Subject-Verb Agreement- Common Errors

Subject-Verb Agreement: Common Errors

Dear readers, in the previous post we discussed some of the common errors associated with Errors due to Proximity in terms of Subject-Verb Agreement that English as non-native speakers encounter in their daily conversation. In this present post let us learn some important conditions in terms of subject-verb agreement.

1.   Compound nouns that indicate an amount of money, length, measure, time and weight when preceded by a numeral, remain singular. Examples:

·       I saw a three-foot short man.

·       B.A. Economics is a three-year degree programme.

·       My dad gave me a twenty-rupee coin.

·       A three-ton lorry crossed the bridge safely.

2.   A lot of, plenty of, most of and some of  are used before a plural or an uncountable noun. They take a singular verb when they are used with uncountable nouns and take a plural verb when they are followed by countable nouns. Examples:

·       A lot of work is over.

·       A lot of books were purchased.

·       There is plenty of milk in the canteen.

·       There are plenty of fruits in the basket.

·       Most of your time has to be spent usefully.

·       Most of the umbrellas have been purchased.

·       Some of the important medicine for diabetics is to be packed.

·       Some of the trees were protected.

Let us discuss other conditions in the next post.

Author:

Dr. K. Nandhakumar

Assistant Professor of English

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science (Autonomous)

Coimbatore- 641 020

 

 

 

English capitalization rules: When to capitalize (Continuation)

 

English capitalization rules: When to capitalize

What words need to be capitalized?

People’s names

Both the first and last names of a person are capitalized. Likewise, middle names, nicknames, and suffixes like Jr. are also capitalized.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Historical names that include descriptive words often follow the rules for title capitalization: Prominent words are capitalized, but small words like the or of are not.

Ivan the Terrible

Maria of Aragon

Titles

Capitalization of titles is where a lot of capitalization errors come from. The title of any piece of work—books, movies, songs, poems, podcast episodes, comic-book issues, etc.—requires capitalization, but only certain words in the title are capitalized.

What words need to be capitalized in titles? For starters, the first word in a title is always capitalized. Nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs all need to be capitalized in titles as well.

Small words like articles and prepositions are generally lowercased, unless they’re the first word in a title. However, some style guides have their own preferences, so double-check if you have any doubts.

The Catcher in the Rye

Of Mice and Men

AUTHOR

Dr L Suresh

Assistant Professor of English

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science

Coimbatore - 641020

Contact: 9944138137

e-mail ID: sureshenglit@rmv.ac.in

Idioms of the Week

 

Subject-Verb Agreement-Practice Test II

 

Subject-Verb Agreement-Practice Test II

Dear readers, in the previous post we discussed some of the common errors associated with Errors due to Proximity in terms of Subject-Verb Agreement that English as non-native speakers encounter in their daily conversation. In this present post let us have a practice session on the subject-verb agreement.

1.   Physics ………. (is/are) an interesting subject.

2.   One lakh per month …….. (is/are) a good income.

3.   Three of my friends,……… (has/have) qualified TNPSC exam.

4.   The three-fourth of the essay …………. (is/are) ready.

5.   The captain, with all his soldiers ………. (is/are) ready for attack.

 

Answers:

1.   is

2.   is

3.   have

4.   is

5.   is

Let us discuss some other topic in the next post.

Author:

Dr. K. Nandhakumar

Assistant Professor of English

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science (Autonomous)

Coimbatore- 641 020

 

 

 

English Capitalization

 

English capitalization rules: When to capitalize

Knowing which types of words to capitalize is the most important part of learning English capitalization rules. Basically, there are three types of words you capitalize in English:

• the pronoun I
• the first word in a sentence or line of a letter (e.g., Sincerely)
• Proper Nouns
•       That last one, proper nouns, is where a lot of the confusion comes from. Some words, like the name Albert Einstein, are always capitalized; however, others are capitalized only in certain situations and are lowercase in others. For example, directions like north and west are normally lowercased but are capitalized when they’re used as part of a geographic name, like the West Coast.

Let’s take a closer look at what words need to be capitalized and when in the next blog.

AUTHOR

Dr L Suresh

Assistant Professor of English

Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Arts and Science

Coimbatore - 641020

Contact: 9944138137

e-mail ID: sureshenglit@rmv.ac.in