, at the subject level, we have his
teachers, his friends, his parents and John ( four different people).

In order to choose the correct verb, we will need to choose the nearest subject to the gap as the subject,
which is John.

RULE 5

Many – a concord

When many – a is used, the verb and the noun that follows must be Singular. For example;

1. Many a candidate (not candidates) speaks ( not speak) bad English expressions.

2. Many a girl (not girls) is (not are) here.

The actual meaning of statements 1 and 2 are many candidates and many girls.

RULE 6

A pair of concord

When “a pair of” is used, the verb must be singular; For example,

A pair of trousers (not trouser) lies(not lie) on the bed.

A pair of scissors lies (not lie) on the table.

RULE 7

National Concord

National concord is also called collective noun concord.

A collective noun: Is a noun that stands for many units that constitute that single word.

For example,

An audience which means people who watch programs.

The congregation, which means worshipers.

RULE 8

Parenthesis

The parenthesis statement is an additional statement to what has already been said before.
Note A parenthetical statement should not be considered in choosing the verb that will follow.

E.g

The teacher, not her students is in the class.

The correct answer is, is because ( not her students) is just parenthesis, and parenthesis has nothing to
do with choosing the verb.

The manager, not many of his workers, is (not are) here now. not many of his workers is just a
parenthesis, therefore, the parenthesis should be ignored.

The manager is a singular noun, hence a singular verb

RULE 9

Accompaniment Concord

When any of these following words are used, the subject of the clause would be the noun and
pronoun that comes before the marker of accompaniment.

Words like as much as, alongside, as well as, together with, no less than, in association with, including,
like, with, and in collaboration with, etc

Example : Mary, as well as her friends, is ( not are) beautiful.

The answer is, “is” because mary is the noun that comes before as well as, hence mary is the subject and
it is a singular noun hence a singular verb.

RULE 10

More than concord

When more than is used, the word or number that comes after more than will determine the next verb.

For example

More than two apples are ( not is) here.

More than one oranges is (not are) here.

In the first statement, the answer is “are” not because two attracts are but in the second statement, the
correct option is, “is” not because one attracts is.

Note: Do not think because more than one means at least two, that you will use a plural verb after, no, you
will use a singular verb

RULE 11

Indefinite pronoun concord

When any of the following words are used, you should use a Singular verb

Such words as; Everybody, everything, everyone, everywhere, no one, nothing, nobody, nowhere,
something, someone, somebody, anyone, anything, anybody, anywhere and each. the next verb must be
singular.

For example

Nothing goes ( not go).

Everybody likes (not like) him.

Everybody thinks (not think) he stole the money.

RULE 12

Relative Concord

When who, whose, which and that refers to a previously mentioned noun or pronoun, such noun is
a Relative noun

Example:

One of the farmers who plant (not plants) on the farm has (not have) been asked to withdraw.

RULE 13

Uncountable nouns of concord

Countable nouns are nouns that can be quantified in units and numbers, that is, are nouns that can be
counted.

E.g chairs, tables, phones, and so forth.

Uncountable nouns are nouns that cannot be quantified in units and numbers.

E.g water, information, equipment.

Note all uncountable nouns will avoid “s” at the back.

It is wrong to use any of these words below;

E.g informations, clothes, equipments, furnitures, machineries, datas, advices, evidences, wealths, and so
forth.

Instead, you say a piece of, information, evidence, data, cloth, equipment, advice, etc

It is wrong to say machineries instead, you say a machine or two machines.

Other examples of nouns that attract plural verbs are;

The police work hard (not works), but, that policeman (not policemen) works (not work) hard.

police and policemen are collective nouns that is why they attract a plural verb from the seventh rule.

But policeman is not collective noun but a singular noun, hence a singular verb

The headquarters look (not looks) palatial.

Cattle give (not gives) bad odor, and a cow gives bad odor.

Aircraft make (not makes) traveling easier but, that chopper, airbus, or airplane makes traveling easier.

All the four examples attract plural verb because the subject in each example is a collective noun

RULE 14

Pluralia tantums

Pluralia tantum are nouns that come in plural forms.

Some of these words have final “s”, while some do not. However, whenever any of the following forms
appear, it must be followed by a singular verb.

School Subject: Mathematics, Economics, Civics, physics, Statistics, and so forth. You can see that all of
the words end with “s” but it does not show plurality.

Games: Darts, Snakes and Ladders, Draughts, Billiards, Bowls and Skittles, and so forth, all end with
“s” but do not show plurality.

Diseases: Measles, Tuberculosis, Shingles, Mumps, and so on, all end with “s” but do not show plurality.

Others: titles, news, series, means, and so forth.

Examples,

The series of incidents makes (not make) me shudder.

The means of transport hastens (not hasten) traveling.

Note: There are some nouns that do not appear as singular at all but as plurals and they often attract
plural verbs.

