HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N°.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 N°.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
Trang 2ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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 N°.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 N°.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 collect valuable reference documents and data for my research
Last but not least, I owe a debt of gratitude to my beloved family, for their whole hearted encouragement and endless support
Trang 3ABSTRACT
The subject- verb agreement is one of important parts of English grammar A grammatical sentence must contain a subject and its verb and they must agree with each other However, it is not easy to grasp fully rules of subject- verb agreement and special cases of the subject to have a right match between the subject and its verb
As a result, students of English often make errors when they deal with
different cases of subject- verb agreement Therefore, this research work entails studying rules of subject- verb agreement and conducts a survey for error analysis
Based on the result of the survey, the types of errors and causes have been found Solutions to the problems have been suggested
Trang 4STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP
Title: Common Errors related to Subject-Verb Agreement among the first year English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical University N’.2 (Graduation paper submitted in partial fulfilment of the Degree of Bachelor of
Arts in English)
I certify that no part of this report has been copied or reproduced by 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
Trang 5TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTTS SH HH 0005 00508580500500500075085056 i ABSTRACT .cccssssssssssscsssesssserecssssscessecsscesressecenseasecesensecensessecsenserensenseseseenesees ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ii TABLE OEF CONTENTS Ív
PART ONE INTRODUCTION
7000906790205 1 H- RESEARCH PRESUPPOSITION .- 55c S91 Y1111eseessee 2 HH- RESEARCH OB.JECTTTIVIES c5 S019 51951 19569518518556150856808 0 2 IV- RESEARCH SCOPPE 5-5-5 SE SY111.00101000500005050 020 2 M22 ).(0 001) G757 2 VI- RESEARCH METHODS - 5G 1 1951808568558550800508556 3 VII- SIGNIFICANCE OE THE PROPOSED RESEARCCH . 3 VIH- DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH WORK c5SĂSĂSSSSSsSSSssesssessesse 3
PART TWO DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1 Literature reVi€W Ïn ĐIFÏ© 5< s se s se cm cọ cm 4
1.2 Subject- verb agreement
1.2.1 Definition of subject and verb 1.2.2 General rules of subject- verb agreement
1.2.3 Main cases of subject- verb agreement cssccssssesssesssessesseosssesees 7 1.2.3.1 Clauses, phrases, and adverbs functioning as subJecfS - -‹ 7 1.2.3.2 Intervening phrases or clauses between the subJect and 1ts verb 7
Trang 6I6 N00 0ì) 00)0)00) 2 Dáy an 9
IS 06019) 2009i99060 0200777 9
1.2.3.5 CollectIve nouns used as sj€CÍS - - «6 s1 ng gxy 10 1.2.3.6 Relative pronouns used as subj€CS - - 6+ + +3 S123 rsrrserse 12 1.2.3.7 Indefinite expressions as suj€CẨS . - + + St * + re 13 1.2.3.8 Agreement in inverted senf†€TIC€S . - + 5313 +13 2s reesrerxe 15 1.2.3.9 Plural words and phrases used as names, titles, and quotations 16
1.2.3.10 Expressions of amount, measurement, mathematical phrase, fraction, and percentage as Subjects ::.cccescesceeeeseeseeseeseensees 16 1.2.3.11 Plural forms of nouns as subjects :ccccccseeseeseeeseeseeeceseeeeeeeeeeneensenaees 17 CHAPTER TWO: COMMON ERRORS RELATED TO SUBJECT- VERB AGREEMENT AMONG THE FIRST YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N°.2 TT.1 Survey .sccscccssccssccsssccessscssscccssccscssenscssessssssscsssssssscsssessessssscssssssssessoesenes 22 IDNIBa0v 001 22
IL.1.2 Population of the 22
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11.1.4 Construction of the test 23
IL.1.5 ìio60áii1 2 23
TL.1.5.1 Test items 5 23
ID Voi noi án na 24
II.1.6 Administration Of the fTÿ-O «6 <6 E19 91 12 1 1n ng gen 25 II.1.6.1 Preparatfion Of the fT-OUK - «<6 x11 1H nh nh ng ng ri 25 II“ 26
IDMWAV iuaiuaiidn ch a 26
Trang 7II2.2 Errors in matching the verb with the subject when subjects are nouns of "09 2080)00ìv) 0 P0 4 29 11.2.3 Errors in matching verbs with subjects modified with quantifiers “every”, X⁄/2 1 1 30 IL2.4 Errors in using plural verbs after some nouns singular in meaning but plural TI FOTN oe 30 11.2.5 Errors in matching verbs with subjects when subjects are nouns having the same plural and singular fOr ceceeseesecseceseeseeseeseeeceeeeeeeeeeeeaecaeeeeeeaeeee 31 II.2.6 Errors related to subject- verb agreement when subjects
are Collective NOUNS 02 cece eescesesceeeeeeeseeescseseeeesceeecscseeeeetseeeesseseeeees 31 II.2.7 Errors related to subject- verb agreement in inverted sentences 32 II.2.8 Errors in using verbs after relative pronouns preceeded by “one of” and “the OPHÿ OHLC Q SG KT TH HT TH HH TH TH nh cư 33 II2.9 Errors in using singular verbs affer some unmarked plurals 33 II.2.10 Errors related to subJect- verb agreement when subjects are expressions of
