We
have seen that sometimes in English the subject comes after the verb. This can
occur after question words (Skill 15), after place expressions (Skill 16),
after negative expressions (Skill 17), after omitted conditionals (Skill 18),
and after some comparisons (Skill 19). When the subject and verb are inverted,
it can be difficult to locate them, and it can therefore be a problem to make
them agree.
(Behind
the house) was* the bicycles I wanted.
(Behind
the houses) were* the bicycle I wanted.
In
the first example it is easy to think that house is the subject, because
it comes directly in front of the verb was. House is not the subject,
however, because it is the object of the preposition behind. The subject
of the sentence is bicycles, and the subject bicycles comes after
the verb because of the place expression behind the house. Because the
subject bicycles is plural, the verb should be changed to the plural
were. In the second examplethe subject bicycle comes after the verb were
because of the place expression behind thehouses. Because the subject
bicycle is singular, the verb should be changed to the singular was.
The
following chart outlines the key information that you should understand about subject/verb
agreement after inverted verbs:
SUBJECT / VERB AGREEMENT AFTER
INVERTED VERBS
|
Question
|
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Negative
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Place
|
|
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V
|
S
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Condition (no if)
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||||
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Comparison
|
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After
question words, negative expressions, place expression, conditions without if,
and comparisons, the verb agrees with the subject, which may be
after the verb.
SKILL 21 MAKE VERBS
AGREE AFTER CERTAIN WORDS
Certain
words in English are always grammatically singular, even though they might have
plural meanings.
Everybody
are going* to the theater.
Even
though we understand from this example that a lot of people are going to the
theater, everybody is singular and requires a singular verb. The plural
verb are going should bechanged to the singular verb is going.
The
following chart lists the grammatically singular words that have plural
meanings:
SUBJECT / VERB AGREEMENT
AFTER CERTAIN WORDS
These words or expressions
are grammatically singular, so they take singular verbs:
|
anybody
|
everybody
|
no body
|
somebody
|
each
(+ noun)
|
|
anyone
|
everyone
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no one
|
someone
|
every
(+ noun)
|
|
anything
|
everything
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nothing
|
something
|
|
Exercise !
|
____
|
1.
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The box of ribbons for the electric typewriter have been misplaced.
|
|
____
|
2.
|
It is disconcerting to believe that every possible candidate has
been rejected
|
|
|
|
for one reason or another.
|
|
____
|
3.
|
Only once have there been more excitement in this
city about a sporting event.
|
|
____
|
4.
|
Bobby has a bigger bicycle than does the other children in the
neighborhood.
|
|
____
|
5.
|
If nobody have bought that car from the dealer, then you should
return and
|
|
|
|
make another offer.
|
Choose the letter of the underlined word or group
of words that is not correct.
|
_____
|
6.
|
The great digital advances of the electronic age, such as integrated
circuitry
|
||||
|
|
|
|
A
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B
|
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|
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and a microcomputer, has been planted in tiny chips.
|
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||
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C
|
D
|
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|
_____ 7.
|
There are many frequently mentioned reasons why one out of four
arrests
|
|||||
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A
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B
|
C
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involve a juvenile.
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D
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____
|
8.
|
Kepler’s Laws, principles outlining planetary
movement, was formulated based
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
A
|
B
|
C
|
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|
|
on observations made without a telescope.
|
|
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||
|
|
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D
|
|
|
|
|
____
|
9.
|
Only with a two-thirds vote by both houses are the U.S. Congress
able to
|
|
|||
|
|
|
|
A
|
B
|
C
|
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|
|
override a presidential veto.
|
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||
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D
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____
|
10. Of all the evidence that has piled up since Webster’s paper was
published,
|
|||||
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A
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there is no new ideas to contradict his original theory.
|
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||
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B
|
C
|
D
|
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Source : John h.f, anne juwita. 2009 smart way toefl. jakarta : generasi cerdas.
