GRAMMAR

RULES

SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
A file of papers is in the table.
The files of papers are in the table.
The list of employees is attached.
The lists of employees are attached.

Rule 1.A subject will come before a phrase

beginning withof. This is a key rule for understanding
subjects. The wordofis the culprit in many, perhaps
most, subject-verb mistakes.

SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
RD or ARDisarriving today.
NeitherIngridnorAuroraisavailable.
EitherRosalindaorPuriflorishelpingtoday with stage
decorations.

Rule 2.Two singular subjects connected byor,

either/or,orneither/norrequire a singular verb.

SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT

Neither theplatesnor the servingbowlgoeson that

shelf.
Neither the servingbowlnor theplatesgoon that
shelf.

Rule 3.The verb in anor,

either/or,orneither/norsentence agrees with the
noun or pronoun closest to it.

SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
An advisory and a memorandum areissued to the
divisions.
But note some exceptions:
Breaking and enteringisagainst the law.
Thebed and breakfastwascharming.
In those sentences,breaking and enteringandbed and
breakfastare compound nouns.
Rule 4.As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or
more subjects when they are connected byand.

SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
TheSecretary, along with the regional directors,is
expectedshortly.
Excitement, as well as nervousness,isthe cause of her
shaking.
Rule 5.Sometimes the subject is separated from
the verb by such words asalong with, as well as,
besides, not,etc. These words and phrases are not
part of the subject. Ignore them and use a singular
verb when the subject is singular.

SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
A lotof thepiehas disappeared.
A lotof thepieshave disappeared.
Athirdof thecityisunemployed.
Athirdof thepeopleareunemployed.
Allof thepieisgone.
Allof thepiesaregone.
Someof thepieismissing.
Someof thepiesaremissing.

Rule 6.With words that indicate portionsa lot, a

majority, some, all,etc.Rule 1 given earlier is
reversed, and we are guided by the noun afterof. If
the noun afterofis singular, use a singular verb. If it
is plural, use a plural verb.

SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
Therearefourhurdlesto
jump.
Thereisa highhurdleto
jump.
Herearethekeys.

Rule 7.In sentences beginning

withhereorthere,the true subject follows the
verb.

SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT
Three milesistoo far to walk.
Five yearsisthe maximum sentence for that
offense.
Ten dollarsisa high price to pay.
BUT
Ten dollars werescattered on the floor.

Rule 8.Use a singular verb with distances, periods

of time, sums of money, etc., when considered as a
unit.

SUBJECT-VERB
AGREEMENT

Thecoupledisagreeabout disciplining their child.

The couplerefers to two people who are acting as
individuals.

Rule 9.Some collective nouns, such asfamily,

couple, staff, audience, etc., may take either a
singular or a plural verb, depending on their use in
the sentence.

WHO vs
WHOM
Rule.Use thishe/himmethod to decide
whetherwhoorwhomis correct:
he = who
him = whom
Who/Whom wrote the letter?
He wrote the letter. Therefore,whois correct.
Who/Whomshould I vote for?
Should I vote for him?Therefore,whomis correct.
We wondered who/whomthe book was about.

This sentence contains two clauses:we

wonderedandwho/whom the book was about. Again,
we are interested in the second clause because it
contains thewho/whom. The book was abouthim.

WHO, THAT,
WHICH

Anya is the onewhorescued the bird.

"The ManThatGot Away" is a great song.
Karla is on the teamthatwon first place.
She belongs to a great
organization,whichspecializes in saving
endangered species.
Rule 1.Whoand sometimesthatrefer to people.
Thatandwhichrefer to groups or things.

WHO, THAT,
WHICH
I do not trust productsthatclaim "all natural
ingredients" because this phrase can mean almost
anything.
We would not know the type of products being
discussed without thethatclause.

Rule 2a.Thatintroduces what is called

anessential clause. Essential clauses add
information that is vital to the point of the
sentence.