amount, measurement, mathematical phrase, fraction, and percentage 34
1.2.11 Errors when breaking the principle of prOXITmity - 5< +5<+s<+s+ 35 1.2.12 Errors in matching verbs with subjects modified with quantifiers such as “either of’, “neither of’, “none of”, “all of’, “a number of? and “the number
OP? cesceseceseeceseseseeteseseseeseseaceesacseateseacacacacaesacacaceceeeacaeeeacaceeacaeeeeseaceereeeatetees 35
IIL2.13 Errors related to subJect- verb agreement when phrases or clauses intervene between subject and[ V€TÔ . 6 <6 tk 0 91 9 ng nh HH gưưn 36 11.3 Suggested solutions and €X€TFCÏSS 5-5 5 5 5s 9 vn n9 mm 37 IS J0 7n 37 ii 2o e 39
Trang 8PART THREE CONCLUSION
09) 19 H93/90)111 41 3032.3010210 a8a.1 43 APPENDICES - S1 S21 11H HH HH HH HH TT HH TH Hư 45 SURVEY QUESTIONARE 2-22 S112 re 45 SUGGESTED EXERCISES . 2S SSSH HH re 50
Trang 9PART ONE 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 N°.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
Trang 10II RESEARCH PRESUPPOSITIONS
Some questions are raised:
1) What kinds of errors related to subject- verb agreement are the most often made by the first- year English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical
University N°.2?
2) What are the causes of the errors related to subject- verb agreement made by
the first- year English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical University N°.2?
3) What are some solutions to minimize errors related to subject- verb agreement made by the first- year English major students at Hanoi
Pedagodical University N°.2?
Il RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The study is aimed at the following goals:
1) To find out kinds of errors related to subject- verb agreement made by the first- year English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical University N°.2 2) To find out the main errors related to subject- verb agreement made by the
first- year English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical University N°.2
3) To find out the causes of the errors related to subject- verb agreement made by the first- year English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical University
N°.2,
IV RESEARCH SCOPE
The general research area of this study is grammar
The phenomenon is errors related to subject- verb agreement made by the first- year English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical University N°.2
The population involved in the study is one hundred first- year English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical University N°.2
V RESEARCH TASKS
The study involves fulfilling the following tasks:
1) To study clearly all the basic rules of subject- verb agreement in English 2) To find out the common errors related to subject- verb agreement by the
Trang 11the 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 N°.2” It has three sections Section one is devoted to the survey The second one
deals with error types and causes The last one is some solutions to the problems
Trang 12PART TWO DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1 LITERATURE REVIEW IN BRIEF
Subject- verb agreement has been described by many grammarians like Straus (2008), McGraw- Hill (1999), Alexander (1989), Eastwood (1992), Quirk and Greenbaum (1976), and so on They each have their own way to present rules of subject- verb agreement
Straus (2008) in The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation deals with the
ways to find out subjects and verbs in a sentence She introduces some main rules
of subject- verb agreement in cases of subjects connected by “and”, “either”,
“neither”, “or”, “nor”, and “but”; subjects are pronouns; sentences beginning with “here” and “there”; subjects are collective nouns
Alexander (1989) in Longman English Grammar mainly studies about special cases of nouns in the role of subjects such as nouns with plural forms, nouns with the same singular and plural forms; collective nouns He also mentions some expressions of the whole amount using as subjects However, he does not pay attention to the rules of subject- verb agreement when subjects are compound, or subjects are pronouns
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
Trang 13and 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 tules 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
1.2 SUBJECT- VERB AGREEMENT
1.2.1 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 what it is about, or who or what performs the action
Subjects can come in many different packages (In each example, the subject is underlined.)
One noun as the subject: The dog barks
Two nouns as the subject: The dog and cat are both making noise and keeping us awake
One pronoun as the subject: She can't sleep because of all the noise Two pronouns as the subject: He and she are both still awake because of those noisy animals
A phrase: Staying awake all night is no fun A clause: What makes me mad is all this noise!
