Hanoi pedagogical university no.2
Foreign language faculty

BUI THI HUONG

COMMON ERRORS RELATED TO SUBJECT- VERB
AGREEMENT AMONG THE FIRST YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR
STUDENTS AT HA NOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY NO.2
(Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the
degree of bachelor of arts in English)

SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN THI MINH PHUONG, B.A

Hanoi, May 2013

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to take this chance to express my greatest gratitude to Mrs.
Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, my supervisor, for her patience in providing continuous
and careful guidance as well as encouragement, indispensable suggestions and
advice.
I wish to thank all the lecturers at Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2,
especially the lecturers in the Foreign Language Faculty for their dedicated
instructions during my years of university work.
I am in particularly grateful to the first- year English major students at Hanoi
Pedagogical University No.2 for their enthusiastic cooperation in the process of
implementing my survey.
I also wish to thank my close friends for their willingness in helping me

from any other person work without acknowledgements and that the report is
originally written by me under strict guidance from my supervisor.

Dated submitted: May 2013

Student

Supervisor

Bui Thi Huong

Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................. i
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................... ii
STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP .................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................... iv

PART ONE
INTRODUCTION
I- RATIONALE................................................................................................... 1
II- RESEARCH PRESUPPOSITION ................................................................. 2
III- RESEARCH OBJECTIVES ......................................................................... 2
IV- RESEARCH SCOPE ..................................................................................... 2
V- RESEARCH TASK......................................................................................... 2
VI- RESEARCH METHODS .............................................................................. 3

II.1 Survey .......................................................................................................... 22
II.1.1. Purpose of the survey ................................................................................. 22
II.1.2. Population of the survey ............................................................................ 22
II.1.3. Types of the survey.................................................................................... 23
II.1.4. Construction of the test .............................................................................. 23
II.1.5. Preparation of the survey ........................................................................... 23
II.1.5.1. Test items................................................................................................ 23
II.1.5.2. Arrangement of the test items ................................................................. 24
II.1.6. Administration of the try-out ..................................................................... 25
II.1.6.1. Preparation of the try-out ........................................................................ 25
II.1.6.2. Try-out .................................................................................................... 26
II.1.7. Method of the data analysis........................................................................ 26
II.1.8. Result of the survey ................................................................................... 26
II.2. Common errors and causes........................................................................ 28
II.2.1. Errors related to subject-verb agreement in sentences containing compound
subjects connected by “and” ....................................................................... 28
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II.2.2. Errors in matching the verb with the subject when subjects are nouns of
foreign plural .............................................................................................. 29
II.2.3. Errors in matching verbs with subjects modified with quantifiers “every”,
“each”, and “many a” ................................................................................. 30
II.2.4. Errors in using plural verbs after some nouns singular in meaning but plural
in form ....................................................................................................... 30
II.2.5. Errors in matching verbs with subjects when subjects are nouns having the
same plural and singular form .................................................................... 31
II.2.6. Errors related to subject- verb agreement when subjects
are collective nouns ................................................................................... 31
II.2.7. Errors related to subject- verb agreement in inverted sentences ................. 32

INTRODUCTION

I. RATIONALE
Nowadays, English is an international language and is one of the most
popular and most spoken in the world. In Vietnam, English is being taught at every
educational level. However, English grammar often causes embarrassment to
students. There are lots of different aspects to English grammar, and each is as
important as the last. Subject-verb agreement is one of principal parts of English
grammar. A grammatical sentence must contain a subject and its verb and they
must agree with each other. Having a solid understanding of this concept is critical
when making a good impression in your writing, and it will help ensure that your
ideas are communicated clearly.
According to McGraw-Hill Grammar Dictionary, in English, subject-verb
agreement is the rule of grammar that states that singular subjects must agree with
singular verbs and plural subjects must agree with plural verbs. However, the trick
is in knowing whether the subject is singular or plural. The next trick is
recognizing a singular or plural verb.
In addition, students often do exercises of writing sentences, writing
paragraphs and essays. However, in many cases, they may not know the right way
to agree a verb with its subject and their English sentences are produced
incorrectly. Hence, subject-verb agreement errors are among the most common
mistakes that students make on their school papers.
With the aim of helping learners of English, especially the first- year major
English students at Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2 to overcome these
difficulties, this thesis is focused on finding all possible errors in subject- verb
agreement in order to help the students to avoid making those errors when doing
grammatical exercises as well as writing and speaking English.
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the basic of the finding, some suggested solutions are sought to minimize the
students’ errors.
VI. RESEARCH METHODS
1) Collecting theories of subject- verb agreement from books listed in the
references
2) Consulting the supervisor, experienced teachers and friends
3) Synthesizing the theories of subject- verb agreement
4) Conducting a survey and analyzing the results
VII. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE
The research is supposed to provide:
1)

Input for learners of English in order to minimize their errors related to
subject- verb agreement.