Such words are: Funds (money), annals, spirits, surroundings, guts, earnings, arms (weapons), auspices,
the middle ages, entrails, bowels, quarters ( headquarters), banns, means, holidays, stars, suds, wages,
thanks, riches, writs, savings, remains, ashes, goods ( product), arrears, outskirts, pains, particulars,
fireworks, and so forth.

All these nouns not verbs cannot appear without “s” and, hence they attract plural verbs

Examples:

His manners are (not is) good

The remains (corpse) of the boy have ( not has) been buried.

RULE 15

Double title subject concord

When two subjects are joined together by “and” but the two subjects refer to only one person or thing,
a singular verb should be used.
Example:

Our principal and mathematics teacher knows me.

In the above sentence, our principal and mathematics teacher is not two different people but, our principal
is also our mathematics teacher, hence the subject is our principal, and it is a singular noun, hence,
singular verb.

Consider this example:,

Our principal and the mathematics teacher.

This is quite different from the first sentence because the principal and the mathematics teacher are two
different subjects because of the use of “the” Mathematics teacher

Hence, in this second sentence, you use a plural verb

RULE 16

Co-ordinate concord

When two subjects are joined together by and, the verb to be used should be plural.

Examples:

James and John are (not is) here.

Elizabeth and Johnson know (not knows) me.

RULE 17

Categorization concord

When a collective name, denoting category (not a collective noun) is used, the verb to be used must be
plural.

Categories like: the poor, the rich, the wealthy, the successful, the gifted, the weak, the young in spirit, the
handicapped, the helpless, and so forth. The verb to be used should be plural.

Examples:

The poor need help (not helps or needs) from the government.

The young are (not is) disobedient.

The weak are (not is) left to their fates.

RULE 18

Plural number concord

When amount or unit is mentioned in a statement, units such as five thousand, three hundred, percent,
twenty meters, five times, and so on. The next verb must be singular.

Examples:
Two pounds of flour is (not are) too few to bake a cake.

Ten percent of my earnings goes (not go) to my wife.

RULE 19

Mathematical facts

When Mathematical facts are used, such as subtraction, multiplication, addition, division, and so forth, are
used, the verb will be any of Singular and plural, that is, a singular or plural verb can be used when
mathematical facts are used.

Examples:

Ten plus ten is or are ( are and is are both correct) twenty.

Ten multiplied by two is or are twenty.

Both singular and plural are correct.

RULE 20

Every + plural number concord

When every precedes a plural, the next verb is plural.

Examples:

Every ten liters of oil bought come (not comes) with a bonus of an extra liter.

But when “every” appears without any plural number, the verb is singular.

Examples:

Every boy (not boys) likes girls.

Every man (not men) likes football.

When and joins two or more subjects with every or each, the verb should be singular.

Examples:

Every man and woman speaks ( not speak) good English here.

Every student and teacher comes ( not come) to school early

RULE 21

Most or much concord

When most is used, the verb will either be singular or plural, depending on whether the referent is
a countable or uncountable noun,

Examples:
Most of the boys (countable noun) are tall.

Most of the time (uncountable noun), John has (not have) always been there for her.

When Much is used in a statement, the verb to be used must be singular.

Examples:

Much of the water has (not have) been spilled.

RULE 22

All concord

When all appears, it means either everything or all the people.

When all means everything, the verb to be used should be Singular but when all means all the people, the
verb to be used should be plural.

Examples:

All are already seated in the hall.

In the above sentence, “All” means all the people are already seated in the hall hence a plural verb.

But;

All is well with me.

In the above sentence, “All” means everything is well with me hence a singular verb.

When all but is used, the following verb should be plural

Example:

All but John are (not is) on the bus. That means, only John is absent.

Either or neither concord

When either or neither joins two singular nouns together, the following verb should be Singular.

Examples:

Either John or Jackson knows (not know) me.

Neither Mary nor her friend was (not were) here.

But, when either or neither joins two subjects (one singular and the other plural), the verb should be
chosen by considering the nearer of the two subjects.

Examples:

Either James or his friends know me.

You can see that the word “friends” is nearer to the verb gap than it is near James.
These rules also apply, when “but or but even” joins two subjects.

Examples:

Not only Sola but even teachers laugh in school.

Not Lawrence but James speaks good English.

You can see that the word James is nearer to the verb gap than it is near Lawrence, hence, you use
singular verb.

RULE 24

Each and one of concord

When each appears in concord, a singular noun + a singular verb will be chosen.

Example:

Each boy (not boys) has a car.

But, when “each of or one” of appears, the next noun should be plural but the next verb should be singular.

Example:

Each of the candidates (not candidate) stands (not stand) a good chance to win a scholarship.

CONCLUSION
For grammar to be properly understood and grammatical statements to be made
concord must be put in place.Concord, unarguably, plays a major role in the right
application of grammatical rules without which one would be lost in speaking good or
acceptable English.
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