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>> Home / How-to / English Language / Case agreement – how to understand it

Case agreement – how to understand it

August 29, 2009 by Roy Johnson

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Case agreement – definition

case agreement There must be grammatical logic or case agreement in the links between parts of a sentence.

redbtn This coherence is called ‘case agreement’ or ‘concord’.


Examples

The boy is swimming.
[singular subject, singular verb form]

The boys are swimming.
[plural subject, plural verb form]


Use

redbtn Agreement may be required in tense, number, or case.

redbtn Problems are more likely to occur in writing than in speech.

redbtn NB! To avoid such problems in writing, keep your sentences short.

redbtn If the subject of a sentence is singular, then the verb form must be singular as well:

The shop [singular] opens at nine o’clock.
On Thursdays the shops [plural] open late.

redbtn Sometimes confusion occurs because a statement begins in the singular but then drifts into the plural:

wrong
It can be argued that a person has the right to know when they are dying.

redbtn The easiest solution to this problem is to make the subject plural and its verb plural as well:

correct
It can be argued that people have the right to know when they are dying.

redbtn Sometimes a singular noun is used to denote a plural or a collective thing – such as ‘government’ or ‘parliament’.

redbtn Either the singular or the plural verb form may be used – but the important thing is to be consistent.

wrong
The government prefers to let matters rest, but events may make them change their minds.

correct
The government prefers to let matters rest, but events may make it change its mind.

correct
The government prefer to let matters rest, but events may make them change their minds.

redbtn Agreement is necessary in English because the language is ‘uninflected’.

redbtn That is, most words are not given separate endings to indicate which part of the statement they represent.

redbtn English relies very heavily on grammatical rules and syntax [word order] to make sense.

redbtn [In some languages — classical Latin, for instance — word order is not important.]

Self-assessment quiz follows >>>

© Roy Johnson 2003


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Filed Under: English Language Tagged With: Case agreement, English language, Grammar, Language

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