Trang 14Verb: A verb is a word that shows action (run, swim, jump, taste, fall,
dream, etc.) or state of being (be, appear, seem, feel, etc.)
Being able to find the right subject and verb will help you avoid making errors of subject- verb agreement
1.2.2 General rules of subject- verb agreement
According to authors of McGraw- Hill (1999) in the book Grammar and Composition Handbook High School 2, “number” refers to the form of a word that indicates whether it is singular or plural A verb must agree with its subject in number
A singular subject requires a singular verb A plural subject requires a plural verb
The principle of subject-verb agreement applies to finite verbs in the present
tense and in a limited way, to the past forms of the verb to be (was and were) With “
most regular verbs, we add “s” or “es” to form the singular The book contains good information (singular subject) These books contain good information (plural subject) He eats breakfast (3 person singular)
They eat breakfast (3 person plural)
An exception to the rule occurs with the pronoun “J” and “you” Both take the plural form of verb even when “you” refers to one person
I eat breakfast (1° singular person)
You prepare dinner (2" singular person)
Whether functioning as main verbs or auxiliary verbs, the irregular verbs “be”, “have”, and “đo” 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: Iam late You are late
He/she/it/a student is late We/they/students are late I/he/she/it/the beanbag was full
Trang 15You/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?
1.2.3 Other cases of subject- verb agreement
1.2.3.1 Clauses, phrases, and adverbs functioning as subjects
Rule: When That-clauses or Wh-interrogative clauses function as subjects, the subject-verb agreement is singular
That the children want friends doesn't surprise me
(Larsen and Murcia, 1983)
How they got there doesn’t concern me! (Quirk et al, 1973)
Rule: The infinitive phrases, gerund phrases or adverbs act as subjects, the verb must be singular
Swimming laps is a good exercise (McGraw- Hill, 1999) To eat three pies is gluttonous (McGraw- Hill, 1999) Slowly is exactly how Jeremy speaks (Quirk et al, 1973)
Rule: Nominal relative clauses, since they are equivalent to noun phrases, may have plural as well as singular concord
What was once a palace is now nothing but a pile of rubble (Quirk et al, 1973)
What ideas he has are his wife’s (Quirk et al, 1973)
1.2.3.2 Intervening phrases or clauses between the subject and its verb = Prepositional phrases between subject and verb
Rule: When a prepositional phrase comes between the subject and the verb, make sure the verb agrees with the actual subject, not with the object of the preposition
The paper in those boxes is for the copy machine (McGraw- Hill, 1999)
Trang 16[The singular verb is agrees with the singular subject paper, not with the plural object of the preposition, boxes]
The dogs in that class are well behaved (McGraw- Hill, 1999)
= Expressions such as together with, along with, as well as, in addition to,
plus, accompanied by, along with, etc., between subject and verb
Rule: These expressions introduce phrases that modify the subject without changing its number Although their meaning is similar to that of “and”, the use of 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) IL, 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
Trang 171.2.3.3 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 non- appositional 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 plural
Tom and Mary are now ready (Quirk et al, 1973) (Tom is now ready and Mary is now ready)
What I say and what I think are my own affair (Quirk et al, 1973) (What I say is my own affair and what I think is my own affair.)
Rule: A singular verb is used in the case of appositional coordination
because the coordinated structure refers to the same thing
This temple of ugliness and memorial to Victorian bad taste was erected at the Queen’s express wish (Quirk et al, 1973)
[The two noun phrases refer to the same thing]
The_chairman and chief executive officer drives his car to his office every day (Hewings, 1999)
[The chairman and chief chief executive officer refer to the same person] Rule: A singular verb is used with a compound subject connected by “and” which represents a single entity
Ham and eggs makes a filling breakfast (Hewings, 1999) [Ham and eggs is considered to be one dish]
Rule: The subject has structures “both and ” and “both of ” are followed by a plural verb
Both apples and bananas are good for your health (Hewings, 1999) 1.2.3.4 Principle of proximity
Rule: Acorrding to Quirk et al (1973) in the book A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language , the principle of “proximity” denotes agreement of the verb with whatever noun or pronoun closely precedes it
Trang 18No one except his own supporters agree with him (Quirk et al, 1973) One inten take drugs (Quirk et al, 1973)
More than one person has protested against the proposal (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 1.2.3.5 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)
Trang 19Rule: If the collective noun refers to individual members or part of a group
acting individually, use a plural verb
The government are of different minds on the issue (Penston, 2005) The chorus have separate parts to learn (Elliot, 1997)
[each individual member of the chorus]
The staff are in disagreement about the findings (Straus, 2008) [The staff are acting as separate individuals in this case.]
