1、Chapter 3 Subject- Verb Agreement1. Subject & Verb Must Both ExistIf a sentence is missing the subject or the verb, the sentence is a fragment.The sentence does not contain a working verbThe sentence starts with a Connecting Word and contains no Main Clause2. Subject& Verb Must Make Sense Together3.
2、 Subject& Verb Must Agree In NumberThe key is to find the subject that goes with a particular verb. To find the subject, you must ignore all the words that are not the subject.The GMAT hides the subject in a few ways. The most common way is to insert words between the subject and the verb. You must
3、learn to eliminate these Middlemen words to reveal the subject.Furthermore, the GMAT often puts a significant number of words in front of the subject you want. You have to “skip the Warmup” that comes before the subject you are looking for.4. And VS. Additive PhrasesThe words “and” can unite two or
4、more singular subjects, forming a compound plural subject.Additive Phrases (Such as: along with, in addition to, as well as, accompanied by, together with, including) do not form compound subjects. Rather, additive phrases function as modifiers and therefore cannot change the number of subject. 5. O
5、r, Either or, Neither, norFind the noun nearest to the verb, and make sure that the verb agrees in number with the noun.Note: When the words “either” or “neither” are in a sentence alone, they are considered singular and take only singular verb.6. Collective Nouns: Almost Always SingularPeople: agen
6、cy, army, audience, class, committee, crowd, orchestra, teamItems: baggage, citrus, equipment, fleet, fruit, furniture单数名词指代一个群体，谓语动词用单数。7. Indefinite Pronouns: Usually SingularThere are a few common types of Middlemen& Warmups:Prepositional PhrasesSubordinate ClausesOther Modifiers (Present Princip
7、les& Past Principles)An indefinite Pronoun is not specific about the thing to which it refers. The following indefinite pronouns are considered singular and require singular verb:There are, however, 5 indefinite pronouns that can be either singular or plural depending on the context of the sentence.
8、SANAM = Some, Any, None, All, Most/ ManyGenerally, of- prepositional phrases should be ignored. The SANAM pronouns are exceptions to this rule. You should look at the noun object of the of- phrase to determine the number of the subject.Note: 1. “No one” is always singular, while “none” can technical
9、ly be either singular or plural.2. Each/ Every: Each of my friends is clever. My friends each are clever.8. Quantity Words and PhrasesIn many idiomatic expressions that designate quantities or parts, such as “a number of”, the subject of the sentence is in an of- prepositional phrase. These expressi
10、ons provide the exception to the rule that the subject cannot be in a prepositional phrase. We have seen the SANAM pronouns as examples of this phenomenon. Other examples include fractions and percents.The word “majority, minority, and plurality” are either singular or plural, depending on their con
11、text. If you want to indicate the many individual parts of the totality, use a plural verb. If you want to indicate the totality itself, then use a singular verb form.9. Subject Phrase and Clauses: Always SingularSometimes the subject of a sentence is an ing phrase or even a whole clause. This sort
12、of subject is always singular and requires a singular verb form.10. Flip it!The GMAT occasionally attempts to confuse you by inverting the order and placing the subject after the verb. So, pay attention to it!E.g.1: Near the buildings sits a lonely house, inhabited by squatters.E.g.2: There are a ma
13、n and a woman at the bus stop.E.g.3: Pong is a classic game from which have descended may current computer pastimes.anyone, anybody, anything no one, nobody, nothingeach, every someone, somebody, somethingeveryone, everybody, everything whatever, whoevereither, neither (may require a plural verb if paired with or/ nor)
