Grammar Tips from Prompt Proofing: Be Sure to Agree

    VANCOUVER, BC, May 03, 2013 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Subject/verb agreement may seem really obvious but there are some sentences where it can be less clear. We all know that plural nouns take a plural verb and singular nouns take a singular verb - so far, so good. Additionally, there are collective nouns such as team, group, army, etc. that take a singular verb even though the noun in question may include many people. For example:

The team works well together and has achieved its goals.

(Remember the pronoun also has to agree, therefore it is 'its goals', not 'their goals'!)

It gets a little more complicated when you have a compound subject where one is singular and one is plural. In this case, the rule is that the verb agrees with the subject that is closer to it.

Therefore:

Either my husband or my brothers come with me when I have to carry heavy bags home from the store. But:

Either my brothers or my husband comes with me.

Also - some words that appear to be plural are treated as singular (just to further confuse things). Take 'dollars' or 'months' for example:

We say 'American dollars are accepted almost everywhere.' But:

'A thousand dollars is a lot of money to lose.'

In this case, 'a thousand dollars' refers to a specific sum of money, so it takes a singular verb.

Similarly:

'There are twelve months in a year.' But:

'Three months is a long time to wait for an appointment.'

About Prompt Proofing

Prompt Proofing is based in Vancouver, BC, Canada and was officially launched in 2010 by a team of editing and writing professionals who have over 40 years of experience in the education, news media, public relations and recruitment fields. Prompt Proofing prides itself on affordable services delivered with fast turnaround times, without sacrificing quality or accuracy.

Offering content writing, editing and proofreading services, Prompt Proofing takes care of your individual or business content needs. We have customers throughout North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, the United Kingdom, Asia and Australia.

Visit our website for more information at http://www.PromptProofing.com.

We offer coupons, news and more through our social media sites:
Follow us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/promptproofing
Like us on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/promptproofing

# # #