MỘT SỐ ĐIỂM NGỮ PHÁP CẦN LƯU Ý TRONG TOEFL

MỘT SỐ ĐIỂM NGỮ PHÁP CẦN LƯU Ý TRONG TOEFL I SUBJECT & VERB AGREEMENT Please remember that subject and verb in a sentence must agree with each other Example: The elevator works very well (singular) The elevators work very well (plural) Subject separated from the verb: - In English, subject and verb are often separated from each other English learners have a bit difficulty to decide exactly how they are agreed in person and number Example: The boys in the room (is or are) watching TV - Very often, if the subject and verb are separated, they will be separated by a prepositional phrase The prepositional phrase had no effect on the verb Subject + [prepostional phrase] + verb More Examples: Several theories on this subject have been proposed The study of languages is very interesting The view of these disciplines varies from time to time The danger of forest fires is not to be taken lightly - The following expressions also have no effect on the verb: · together with· along with· accompanied by· as well as Example: The actress, along with her manager and some friends, is going to a party tonight Mr Robbins, accompanied by his wife and children, is arriving tonight Words that always take singular verbs and pronouns:  Some words are often confused by English learners as being plural The following words must be followed by singular verbs and pronouns in formal written English any + singular noun no + singular noun some + singular noun anybody nobody Somebody anyone noone Someone anything nothing Something every + singular noun each + singular noun everybody Each person everyone *either everything *neither * Either and Neither are singular if they are not used with or and nor Examples: - Everybody who has not purchased a ticket should be in this line - Something is under the table - If either of you takes a vacation now, we will not be able to finish the project - Anybody who has lost his ticket should report to the desk - No problem is harder to solve than this one - Nobody works harder than him Either / Neither: When either and neither are followed by or and nor, the verb may be singular or plural, depending on whether the noun following or and nor is singular or plural Let's check out the following formulas neither/either + noun + nor / or + plural noun + plural verb Example: Neither Bob nor his friends are going to the beach today Either Bob or his friends are going to the beach today neither/either + noun + nor/or + singular noun + singular verb Example: Neither John nor Bill is going to the beach today Either John or Bill is going to the beach today None / No: 3.1 None can take either singular or plural verb, depending on the noun which follows it none + of the + non-count noun + singular verb Example: None of the counterfeit money has been found none + of the + plural count noun + plural verb Example: None of the students have finished the exam yet 3.2 No can take either a singular or plural verb depending on the noun which follows it no + singular / non count noun + singular verb Example: No ticket is required no + plural noun + plural verb Example: No tickets are required Gerunds As Subjects: If a sentence begins with {verb+ing} (gerund), the verb must be a singular Let's study the following examples Example: - Working for him is the best choice I've made - Going out at night doesn't seems interesting to me - Not studying has cause him many problems Collective Nouns - Many words indicating a number of people or animals are singular The following nouns are usually singular In some cases they are plural if sentence indicates that the individual members are acting separately congress family group committee class organization team army club crowd government majority* Minority public jury * majority can be singular or plural If it is alone it is usually singular; if it is followed by plural noun, it is usually plural The majority believes that we are in no danger The majority of the students believe him to be innocent Examples of collective nouns: - The committee has met, and it has rejected the proposal - The family was elated by the news - The crowd was wild with excitement - Congress has initiated a new plan to combat inflation - The organization has lost many members this years - Our team is going to win the game