Note:
- In American English grammatically singular collective nouns are generally treated as singular, especially when they refer to government and sport team
- Both in British English and American English, plural pronouns are often used to refer to singular collective nouns
The committee has not yet decided how they should react to the letter - When subjects are some noun phrases referring a group of animals as followed, the verbs must be singular, whatever nouns following “of” is singular or plural
flock of birds, sheep herd of cattle pack of dogs | school of | pride of fish lions
The flock of birds is circling overhead 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)
Trang 201.2.3.6 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 (McGraw- Hill, 1999)
[The relative clause refers to books because all of the books are written by Faulkner]
Susan is one of the swimmers who run on the track team (Hewings, 1999)
[The relative clause refers to swimmers, several swimmers run.]
Rule: If an adjective clause is preceded by “‘the only one of + a plural noun”, the relative pronoun will refer to the word “one”, and the verb in the clause must be singular
Pedro is the only one of the Fernandez children who owns a car
Trang 21[The relative clause refers to “one” because among Fernandez children, only Pedro owns a car.] (McGraw- Hill, 1999)
Carol is the only one of those girls who enjoys singing (Hewings, 1999) [The relative clause refers to “one” because among those girls, only Carol enjoys singing ]
1.2.3.7 Indefinite expressions as subjects
Indefinite pronouns replace nouns According to Hewings (1999) in the book Advanced Grammar in Use, indefinite pronouns are pronouns that refer to people
or things in general Some indefinite pronouns are always singular, some are always plural, and some may be singular or plural depending on their antecedents
Either
Singular Singular Plural
or Plural
everyone/everybody any both anyone/anybody all many someone/somebody some few
no one/nobody most several
one each more much little none either/neither enough plenty
Rule: Compound indefinite pronouns beginning with any (anyone, anybody, etc.), no (no one, nobody, nothing), every (everyone, everything, etc.), and some (something, someone, etc.) are always singular and take a singular verb
Everybody is coming (Hewings, 1999) Nothing is happening (Hewings, 1999)
Trang 22Acorrding to Penston in the book “Concise Grammar for English Language Teachers,” quantifiers are grammatical modifiers and precede nouns Quantifiers indicate the amount or quantity being referred to Some quantifiers can function both as determiners and as substitutes for nouns and noun phrases when functioning as pronouns If they are followed by nouns, they function as determiners; if they stand on their own, they function as pronouns and they are called quantifier pronouns The general quantifiers used pronominally are each,
many, much, few, little, and several See the following examples of the same word
used first as a determiner [1] and then as an indefinite pronoun [2]: [1] Many children are wishing they did
[2] Many are called, but few are chosen.(Y ates, 1996)
Some other singular pronouns and quantifiers are: one, either, neither, each, 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)
Trang 23[Ears 1s 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]
IZ ote ln
- 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) Many a joke and cartoon was included (McGraw- Hill, 1999) Every dog has a distinct personality (McGraw- Hill, 1999) Every restaurant and diner servers sandwiches (Abrams, 1998) - However, “no + a plural noun” requires a plural verb
No boys are in the class (McGraw- Hill, 1999)
- “A number of + a plural noun” takes the plural, but “the number of + a plural noun” takes the singular
A number of automobiles in Los Angeles are increasing all the time The number of automobiles in Los Angeles is increasing all the time (Hewings, 1999)
1.2.3.8 Agreement in inverted sentences
In an inverted sentence, the subject follows the verb
Rule: Inverted sentences often begin with prepositional phrases Don’t mistake the object of the preposition for the subject In the following examples, the subjects are underlined
At the table sit the students (McGraw- Hill, 1999)
Near the head of the table sits Judge Peter (Hewings, 1999)
To pair the subject and its verb in this case, mentally rearrange the sentence into its normal subject-verb order, and then make the verb agree in number with its subject
Trang 24The students sit at the table
Judge Peter sits near the head of the table
Rule: In sentences beginning with “there” or “here”, the subject also follows
the verb The words “there” and “here” almost never function as the subject of a
sentence
Here are five beans (Woods, 2010)
There is a bean in your nose (Woods, 2010)
There are the book and the magazine that you want (Hewings, 1999) 1.2.3.9 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)
1.2.3.10 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)
Trang 25Rule: 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
Sixty percent of the money was spent on food (McGraw- Hill, 1999) Sixty percent of our resources were used (McGraw- Hill, 1999) One-half of the_toxic waste has escaped (Larsen and Murcia, 1983) Two-thirds of the students _are satisfied with the class
(Larsen and Murcia, 1983)
One tenth of the population of Egypt is Christian
[The fraction “one tenth” refers to the collective noun “population’’| (Larsen and Murcia, 1983)