2) Input for teachers of English with information on error types and solutions to
the problems so that they can have good methods of teaching subject- verb
agreement.
3) This research is also beneficial to anyone who is interested in subject- verb
agreement.
VIII. RESEARCH DESIGN
The research has three main parts, namely: Introduction, Development, and
Conclusion. The part “ Development” consists of two chapters. Chapter one is
entitled “Theoretical Background.” It consists of two sections. Section one reviews
literature in brief. The second one deals with rules of subject- verb agreement.
Chapter two is named “Common Errors related to Subject- Verb Agreement
among the first- year English major students at Hanoi Pedagodical University

In Grammar and Composition Handbook High School 2, authors of
McGraw- Hill (1999) give a quite detailed picture of subject- verb agreement.
Almost all rules of subject- verb agreement are presented clearly. They concentrate
on indefinite pronouns as subjects; compound subjects; agreement in adjective
clauses. They also give practical exercises for each rule to help learners to master
theory of subject- verb agreement.
Quirk and Greenbaum (1976) in A University Grammar of English give rules
of notional agreement; proximity principle; concord of person between subjects
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and verbs; and indefinite expressions of amount. Moreover, they describle other
agreements between subject- object; subject- complement.
In Oxford Practice Grammar with answers, Eastwood (1992) explains small
rules as well as tests of subject- verb agreement. He mentions some special nouns,
namely, pair nouns (glasses, jeans, shorts); nouns with plural forms only (clothes,
belongings, goods ); nouns come after any of, none of, most of, all of, and some
other quantifiers. However, he does not pay attention to the case of agreement
when phrases and clauses intervene between subjects and verbs; and foreign
plurals in the role of subjects.
In short, much research has been done on the subject- verb agreement but
few of them points out errors in using subject- verb agreement. In fact, learners
often make errors with this grammatical phenomenon. Therefore, it is essential to
have a comprehensive study of common errors in the use of subject- verb
agreement.
I.2. SUBJECT- VERB AGREEMENT
I.2.1. Definition of subject and verb
A complete sentence must have a subject and a verb.
According to Elliot (1997) in the book “Painless Grammar”:
Subject: A subject is a part of a sentence or clause that commonly indicates

He eats breakfast. (3rd person singular)
They eat breakfast. (3rd person plural)
An exception to the rule occurs with the pronoun “I” and “you”. Both take
the plural form of verb even when “you” refers to one person.
I eat breakfast. (1st singular person)
You prepare dinner. (2nd singular person)
Whether functioning as main verbs or auxiliary verbs, the irregular verbs
“be”,“have”, and “do” change form to show agreement. The irregular verb “be”
has three forms in the present tense and two forms in the past tense.
To be: I am late.
You are late.
He/she/it/a student is late.
We/they/students are late.
I/he/she/it/the beanbag was full.
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You/we/they/the beanbags were full.
Have: The applicants have experience.
The applicant has experience.
They have listened intently.
She has listened intently.
Do: Do they need help?
Does she need help?
I.2.3. Other cases of subject- verb agreement
I.2.3.1. Clauses, phrases, and adverbs functioning as subjects
`

Rule: When That-clauses or Wh-interrogative clauses function as subjects,


them doesn’t form compound subjects.
Fried rice, along with wonton soup, makes a delicious meal.
(McGraw- Hill, 1999)
Tenita, as well as Mike, plays basketball well. (Elliot, 1997)
 Appositives come between the subject and the verb.
Rule: Appositives give information about the subject but don’t change its
number.
Emma, one of my good friends, visits Australia every year.
(McGraw- Hill, 1999)
Four well-known writers, all very skilled at their craft, lecture at the
seminar. (McGraw- Hill, 1999)
 A “ not phrase” comes between the subject and the verb.
Rule: When the subject is both affirmative and negative, use a verb form that
agrees in number with the affirmative part of the subject.
Robert, not I, is going to play. (McGraw- Hill, 1999)
I, not Robert, am going to play. (McGraw- Hill, 1999)
The department members but not the chair have decided not to teach on
Valentine's Day. (McGraw- Hill, 1999)
 Rule: When a relative clause intervens between the subject and the verb, the
verb is matched with the subject of the main clause, not the subject of the
relative clause.
The only people who are interested in the book seem to be lawyers.
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I.2.3.3. Compound subjects by “and”
Quirk et al (1973) in the book divides the subject- verb agreement with
compound subjects connected by “and” into two cases: appositional and nonappositional coordination.
Rule: Under non-appositional coordination we include cases that can be
treated as an implied reduction of two clauses, so the verbs in these cases are

(Quirk et al, 1973)
Rule: For the structures “...or...”, “...nor...”, “either ... or...”, “neither ...
nor...”, and “not only... but also...” traditional grammarians also argue for the
proximity rule, that is, subject-verb agreement should occur with the noun nearest
to the verb:
[1] The serving bowl or the plate goes on that shelf. (Straus, 2008)
[2] Neither oranges nor milk is on my shopping list. (Kreloff, 1996)
[3] Either Chet or his brothers sing at family weddings. (Kreloff, 1996)
[4] Either his brothers or Chet sings at family weddings. (Hewings, 1999)
Although correct, [2] and [4] may sound awkward. You can eliminate the
awkwardness by rephrasing the sentences.
Oranges are not on my shopping list, and neither is milk.
Either Chet sings at family weddings, or his brothers do.
I.2.3.5. Collective nouns used as subjects
According to Penston (2005) in the book “Concise Grammar for English
Language Teachers”, a collective noun names a group or a collection of people or
objects.
Here are some examples: family, orchestra, group, committee, jury, crowd,
herd, audience, public, government, team, school, squad, staff, etc.
Although singular in form, a collective noun may take either a singular verb
or a plural verb, depending on its meaning in a sentence.
Rule: If the collective noun refers to a group considered as a single
undivided body, use a singular verb.
The government is intact. (Penston, 2005)
The audience is enormous. (Quirk et al, 1973)