WHO, THAT,
WHICH
The product claiming "all natural
ingredients,"whichappeared in the Sunday
newspaper, is on sale.

Rule 2b.Which introduces anonessential

clause, which adds supplementary information.

n Regard(s) To, With Regard(s) To

In regard toandwith regard toare phrases that
mean "regarding," "concerning," "on the subject of.
As regardsnote theson the endmeans the
same thing. Perhaps this is why people mindlessly
pluralizeregardand sayin regards toand its
partner in crime,with regards to.
Both of the following examples are correct:With
regard to your friend, let's hope she is well.
Compare that toWith regards to your friend. Let's
hope she is well.
In the first sentence,With regard tomeans
"concerning." But in the second sentence,regards

Advice, Advise

Advice: guidance.
Advise: to suggest; to
recommend.

Adapt, Adopt

Toadaptis to take something and change it for a

special purpose.
A screenwriter adapts a book to make it work as a
movie.
An organism adapts (itself) to a new environment.
Toadoptis to take something and use it or make it
your own.
A government adopts a different policy.
A family adopts an orphan.

Aid, Aide

Anaidis a thing that helps.

Anaideis a living helper or assistant
His aide brought first aid.

All ready, Already

All readymeans that everything or everyone is

now ready.
Alreadyrefers to something accomplished
earlier.
We are all ready.
We already ate.

Assume, Presume

Assume: to take for granted without evidence.

Presume: to believe based on evidence.

Beside, Besides
Besidesas an adverb means "in addition" or
"moreover":
Besidesis also a preposition meaning "other than" or
"except
Besideis a preposition that means "next to," "near,"
"alongside."
It's Albert's birthday, and besides, you promised.
Who besides me is hungry?
The person beside me is hungry.
A lot of people say something is "besides the point."
They meanbesidethe point. When a statement is

Bring, Take

They're not interchangeable.

Youbringsomething here; youtakesomething there.
The locations of "here" and "there" are from the
perspective of the speaker or writer.
Your friend asks you tobringher a book, so
youtakethe book to her home.

Can, May

Examples:
I can gomeans I have the ability and freedom to
go.
I may gomeans I have either an option or
permission to go.

Their, There, They're

Their: belonging to them.

There: in that place.
They're: contraction ofthey are.
Example: They'reintheircar overthere.

Who's, Whose

Who'sis a contraction ofwho isorwho has.

Whoseis the possessive case ofwho.
Example: Who'sthe bosswhosestaff failed to
submit a report?

You're, Your

You're: contraction ofyou are.

Your: belonging to you.
Example:
Your memorandum was signed by the OIC.
Youre the new assistant now.

EFFECTIVE WRITING

Use concrete rather than vague language.

Useactive voicewhenever possible. Active voice
means the subject is performing the verb.Passive
voicemeans the subject receives the action.
Avoid overusingthere is, there are, it is, it was,etc.
Example:There is a case of meningitis that was
reported in the newspaper.
Revision:A case of meningitis was reported in the
newspaper.
Even better:The newspaper reported a case of
meningitis.(Active voice)

To avoid confusion, don't use two negatives to make a

positive without good reason.
Unnecessary:He is not unwilling to help.
Better:He is willing to help.
Use consistent grammatical form when offering
several ideas. This is calledparallel construction.
Correct:I admire people who are honest, reliable,
and sincere.
Note thatareapplies to and makes sense with each of
the three adjectives at the end.
Incorrect:I admire people who are honest, reliable,
and have sincerity.

The beginning of a piece of writing is the

most important part.
So start punching
right off. Come to the point quickly.
Your aim is to inform, not to write a
suspense novel.

Use familiar words.

Effective writing is concise.

You
can
be
concise
by
dropping
unnecessary words from phrases or
sentences. Every word should tell.
for the reason that

because

at the present time

now

tendered his resignation

resigned

affixed his signature

signed