Rule: Mathematical phrases are often followed by singular verbs
Five times six is thirty (Elliot, 1997)
Rule: Units of measurement usually require singular verbs
Sixteen by twenty inches is a standard size for a picture frame
(McGraw- Hill, 1999)
Ten millimeters equals one centimeter (McGraw- Hill, 1999) 1.2.3.11 Plural forms of nouns as subjects
Nouns plural in form and meaning:
GD S
Some nouns have only a plural form (with “s”) and take a plural verb These are:
Arms (weapons), belongings (the things you own), clothes, congratulations, contents (what is inside something), customs (bringing things into a country), earnings (money you earn), goods (products, things for sale), outskirts (the outer part of a town), remains (what is left), surroundings (the environment, the things around you), thanks, troops (soldiers), roots
(original point)
The clothes were in the dryer (Eastwood, 1992)
The goods have been sent to you directly from our factory (Eastwood, 1992)
Trang 26= Nouns plural in forms but singular in meaning:
Sometimes a noun phrase sounds plural but describes something we think of as a single unit These noun phrases take a singular verb
- The word news
The news arrives later here (McGraw- Hill, 1999)
- Some diseases: measles, mumps, rickets, shingles
Is measles still a common childhood illness? (Hewings, 1999)
However, a plural verb is sometimes possible:
Mumps are (is) fairly rare in adults (Alexander, 1989)
- Some games: billiards, bowls (especially BrE), darts, dominoes, draughts (BrE), checkers (Am), fives, ninepins
Bowls is boring (Eastwood, 1992)
- Subject names in “—ics”: classics, linguistics, mathematics, phonetics,
athletics
Mathematics is my easiest class (Elliot, 1997)
Note: Some “‘-ics’”’ nouns can be either singular or plural When the reference is to an academic subject, the verb must be singular; and when the reference is
specific, then the verb is plural
Politics is an interesting career (Elliot, 1997)
The politics in the presidential campaign were mighty dirty
(Elliot, 1997)
Statistics is my most interesting class (Elliot, 1997)
The statistics of the game are not good for our team (Elliot, 1997) Other “-ics” nouns that work this way: acoustics, ethics, and economics = Nouns having the same plural and singular form
A few nouns stay the same no matter whether you are talking about one of
them or a thousand of them These nouns are mentioned precisely in the book
“Concise Grammar for English Language Teachers ’’of Penston (2005)
These nouns take either singular or plural verbs, depending on their particular uses
Trang 27This_means of transport saves energy Both means of transport save energy (Eastwood, 1992)
This sheep looks small (Quirk et al, 1973)
This species of insect is quite rare All these species of insect are quite rare (Eastwood, 1992)
All of those sheep are mine (Quirk et al, 1973) These are nouns of this type:
moose deer works (factory) barracks crossroads fish headquarters means (method) species gallows sheep series plaice craft (airplane) = Unmarked plurals
Some nouns are plural even though they have no “‘s” added Some people are never satisfied (Alexander, 1989)
The police have surrounded the building (Alexander, 1989) These are nouns of unmarked plurals:
cattle people clergy police folk gentry military vermin
Note: “People” should not be confused with “a people/ peoples”, meaning “nation” or “tribe”
The British are a sea-fairing people (Alexander, 1989) The English-speaking peoples share a common language
(Alexander, 1989)
19
Trang 28= Nouns of foreign plurals
Don’t forget that some common English words have foreign plurals The data show that Angie never blows an economics test (Woods, 2010) In the book “Collins Cobuild English Grammar’, Sinclair (1990) decribes quite completely nouns of foreign plurals The following table lists some nouns of
Trang 30CHAPTER TWO
COMMON ERRORS RELATED TO SUBJECT- VERB AGREEMENT
AMONG THE FIRST YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HA NOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N°.2
This chapter focuses on the results of a practical survey with the first- year English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical University N°.2 It consists three sections Section II.1 gives the survey questionnaire, which was designed to find
out some common errors made by the first- year English major students at Hanoi
Pedagogical University N°.2 Section II.2 presents common errors and causes Section III.3 gives some suggestions to minimize the errors related to subject- verb
agreement
II.1 Survey
The study gives an overall presentation of almost cases of subject- verb
agreement as well as common mistakes that learners often make when pairing the subject and the verb Due to the framework of a thesis, to map out all the mistakes made by students at all educational levels is impossible Therefore, this thesis is only focused on common errors related to subject- verb agreement made by the first- year English major students at Hanoi Pedagodical University N°.2 To find out the errors made by those students, a survey questionnaire was conducted II.1.1 Purpose of the survey
The overall objectives of the survey questionnaire are to test students’
knowledge of subject- verb agreement and find out common errors made by the first- year English major students at Hanoi Pedagodical University N°.2 when
matching the verb with the subject 11.1.2 Population of the survey
The number of participants in the survey questionnaire is one hundred first-