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Rule: If the collective noun refers to individual members or part of a group

The pride of lions is breaking away.
A school of fish is being attacked by sharks.
- Generic references with “the + adjective” mentioning a group of people in
the society require plural verbs.
The rich are not always happy. (Alexander, 1989)
The young like to listen to loud music. (Alexander, 1989)
The old hate loud music. (Alexander, 1989)

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I.2.3.6. Relative pronouns used as subjects
Rule: In the book “Grammar and Composition Handbook High School 2”,
authors of McGraw- Hill (1999) state that when the subject of an adjective clause
is a relative pronoun, such as “who”, “which”, or “that”, determining whether the
verb of the adjective clause should be singular or plural by finding the antecedent
of the relative pronoun (according to the noun directly in front of the relative
pronoun.) If the antecedent is singular, the verb in the adjective clause should be
singular.
The man who teaches my yoga class dresses in white.
(McGraw- Hill, 1999)
[The word in front of “who” is “man”, which is singular.
Therefore, use the singular verb “teaches”]
Classrooms that have computers are convenient. (McGraw- Hill, 1999)
[The word in front of “that” is “classrooms”, which is plural.
Therefore, use the plural verb “are”]
Rule: If the adjective clause is preceded by “one of + a plural noun”, then
the relative pronoun will refer to the plural noun, and the verb in the clause must be
plural.
Sanctuary is one of my favorite books that were written by Faulkner.

Plural

everyone/everybody

any

both

anyone/anybody

all

many

someone/somebody

some

few

no one/nobody

most

several

one
each

more

little, much.
How much money is there? There is little. (Yates, 1996)
The two guests have arrived, and either is welcome. (Elliot, 1997)
Each (of the five thousand computers) was on sale. (Woods, 2010)
Rule: Some indefinite pronouns and quantifiers are always plural: both,
several, few, and many.
The Martin girls are twins. Both (of them) are here. (Elliot, 1997)
I like possums. Several are living behind my house. (Elliot, 1997)
Rule: Some indefinite pronouns and quantifiers can be either singular or
plural such as all, any, most, none, some, enough, plenty. Their numbers depend on
the nouns to which they refer. When these pronouns or these determiners refer to
nouns which are plural, their numbers are plural. When nouns they refer to are
singular, theirs numbers are singular.
[3] All (the cake) is gone. (Elliot, 1997)
[Cake is singular, use a singular verb]
All (the boys) are gone.[ Boys is plural, use a plural verb]
[4] Some (of the ears) are going to be super-glued to scalps. (Woods, 2010)
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[Ears is plural, use a plural verb]
Although some was eaten by the guests, most was left for you.
[Food is being referred to, the pronouns “some” and “most” are therefore
singular in this case.] (Hewings, 1999)
[5] None (of the snow) has melted. [snow is singular, use a singular verb]
None (of the apples) are ripe. [apples is plural, use a plural verb]
Notes:
- When “each”, “many a”, “every” or “no” precede a singular subject,
whether simple or compound, the subject is considered singular.
Each editor and proofreader needs a style manual. (Abrams, 1998)

There are the book and the magazine that you want. (Hewings, 1999)
I.2.3.9. Plural words and phrases used as names, titles, and quotations
Rule: Titles of individual books, stories, plays, movies, television programs,
etc., take the singular form of the verb, even though the titles may contain plural
words.
“Crime and Punishment” is perhaps the best- constructed work.
(Quirk et al, 1973)
“The House of the Seven Gables” was written in 1851. (Hewings, 1999)
Rule: The names in plural forms of countries, towns, organizations;
quotations, etc., also take a singular verb.
Is Honduras in Central America or South America? (Hewings, 1999)
When was the Organization of American States formed?
(Hewings, 1999)
“Senior Citizens” means, in common parlance, people over sixty.
(Quirk et al, 1973)
I.2.3.10. Expressions of amount, measurement, mathematical phrases,
fraction, and percentage as subjects
Rule: When a plural noun of amount refers to one unit, it acts as a singular
subject. When it refers to individual units, it acts as a plural subject.
Eight dollars is the cost of the ticket. (McGraw- Hill, 1999)
Eight dollars lie on the table. (McGraw- Hill, 1999)
Five minutes doesn't seem long to wait. (Eastwood, 1992)
Five years have passed since I’ve seen my cousins. (Hewings, 1999)
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Rule: When a fraction or a percentage refers to a singular noun (a mass
noun), it requires a singular verb. When it refers to a plural noun, it requires a
plural verb; either the singular or the plural may be used when it refers to a
collective noun.