year English major students at Hanoi Pedagodical University N°.2 Most of them have been learnt English for 10 years and they are quite good at English grammar They have already known some rules of subject- verb agreement since secondary
Trang 31school However, it is not easy for them to have right number of verbs when
dealing with tricky cases of subjects 11.1.3 Type of the survey
To collect data, a completion test was used It involves such activities as choosing the correct answer; picking up verbs which don’t match with subjects; giving correct forms of verbs
11.1.4 Construction of the survey
The material in use in the test was taken from grammar books concerned with subject- verb agreement The survey is divided into two parts Part A, which consists of four sentences, is designed to get general information about participants and to remind them of subject- verb agreement Part B is conducted to find out how much the students have known and mastered subject- verb agreement rules
This part has three exercises
1) Exercise 1: Find out the subject and make the verb agree with the subject This exercise consists of 6 items
2) Exercise 2: Choose the right form of the verb There are 15 items in this exercise
3) Exercise 3: Indicate the mistake of the verb form in the available sentences This exercise has 30 items
11.1.5 Preparation for the survey 1I.1.5.1 Test items
There are many possible errors in subject- verb agreement that a survey cannot find out Thus, it is necessary to predict possible errors and include them in
the survey In this survey, possible errors were classified into the following categories
1) Errors in subject-verb agreement in sentences containing compound subjects connected by “‘and”
2) Errors in subject- verb agreement when phrases or clauses intervene between subject and verb
Trang 323) Errors in using verbs after relative pronouns preceded by “one of” and “the only of”
4) Errors in using verb after some indefinite pronouns such as “anyone”,
33 66 33 66
“anybody”, “no one”, nothing”, “everybody” 33 6
5) Errors in matching verbs with subjects modified with quantifiers such as “ either of’, “neither of’, “none of’, “all of’, “a number of’ and “the number of”
6) Errors in matching the verb with the subject which is modified with “every”, “each”, and “many a/an”
7) Errors in subject- verb agreement in inverted sentences
8) Errors in subject- verb agreement when subjects are collective nouns
9) Errors in subject- verb agreement when subjects are expressions of amount, measurement, fraction, and percentage
10) Errors in subject- verb agreement when the subjects are plural words and
phrases used as names, titles, and quotations
11) Errors in using plural verbs after some nouns singular in meaning but plural in form
12) Errors in using singular verbs after some unmarked plurals
13) Errors in subject- verb agreement when subjects are nouns having the
same plural and singular form
14) Errors in subject- verb agreement when subjects are nouns of foreign plural 15) Errors when breaking the rule of proximity
11.1.5.2 Arrangement of the survey
After classified, the test items were arranged into the following numbers: 1) Test on matching the verb with the compound subject connected by “and”,
numbers 11, 12, and 52
2) Test on matching the verb with the subject when a phrase or an adjective
clause intervenes between the subject and the verb, numbers 7, 8, 13, 14, 19,
and 33
3) Test on matching the verb with the subject which is a relative pronoun preceded by “one of” and “the only one of", numbers 10, 16, and 24
Trang 334) Test on matching the verb with the subject which is an indefinite pronoun, numbers 23 and 30
5) Test on matching the verb with the subject which is modified with quantifiers such as “either of’, “neither of’, “all (of)”, “none (of)” “a number of,” and “the
number of’ numbers 20, 21, 26, 34, 35, 41, and 46
6) Test on matching the verb with the subject which is modified with quantifiers
“each”, “every”, and “many a/an”, numbers 22, 25 and 44
7) Test on matching the verb with the subject in inverted sentences, numbers 5,
15, and 45
8) Test on matching the verb with the subject when the subject is a collective
noun, numbers 27, 28, and 54
9) Test on matching the verb with the subject when subjects are expressions of amount, measurement, mathematical phrase, and fraction, and percentage,
numbers 6, 36, 47, 48, 49, 51, and 53
10) Test on subject- verb agreement when the subjects are plural words and
phrases used as names, titles, and quotations, numbers 32 and 37
11) Test on matching the verb with the subject when subjects are plural nouns in form but singular in meaning, numbers 29 and 40
12) Test on matching the verb with the subject when subjects are unmarked plurals, numbers 41 and 50
13) Test on matching the verb with the subject when subjects are nouns having
the same plural and singular form, numbers 31, 42, and 45
14)Test on matching the verb with the subject when subjects are nouns of foreign
plurals, numbers 9, 39, and 55
15) Test on proximity rule, numbers 17, 18, and 38
11.1.6 Administration of the try-out
H.1.6.1 Preparation of the try-out
The teachers in charge of the two classes which were intended to do the survey questionnaire were asked for permission before the try-out was carried out
Trang 34HI.1.6.2 Try-out
Try-out was conducted on April, 20", 2013 The students of each class were gathered in a room and asked to do the questionnaire as well as possible in compliance with their own ability They were instructed carefully before answering the questionnaire Importantly, they were reminded that the result of the questionnaire was to serve the research and it had no influence on their study results Hence, they made their real effort to do the questionnaire without copying from the others The allocated time for sixty questions was seventy minutes
11.1.7 Method of data analysis
The data was analyzed in five steps:
In the first step, the students’ self-assessment about their English level and their knowledge of a general rule of subject- verb agreement, their ability of
finding a complex subject which modified by some phrases Errors in subject-
verb agreement were found out in step two with three exercises In the next step, the average percentage of each type of errors was calculated The numbers of errors for each type made by the students was divided by the total number of papers collected Then, the error levels were pointed out in a chart The highest level was considered as the major error in subject- verb agreement Students who made the most errors were identified in the last step
II.1.8 Results of the survey
In the first part of the survey, the students were asked to give their self-
assessment of their English levels and their understandings of a basic rule of
subject- verb agreement A quite great number of them (59%) said that their English was not really good Twenty percent of them stated that they were rather good at English Five percent said that their English excellent Sixteen percent of those stated their English is not good No students confessed that their English is bad It can be seen from the result of the survey that every student knows common tule of subject- verb agreement However, they got into trouble with such special
cases as inverted sentences; nouns of amount, measurement, fraction, percentage as
Trang 35Also based on the survey analysis, the errors by the first- year English major students at Hanoi Pedagodical University N°.2 were noted as follows:
Error Errors related to subject- verb agreement % 1 | Errors In subject-verb agreement in sentences containing subjects
compound by “and” 66.67
2 | Errors in subject- verb agreement when phrasesor clauses intervene | 10.33 between subject and verb
3 | Errors in using verbs after relative pronouns preceded by “one of”
and “the only one of” 32.07
4 |Errors in using verbs after some indefinite pronouns such as
“anyone”, “anybody”, “no one”, “nothing” 0 5 | Errors in matching verbs with subjects modified with quantifiers
such as “ either of”, “neither of’, “none of”, “all of’, “a number of”
and “the number of” 13.49 6 | Errors in matching verbs with subjects modified with quantifiers | 62.35
“every”, “each”, and “many a/ an”
Errors in subject- verb agreement in inverted sentences 45.29 Errors in subject- verb agreement when subjects are collective | 48.33
nouns
9 | Errors in subject- verb agreement when subjects are expressions of
amount, measurement, mathematical phrases, fraction, and | 26.83
percentage
10 | Errors in subject- verb agreement when the subjects are plural
words and phrases used as names, titles, and quotations 0
Errors in using plural verbs after some nouns singular in meaning
11 | but plural in form 59.48 12 | Errors in using singular verbs after some unmarked plurals 30.55 13 | Errors in subject- verb agreement when subjects are nouns having
the same plural and singular form 52.47
14 | Errors in subject- verb agreement when subjects are nouns of
foreign plural 65.66 15 | Errors when breaking the rule of proximity
14.28
Trang 36
The percentage of these above errors are given in the following chart: Errors related to subject- verb agreement
80.00% 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Error 1 Error 2 Error 3 Error 4 | © Error 5 Error 6 Error 7 Error 8 Error 9 Error 10 | Error 11 Error 12 Error 13 Error 14 Error 15
H2 Common errors and causes
HI.2.1 Errors in subject-verb agreement in sentences containing compound subjects connected by “and”
Look at the above chart, we can see that the errors in subject- verb agreement in sentences containing compound subjects connected by “and” among the first- year English major students at Hanoi Pedagodical University N°.2 are the most common The errors of this type account for almost 66.67% According to the analysis, there are only 3 students who didn’t make any mistakes of this type
Based on theory, compound subjects connected by “and” are divided into two cases: appositional and non- appositional coordination
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 plural All students involved in the survey didn’t make any errors of non- appositional coordination as examples bellow:
Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol are famous Pop Artists
However, as for appositional coordination, almost students got into trouble
Trang 37here refer to the same thing Therefore, the verb following this subject must be
singular For instance:
Her friend and companion is George [one person]
With a compound subject connected by “and” which represents a single entity, a singular verb is used However, almost students choose a plural verb Look at this example:
Fish and chips (is/ are) Tom’s favorite at the moment [“Fish and chips” is considered to be one dish]
Answer: are Correct answer: is
11.2.2 Errors in subject- verb agreement when subjects are nouns of foreign plurals
65.66% of the errors involve matching the verb with the subject when subjects are nouns of foreign plural They rank second to the errors in subject- verb agreement in sentences containing compound subjects connected by “and” There were thirty five students whose percentage of this type of errors is 100% For example:
The data show that Angie never blows an economics test [ datum (singular) => data (plural )]
Answer: shows
Correct answer: show
Angie’s fellow alumni that taxes are evil, and that position is popular with some voters (believe)
[ alumnus (singular) => alumni (plural)] Answer: believes
Correct answer: believe
The cause is tha the students don’t know the forms of some foreign plurals that not added “s” as regular plurals They misuderstand that nouns of those foreign plurals are singular
Trang 38H.2.3 Errors in subject-verb agreement when the subject is modified with quantifiers “every”, “each”, and “many a (an) ”
It can be seen from the chart that the errors related to subject- verb agreement when the subject is modified with quantifiers “every”, “each”, and “many a (an) ” stand at 62.35% There were eight students whose percentage of this type of errors is 100% It is supposed that students made these mistakes since they don’t pay attention to the use of quantifiers “every”, “each”, and “many a (an)” when they precede a subject, whether simple or compound, the subject is considered singular For instance:
Each of the five thousand computers was on sale Every dog has a distinct personality
Every orchestra seat and balcony box (is/are) sold already Answer: are
Correct answer: is
Wrong respondents agree that the two following sentences have right
subject- verb agreements
Many an adolescent _and_adult seem reluctant to take advice from someone older
Each penny and dime were counted While correct answers are as followed:
Many an adolescent and adult seems reluctant to take advice from someone older
Each penny and dime was counted
11.2.4 Errors in using plural verbs after some nouns singular in meaning but
plural in form
Errors in using plural verbs after some nouns singular in meaning but plural in form make up 59.48% However, none of the students whose percentage of errors is 100% Almost students made mistakes in case of the word “darts” which plural in form but singular in meaning of a game For example:
Darts is often played in pubs in England
Trang 39The cause is that the students don’t seize words plural in form but singular in
meaning such as measles, mumps, rickets, shingles, darts, dominoes, draughts, linguistics, mathematics, etc The commonest word of this type the students know
is “news” No students make mistakes with this word
The news was worse than I had expected
11.2.5 Errors in subject- verb agreement when the subjects are nouns having the same plural and singular form
The percentage of errors in subject- verb agreement when the subjects are
nouns having the same plural and singular form is 52.47% There are sixteen
students whose percentage of this type of errors is 100% After analysis, it was found that many students don’t know that some nouns having the same singular and plural form For example:
This series is very interesting
Though the noun “series” in this example preceded by the singular demonstrative pronoun “this”, many respondents still correct the answer into
“are”, so the sentence tum into “This series are very interesting” whose the verb
doesn’t match the subject
Another noun of this type included in the survey is “ headquarters” Headquarters has asked that you be transferred
Wrong respondents change the verb into “have asked” though in this case, it refers to one single unit and this noun just has one form for both singular and
plural; its form of verb is “headquarter”
H.2.6 Errors in subject- verb agreement when the subjects are collective
nouns
48.33% of the students were wrong in matching the verb with the subject when the subjects are collective noun There were no students whose percentage of
this type of errors is 100% For instance:
The committee usually (raise/ raises) their hands to vote Answet: raises
Correct answer: raise
Trang 40In this case, individuals in the committee “raise their hands” to vote, so “the
committee” is not considered as a whole and the verb must be plural
Unlike the above example, in the following sentence, the collective noun “team” refers to a whole unit, so the verb is singular
The football team [the team as a whole] wants to win
The cause is that the students can’t distinguish which case the collective
noun refers to one single unit; which refers to individual members of a group
II.2.7 Errors in subject- verb agreement in inverted sentences
The errors related to subject- verb agreement in inverted sentences account
for 45.29% The errors in connection with inverted sentences beginning with prepositional phrases make a considerable contribution to the total percentage of
this type of errors Twelve students have 100% percentage of errors in subject- verb agreement in inverted sentences beginning with prepositional phrases Look at the following example:
[1] Aeross the road her boyfriend (live) Answer: live
Correct answer: lives
[2] High among nineteenth-century American painters ranks Mary Cassatt
Many students correct the answer into “rank” which doesn’t match with the
subject “ Mary Cassatt” They often misunderstand that the subject of the sentence is the prepositional phrase preceding the verb, as in [1]- “Across the road” and in [2] “High among nineteenth-century American painters” while the real subject follows the verb
As for sentences beginning with “there” or “here”, fewer errors were made
because the students know well the structure of “there is”, “there are” and the
inverted sentences with “here” For instance: There are the bananas and the grapes Here comes the boy